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Title: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 5 - "Malta" to "Map, Walter"
Author: Various
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 5 - "Malta" to "Map, Walter"" ***
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 MALTA: "Queen Adelaide visited Malta in 1838 and founded
the Anglican collegiate church of St Paul. Sir F. Hankey as chief
secretary was for many years the principal official of the civil
administration." 'visited' amended from 'vistied'.
ARTICLE MALTA: "... whose decision affirmed the advisability of
legislation and the need for validating retrospectively marriages
not supported by either Maltese or English common law. "
'advisability' amended from 'advisibility'.
ARTICLE MAMMOTH CAVE: "... although the diameter of the area of the
whole cavern is less than 10 m., the combined length of all
accessible avenues is supposed to be about 150 m." 'combined'
amended from 'conbined'.
ARTICLE MANCHE: "South of Granville the sands of St Pair are the
commencement of the great bay of Mont Saint Michel, 543 whose area
of 60,000 acres was covered with forest till the terrible tide of
the year 709." 'sands' amended from 'samds'.
ARTICLE MANGAN, JAMES CLARENCE: "The Poems of James Clarence Mangan
(1903), and the Prose Writings (1904), were both edited by D. J.
O'Donoghue, who wrote in 1897 a complete account of the Life and
Writings of the poet." 'Mangan' amended from 'Magan'.
ARTICLE MANILA: "In 1906 the total value of the exports was
$23,902,986 and the total value of the imports was $21,868,257."
Duplicate 'the' removed.
ARTICLE MANN, HORACE: "Meanwhile he served, with conspicuous
ability, in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1827 to
1833 and in the Massachusetts Senate from 1833 to 1837, for the
last two years as president." 'ability' amended from 'ailbity'.
ARTICLE MANTEGNA, ANDREA: "It was painted in tempera about 1495, in
commemoration of the battle of Fornovo, which Gianfrancesco Gonzaga
found it convenient to represent to his lieges as an Italian
victory ..." 'Gianfrancesco' amended from 'Ginfrancesco'.
ARTICLE MANURES and MANURING: "Clay land, as a rule, is not
benefited by their use, these soils containing generally an
abundance of potash." 'soils' amended from 'oils'.
ARTICLE MANUSCRIPT: "... where also is described the mechanical
computation of the length of a text by measured lines, for the
purpose of calculating the pay of the scribe." 'of' amended from
'or'.
ARTICLE MAORI: "The Rarotongas call themselves Maori, and state
that their ancestors came from Hawaiki, and Parima and Manono are
the native names of two islands in the Samoan group." 'Parima'
amended from 'Pirima'.
ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
A DICTIONARY OF ARTS, SCIENCES, LITERATURE
AND GENERAL INFORMATION
ELEVENTH EDITION
VOLUME XVII, SLICE V
Malta to Map, Walter
ARTICLES IN THIS SLICE:
MALTA MANG LÖN
MALTA FEVER MANGNALL, RICHMAL
MALTE-BRUN, CONRAD MANGO
MALTHUS, THOMAS ROBERT MANGOSTEEN
MALTON MANGROVE
MALTZAN, HEINRICH VON MANICHAEISM
MALUS, ÉTIENNE LOUIS MANIFEST
MALVACEAE MANIHIKI
MALVASIA MANIKIALA
MALVERN MANILA
MALWA MANILA HEMP
MAMARONECK MANILIUS
MAMELI, GOFFREDO MANILIUS, GAIUS
MAMELUKE MANIN, DANIELE
MAMERTINI MANING, FREDERICK EDWARD
MAMERTINUS, CLAUDIUS MANIPLE
MAMIANI DELLA ROVERE, TERENZIO MANIPUR
MAMMALIA MANISA
MAMMARY GLAND MANISTEE
MAMMEE APPLE MANITOBA (lake of Canada)
MAMMON MANITOBA (province of Canada)
MAMMOTH MANITOU
MAMMOTH CAVE MANITOWOC
MAMORÉ MANIZALES
MAMUN MANKATO
MAMUND MANLEY, MARY DE LA RIVIERE
MAN MANLIUS
MAN, ISLE OF MANN, HORACE
MANAAR, GULF OF MANNA
MANACOR MANNERS, CHARLES
MANAGE MANNERS-SUTTON, CHARLES
MANAGUA MANNHEIM
MANAKIN MANNING, HENRY EDWARD
MANAOAG MANNY, SIR WALTER DE MANNY
MANÁOS MANNYNG, ROBERT
MANASSAS MANOEUVRES, MILITARY
MANASSEH (son of Hezekiah) MANOMETER
MANASSEH (tribe of Israel) MANOR
MANASSES, CONSTANTINE MANOR-HOUSE
MANASSES, PRAYER OF MANRESA
MANATI MANRIQUE, GÓMEZ
MANBHUM MANRIQUE, JORGE
MANCHA, LA MANSE
MANCHE MANSEL, HENRY LONGUEVILLE
MANCHESTER, EARLS AND DUKES OF MANSFELD
MANCHESTER (Connecticut, U.S.A.) MANSFELD, ERNST
MANCHESTER (England) MANSFIELD, RICHARD
MANCHESTER (Massachusetts, U.S.A.) MANSFIELD, WILLIAM MURRAY
MANCHESTER (New Hampshire, U.S.A.) MANSFIELD (England)
MANCHESTER (Virginia, U.S.A.) MANSFIELD (Ohio, U.S.A.)
MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL MANSION
MANCHURIA MANSLAUGHTER
MANCINI, PASQUALE STANISLAO MANSON, GEORGE
MANCIPLE MANSUR
MANCUNIUM MANSURA
MANDAEANS MANT, RICHARD
MANDALAY MANTEGAZZA, PAOLO
MANDAMUS, WRIT OF MANTEGNA, ANDREA
MANDAN MANTELL, GIDEON ALGERNON
MANDARIN MANTES-SUR-SEINE
MANDASOR MANTEUFFEL, EDWIN
MANDATE MANTINEIA
MANDAUE MANTIS
MANDELIC ACID MANTIS-FLY
MANDER, CAREL VAN MANTLE
MANDEVILLE, BERNARD DE MANTON, THOMAS
MANDEVILLE, GEOFFREY DE MAN-TRAPS
MANDEVILLE, JEHAN DE MANTUA
MANDHATA MANU
MANDI MANUAL
MANDINGO MANUCODE
MANDLA MANUEL I., COMNENUS
MANDOLINE MANUEL II. PALAEOLOGUS
MANDRAKE MANUEL I.
MANDRILL MANUEL, EUGENE
MANDU MANUEL, JACQUES ANTOINE
MANDURIA MANUEL, LOUIS PIERRE
MANDVI MANUEL DE MELLO, DOM FRANCISCO
MANES MANUL
MANET, ÉDOUARD MANURES and MANURING
MANETENERIS MANUSCRIPT
MANETHO MANUTIUS
MANFRED MANWARING, ROBERT
MANFREDONIA MANYCH
MANGABEY MANYEMA
MANGALIA MANZANARES
MANGALORE MANZANILLO (Mexico)
MANGAN, JAMES CLARENCE MANZANILLO (Cuba)
MANGANESE MANZOLLI, PIER ANGELO
MANGANITE MANZONI, ALESSANDRO FRANCESCO ANTONIO
MANGBETTU MAORI
MANGEL-WURZEL MAP, WALTER
MANGLE
MALTA, the largest of the Maltese Islands, situated between Europe and
Africa, in the central channel which connects the eastern and western
basins of the Mediterranean Sea. The group belongs to the British
Empire. It extends over 29 m., and consists of Malta, 91 sq. m., GOZO
(q.v.) 20 sq. m., Comino (set apart as a quarantine station) 1 sq. m.,
and the uninhabited rocks called Cominotto and Filfla. Malta (lat. of
Valletta Observatory 35° 53´ 55´´ N., long. 14° 30´ 45´´ W.) is about
60 m. from the nearest point of Sicily, 140 m. from the mainland of
Europe and 180 from Africa; it has a magnificent natural harbour. From
the dawn of maritime trade its possession has been important to the
strongest nations on the sea for the time being.
Malta is about 17½ m. long by 8¼ broad; Gozo is 8¾ by 4½ m. This chain
of islands stretches from N.E. to S.E. On the S.W. the declivities
towards the sea are steep, and in places rise abruptly some 400 ft. from
deep water. The general slope of these ridges is towards the N.W.,
facing Sicily and snow-capped Etna, the source of cool evening breezes.
The Bingemma range, rising 726 ft., is nearly at right angles to the
axis of the main island. The geological "Great Fault" stretches from sea
to sea at the foot of these hills. There are good anchorages in the
channels between Gozo and Comino, and between Comino and Malta. In
addition to the harbours of Valletta, there are in Malta, facing N.W.,
the bays called Mellieha and St Paul's, the inlets of the Salina, of
Madalena, of St Julian and St Thomas; on the S.E. there is the large bay
of Marsa Scirocco. There are landing places on the S.W. at Fomh-il-rih
and Miggiarro. Mount Sceberras (on which Valletta is built) is a
precipitous promontory about 1 m. long, pointing N.E. It rises out of
deep water; well-sheltered creeks indent the opposite shores on both
sides. The waters on the S.E. form the "Grand Harbour," having a narrow
entrance between Ricasoli Point and Fort St Elmo. The series of bays to
the N.W., approached between the points of Tigne and St Elmo, is known
as the Marsamuscetto (or Quarantine) Harbour.
Mighty fortifications and harbour works have assisted to make this ideal
situation an emporium of Mediterranean trade. During the Napoleonic wars
and the Crimean campaign the Grand Harbour was frequently overcrowded
with shipping. The gradual supplanting of sail by steamships has made
Malta a coaling station of primary importance. But the tendency to great
length and size in modern vessels caused those responsible for the civil
administration towards the end of the 19th century to realize that the
harbour accommodation was becoming inadequate for modern fleets and
first-class liners. A breakwater was therefore planned on the Monarch
shoal, to double the available anchorage area and increase the frontage
of deep-water wharves available in all weathers.
Geology and Water Supply.
The Maltese Islands consist largely of Tertiary Limestone, with
somewhat variable beds of Crystalline Sandstone, Greensand and Marl or
Blue Clay. The series appears to be in line with similar formations at
Tripoli in Africa, Cagliari in Sardinia, and to the east of
Marseilles. To the south-east of the Great Fault (already mentioned)
the beds are more regular, comprising, in descending order, (a) Upper
Coralline Limestone; (b) Yellow, Black or Greensand; (c) Marl or Blue
Clay; (d) White, Grey and Pale Yellow Sandstone; (e)
Chocolate-coloured nodules with shells, &c.; (f) Yellow Sandstone; (g)
Lower Crystalline Limestone. The Lower Limestone probably belongs to
the Tongarian stage of the Oligocene series, and the Upper Coralline
Limestone to the Tortonian stage of the Miocene. The beds are not
folded. The general dip of the strata is from W.S.W. to E.N.E. North
of the Great Fault and at Comino the level of the beds is about 400
ft. lower, bringing (c), the Marl, in juxtaposition with (g), the
semi-crystalline Limestone. There is a system of lesser faults,
parallel to the Great Fault, dividing the area into a number of
blocks, some of which have fallen more than others. There are also
indications of another series of faults roughly parallel to the
south-east coast, which point to the islands being fragments of a
former extensive plateau. The mammalian remains found in Pleistocene
deposits are of exceptional interest. Among the more remarkable forms
are a species of hippopotamus, the elephant (including a pigmy
variety), and a gigantic dormouse. In the Coralline Limestone the
following fossils have been noted:--_Spondylus_, _Ostrea_, _Pecten_,
_Cytherea_, _Arca_, _Terebratula_, _Orthis_, _Clavagella_, _Echinus_,
_Cidaris_, _Nucleolites_, _Brissus_, _Spatangus_; in the Marl the
_Nautilus zigzag_; in the Yellow, Black and Greensand shells of
_Lenticulites complanatus_, teeth and vertebrae of _Squalidae_ and
_Cetacea_; in the Sandstone _Vaginula depressa_, _Crystallaria_,
_Nodosaria_, _Brissus_, _Nucleolites_, _Pecten burdigallensis_,
_Scalaria_, _Scutella subrotunda_, _Spatangus_, _Nautilus_, _Ostrea
navicularis_ and _Pecten cristatus_ (see Captain Spratt's work and
papers by Lord Ducie and Dr Adams).
The Blue Clay forms, at the higher levels, a stratum impervious to
water, and holds up the rainfall, which soaks through the spongy mass
of the superimposed coralline formations. Hence arise the springs
which run perennially, several of which have been collected into the
gravitation water supplies of the Vignacourt and Fawara aqueducts. The
larger part of the water supply, however, is now derived by pumping
from strata at about sea-level. These strata are generally impregnated
with salt water, and are practically impenetrable to the rain-water of
less weight. The honeycomb of rock, and capillary action, retard the
lighter fresh-water from sinking to the sea; the soakage from rain has
therefore to move horizontally, over the strata about sea-level,
seeking outlets. At this stage the rain-water is intercepted by wells,
and by galleries hewn for miles in the water-bearing rock. Large
reservoirs assist to store this water after it is raised, and to
equalize its distribution.
Climate and Hygiene.
The climate is, for the greater part of the year, temperate and
healthy; the thermometer records an annual mean of 67° F. Between June
and September the temperature ranges from 75° to 90°; the mean for
December, January and February is 56°; March, May and November are
mild. Pleasant north-east winds blow for an average of 150 days a
year, cool northerly winds for 31 days, east winds 70 days, west for
34 days. The north-west "Gregale" (Euroclydon of Acts xxvii. 14) blows
about the equinox, and occasionally, in the winter months, with almost
hurricane force for three days together; it is recorded to have caused
the drowning of 600 persons in the harbour in 1555. This wind has been
a constant menace to shipping at anchor; the new breakwater on the
Monarch Shoal was designed to resist its ravages. The regular tides
are hardly perceptible, but, under the influence of barometric
pressure and wind, the sea-level occasionally varies as much as 2 ft.
The average rainfall is 21 in.; it is, however, uncertain; periods of
drought have extended over three years. Snow is seen once or twice in
a generation; violent hailstorms occur. On the 19th of October 1898,
exceptionally large hailstones fell--one, over 4 in. in length, being
brought to the governor, Sir Arthur Fremantle, for inspection.
Mediterranean (sometimes called "Malta") fever has been traced by
Colonel David Bruce to a _Micrococcus melitensis_. The supply of water
under pressure is widely distributed and excellent. There is a modern
system of drainage for the towns, and all sewerage has been
intercepted from the Grand Harbour. There are efficient hospitals and
asylums, a system of sanitary inspection, and modernized quarantine
stations.
Flora.
It is hardly possible to differentiate between imported and indigenous
plants. Among the marine flora may be mentioned _Porphyra laciniata_,
the edible laver; _Codium tomentosum_, a coarse species; _Padina
pavonia_, common in shallow water; _Ulva latissima_; _Haliseris
polypodioides_; _Sargassum bacciferum_; the well-known gulf weed,
probably transported from the Atlantic; _Zostera marina_, forming
dense beds in muddy bays; the roots are cast up by storms and are
valuable to dress the fields. Among the land plants may be noted the
blue anemone; the ranunculus along the road-sides, with a strong
perfume of violets; the Malta heath, which flowers at all seasons;
_Cynomorium coccineum_, the curious "Malta fungus," formerly so valued
for medicinal purposes that a guard was set for its preservation under
the rule of the Knights; the pheasant's-eye; three species of mallow
and geranium; _Oxalis cernua_, a very troublesome imported weed;
_Lotus edulis_; _Scorpiurus subvillosa_, wild and cultivated as
forage; two species of the horseshoe-vetch; the opium poppy; the
yellow and claret-coloured poppy; wild rose; _Crataegus azarolus_, of
which the fruit is delicious preserved; the ice-plant; squirting
cucumber; many species of _Umbelliferae_; _Labiatae_, to which the
spicy flavour of the honey (equal to that of Mt Hymettus) is ascribed;
snap-dragons; broom-rape; glass-wort; _Salsola soda_, which produces
when burnt a considerable amount of alkali; there are fifteen species
of orchids; the _gladiolus_ and _iris_ are also found; _Urginia
scilla_, the medicinal squill, abounds with its large bulbous roots
near the sea; seventeen species of sedges and seventy-seven grasses
have been recorded.
Fauna.
There are four species of lizard and three snakes, none of which is
venomous; a land tortoise, a turtle and a frog. Of birds very few are
indigenous; the jackdaw, blue solitary thrush, spectacled warbler, the
robin, kestrel and the herring-gull. A bird known locally as _Hangi_,
not met elsewhere in Europe, nests at Filfla. Flights of quail and
turtle doves, as well as teal and ducks, stay long enough to afford
sport. Of migratory birds over two hundred species have been
enumerated. The only wild mammalia in the island are the hedgehogs,
two species of weasel, the Norway rat, and the domestic mouse. The
Maltese dog was never wild and has ceased to exist as a breed.
Malta has several species of zoophytes, sponges, mollusca and
crustacea. Insect life is represented by plant-bugs, locusts,
crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches, dragon-flies, butterflies,
numerous varieties of moths, bees and mosquitoes.
Among the fish may be mentioned the tunny, dolphin, mackerel, sardine,
sea-bream, dentice and pagnell; wrasse, of exquisite rainbow hue and
good for food; members of the herring family, sardines, anchovies,
flying-fish, sea-pike; a few representatives of the cod family, and
some flat fish; soles (very rare); _Cernus_ which grows to large size;
several species of grey and red mullet; eleven species of _Triglidae_,
including the beautiful flying gurnard whose colours rival the
angel-fish of the West Indies; and eighteen species of mackerel, all
migratory.
[Illustration: Map of Malta.]
Population and Language.
The real population of Malta, viz. of the country districts, is to be
differentiated from the cosmopolitan fringe of the cities. There is
continuous historical evidence that Malta remains to-day what Diodorus
Siculus described it in the 1st century, "a colony of the Phoenicians";
this branch of the Caucasian race came down the great rivers to the
Persian Gulf and thence to Palestine. It carried the art of navigation
through the Mediterranean, along the Atlantic seaboard as far as Great
Britain, leaving colonies along its path. In prehistoric times one of
these colonies displaced previous inhabitants of Libyan origin. The
similarity of the megalithic temples of Malta and of Stonehenge connect
along the shores of western Europe the earliest evidence of Phoenician
civilization. Philology proves that, though called "Canaanites" from
having sojourned in that land, the Phoenicians have no racial connexion
with the African descendants of Ham. No subsequent invader of Malta
attempted to displace the Phoenician race in the country districts. The
Carthaginians governed settlements of kindred races with a light hand;
the Romans took over the Maltese as "dedititii," not as a conquered
race. Their conversion by St Paul added difference of religion to the
causes which prevented mixture of race. The Arabs from Sicily came to
eject the Byzantine garrison; they treated the Maltese as friends, and
were not sufficiently numerous to colonize. The Normans came as
fellow-Christians and deliverers; they found very few Arabs in Malta.
The fallacy that Maltese is a dialect of Arabia has been luminously
disproved by A. E. Caruana, _Sull' origine della lingua Maltese_.
The upper classes have Norman, Spanish and Italian origin. The knights
of St John of Jerusalem, commonly called "of Malta," were drawn from the
nobility of Catholic Europe. They took vows of celibacy, but they
frequently gave refuge in Malta to relatives driven to seek asylum from
feudal wars and disturbances in their own lands. At the British
occupation there were about two dozen families bearing titles of
nobility granted, or recognized, by the Grand Masters, and descending
by primogeniture. These "privileges" were guaranteed, together with the
rights and religion of the islanders, when they became British subjects,
but no government has ever recognized papal titles in Malta. High and
low, all speak among themselves the Phoenician Maltese, altogether
different from the Italian language; Italian was only spoken by 13.24%
in 1901. Such Italian as is spoken by the lingering minority has marked
divergences of pronunciation and inflexion from the language of Rome and
Florence. In 1901, in addition to visitors and the naval and military
forces, 18,922 Maltese spoke English, and the number has been rapidly
increasing.
In appearance the Maltese are a handsome, well-formed race, about the
middle height, and well set up; they have escaped the negroid
contamination noticeable in Sicily, and their features are less dark
than the southern Italians. The women are generally smaller than the
men, with black eyes, fine hair and graceful carriage. They are a
thrifty and industrious people, prolific and devoted to their offspring,
good-humoured, quick-tempered and impressionable. The food of the
working classes is principally bread, with oil, olives, cheese and
fruit, sometimes fish, but seldom meat; common wine is largely imported
from southern Europe. The Maltese are strict adherents to the Roman
Catholic religion, and enthusiastic observers of festivals, fasts and
ceremonials.
In 1906 the birth-rate was 40.68 per thousand, and the excess of births
over deaths 2637. In April 1907 the estimated population was 206,690 of
whom 21,911 were in Gozo. This phenomenal congestion of population gives
interest to records of its growth; in the 10th century there were 16,767
inhabitants in Malta and 4514 in Gozo; the total population in 1514 was
22,000. Estimates made at the arrival of the knights (1530) varied from
15,000 to 25,000: it was then necessary to import annually 10,000
quarters of grain from Sicily. The population in 1551 was, Malta 24,000,
Gozo 7000. In 1582, 20,000 quarters of imported grain were required to
avert famine. A census of 1590 makes the population 30,500; in that year
3000 died of want. The numbers rose in 1601 to 33,000; in 1614 to
41,084; in 1632 to 50,113; in 1667 to 55,155; in 1667 11,000 are said to
have died of plague out of the total population. At the end of the rule
of the knights (1798) the population was estimated at 100,000; sickness,
famine and emigration during the blockade of the French in Valletta
probably reduced the inhabitants to 80,000. In 1829 the population was
114,236; in 1836, 119,878 (inclusive of the garrison); in 1873, 145,605;
at the census in 1901 the civil population was 184,742. Sanitation
decreases the death-rate, religion keeps up the birth-rate. Nothing is
done to promote emigration or to introduce manufactures.
_Towns and Villages._--The capital is named after its founder, the
Grand Master de la Valette, but from its foundation it has been called
Valletta (pop. 1901, 24,685); it contains the palace of the Grand
Masters, the magnificent Auberges of the several "Langues" of the
Order, the unique cathedral of St John with the tombs of the Knights
and magnificent tapestries and marble work; a fine opera house and
hospital are conspicuous. Between the inner fortifications of Valletta
and the outer works, across the neck of the peninsula, is the suburb
of Floriana (pop. 7278). To the south-east of Valletta, at the other
side of the Grand Harbour, are the cities of Senglea (pop. 8093),
Vittoriosa (pop. 8993); and Cospicua (pop. 12,184); this group is
often spoken of as "The Three Cities." The old capital, near the
centre of the island is variously called Notabile, Città Vecchia
(q.v.), and Medina, with its suburb Rabat, its population in 1901 was
7515; here are the catacombs and the ancient cathedral of Malta.
Across the Marsamuscetto Harbour of Valletta is a considerable modern
town called Sliema. The villages of Malta are Mellieha, St Paul's Bay,
Musta, Birchircara, Lia, Atterd, Balzan, Naxaro, Gargur, Misida, S.
Julian's, S. Giuseppe, Dingli, Zebbug, Siggieui, Curmi, Luca, Tarxein,
Zurrico, Crendi, Micabbiba, Circop, Zabbar, Asciak, Zeitun, Gudia and
Marsa Scirocco. The chief town of Gozo is called Victoria, and there
are several small villages.
_Industry and Trade._--The area under cultivation in 1906 was 41,534
acres. As a rule the tillers of the soil live away from their lands, in
some neighbouring village. The fields are small and composed of terraces
by which the soil has been walled up along the contours of the hills,
with enormous labour, to save it from being washed away. Viewed from
the sea, the top of one wall just appearing above the next produces a
barren effect; but the aspect of the land from a hill in early spring is
a beautiful contrast of luxuriant verdure. It is estimated that there
are about 10,000 small holdings averaging about four acres and intensely
cultivated. The grain crops are maize, wheat and barley; the two latter
are frequently sown together. In 1906, 13,000 acres produced 17,975
quarters of wheat and 12,000 quarters of barley. The principal fodder
crops are green barley and a tall clover called "sulla" (_Hedysarum
coronarum_), having a beautiful purple blossom. Vegetables of all sorts
are easily grown, and a rotation of these is raised on land irrigated
from wells and springs. Potatoes and onions are grown for exportation at
seasons when they are scarce in northern Europe. The rent of average
land is about £2 an acre, of very good land over £3; favoured spots,
irrigated from running springs, are worth up to £12 an acre. Two, and
often three, crops are raised in the year; on irrigated land more than
twice as many croppings are possible. The presence of phosphates
accounts for the fertility of a shallow soil. There is a considerable
area under vines, but it is generally more profitable to sell the fruit
as grapes than to convert it into wine. Some of the best oranges in the
world are grown, and exported; but sufficient care is not taken to keep
down insect pests, and to replace old trees. Figs, apricots, nectarines
and peaches grow to perfection. Some cotton is raised as a rotation
crop, but no care is taken to improve the quality. The caroub tree and
the prickly pear are extensively cultivated. There are exceptionally
fine breeds of cattle, asses and goats; cows of a large and very
powerful build are used for ploughing. The supply of butchers' meat has
to be kept up by constant importations. More than two-thirds of the
wheat comes from abroad; fish, vegetables and fruit are also imported
from Sicily in considerable quantities. Excellent honey is produced in
Malta; at certain seasons tunny-fish and young dolphin (lampuca) are
abundant; other varieties of fish are caught all the year round.
About 5000 women and children are engaged in producing Maltese lace. The
weaving of cotton by hand-looms survives as a languishing industry.
Pottery is manufactured on a small scale; ornamental carvings are made
in Maltese stone and exported to a limited extent. The principal
resources of Malta are derived from its being an important military
station and the headquarters of the Mediterranean fleet. There are great
naval docks, refitting yards, magazines and stores on the south-east
side of the Grand Harbour; small vessels of war have also been built
here. Steamers of several lines call regularly, and there is a daily
mail to Syracuse. The shipping cleared in 1905-1906 was 3524 vessels of
3,718,168 tons. Internal communications include a railway about eight
miles long from Valletta to Notabile; there are electric tramways and
motor omnibus services in several directions. The currency is English.
Local weights and measures include the cantar, 175 lb.; salm, one
imperial quarter; cafiso, 4½ gallons; canna, 6 ft. 10½ in.; the tumolo
(256 sq. ca.), about a third of an acre.
The principal exports of local produce are potatoes, cumin seed,
vegetables, oranges, goats and sheep, cotton goods and stone.
To keep alive, in a fair standard of comfort, the population of 206,690,
food supplies have to be imported for nine and a half months in the
year. The annual value of exports would be set off against imported food
for about one month and a half. The Maltese have to pay for food imports
by imperial wages, earned in connexion with naval and military services,
by commercial services to passing steamers and visitors, by earnings
which emigrants send home from northern Africa and elsewhere, and by
interest on investments of Maltese capital abroad. A long absence of the
Mediterranean fleet, and withdrawals of imperial forces, produce
immediate distress.
_Finance._--The financial position in 1906-1907 is indicated by the
following: Public revenue £513,594 (including £51,039 carried to
revenue from capital); expenditure £446,849; imports (actual),
£1,219,819; imports in transit, £5,876,981; exports (actual),
£123,510; exports in transit £6,127,277; imports from the United
Kingdom (actual), £218,461. In March 1907 there were 8159 depositors
in the government savings bank, with £569,731 to their credit.
_Government._--Malta is a crown colony, within the jurisdiction of a
high commissioner and a commander-in-chief, to whom important questions
of policy are reserved; in other matters the administration is under a
military governor (£3000), assisted by a civil lieutenant-governor or
chief secretary. There is an executive council, now comprising eleven
members with the governor as president. The legislative council, under
letters patent of the 3rd of June 1903, is composed of the governor
(president), ten official members, and eight elected members. There are
eight electoral districts with a total of about 10,000 electors. A voter
is qualified on an income from property of £6, or by paying rent to the
same amount, or having the qualifications required to serve as a common
juror. There are no municipal institutions. Letters patent, orders in
council, and local ordinances have the force of law. The laws of
Justinian are still the basis of the common law, the Code of Rohan is
not altogether abrogated, and considerable weight is still given to the
Roman Canon Law. The principal provisions of the Napoleonic Code and
some English enactments have been copied in a series of ordinances
forming the Statute Law. Latin was the language of the courts till 1784,
and was not completely supplanted by Italian till 1815. The partial use
of English (with illogical limitations to the detriment of the
Maltese-born British subjects who speak English) was introduced by local
ordinances and orders in council at the end of the 19th century. The
Maltese, of whom 86% cannot understand Italian, are still liable to be
tried, even for their lives, in Italian, to them a foreign language. The
endeavour to restrict juries to those who understand Italian reveals
glaring incongruities.
_Education._--There were, in 1906, 98 elementary day schools, and 33
night schools. The attendance on the 1st of September 1905 was 16,530,
the percentage on those enrolled 84.6; the total enrolment was 18,719.
The average cost per pupil in these schools was 35s. 11d. a year on
daily attendance. There is a secondary school for girls in Valletta,
and one for boys in Gozo. A lyceum in Malta had an average attendance
of 464. The number of students at the university was about 150. The
average cost per student in the lyceum was £8, 0s. 11d.; in the
university £26, 10s. 1d. The fees in these institutions are almost
nominal, the middle-classes are thus educated at the expense of the
masses. In the 18th century the government of the Knights and of the
Inquisition did not favour the education of the people, after 1800
British governors were slow to make any substantial change. About the
middle of the 19th century it began to be recognized that the
education of the people was more conducive to the safety of the
fortress than to leave in ignorance congested masses of southern race
liable to be swayed spasmodically by prejudice. At first an attempt
was made to make Maltese a literary language by adapting the Arabic
characters to record it in print. This failed for several reasons, the
foremost being that the language was not Arabic but Phoenician, and
because professors and teachers, whose personal ascendancy was based
on the official prominence of Italian, did not realize that
educational institutions existed for the rising generation rather than
to provide salaries for alien teachers and men behind the times.
Various educational schemes were proposed, but they were easier to
propose than to carry into effect: no one, except Mr Savona, had the
ability to urge English as the basis of instruction, and he agitated
and was installed as director of education and made a member of the
Executive. The obstruction which he encountered alarmed him, and he
compromised by adopting a mixed system of both English and Italian,
_pari passu_, as the basis of Maltese education; he resigned after a
brief effort. Mr Savona's attempt to teach the Maltese children
simultaneously two foreign languages (of which they were quite
ignorant, and their teachers only partially conversant) without first
teaching how to read and write the native Maltese systematically was
continued for some years under an eminent archaeologist, Dr A. A.
Caruana, who became Director of Education. He began to give some
preference to English indirectly. On his resignation Sir G. Strickland
established a new system of education based on the principle of
beginning from the bottom, by teaching to read and write in Maltese as
the medium for assimilating, at a further stage, either English or
Italian, one at a time, and aiming at imparting general knowledge in
colloquial English. A series of school books, in the Maltese language
printed in Roman characters, with translations in English interlined
in different type, was produced at the government printing office and
sold at cost price. The parents and guardians were called upon to
select whether each child should learn English or Italian next after
learning reading, writing and arithmetic in Maltese. About 89%
recorded their preference in favour of English at the outset; then, as
a result of violent political agitation, this percentage was
considerably lowered, but soon crept up again. Teachers and professors
who were weak in English, lawyers, newspaper men and others, combined
to deprive these reforms of their legitimate consequence, viz. that
after a number of years English should be the language of the courts
as well as of education, and to protect those belonging to the old
order of knowledge from the competition of young Maltese better
educated than themselves, whose rapid rise everywhere would be assured
by knowing English thoroughly. An order in council was enacted in 1899
providing that no Maltese (except students of theology) should
thenceforth suffer any detriment through inability to pass
examinations in Italian, in either the schools or university, but the
fraction of the Maltese who claim to speak Italian (13.24%) still
command sufficient influence to hamper the full enjoyment of this
emancipation by the majority. In the university most of the textbooks
used are English, nevertheless many of the lectures are still
delivered in Italian--for the convenience of some professors or to
please the politicians, rather than for the benefit of the students.
The number of students who enter the university without passing any
examination in Italian is rapidly increasing; the longer the period of
transition, the greater the detriment to the rising generation.
_History and Antiquities._--The earliest inhabitants of Malta (Melita)
and Gozo (Gaulos) belonged to a culture-circle which included the whole
of the western Mediterranean, and to a race which perhaps originated
from North Africa; and it is they, and not the Phoenicians, who were the
builders of the remarkable megalithic monuments which these islands
contain, the Gigantia in Gozo, Hagiar Kim and Mnaidra near Crendi, the
rock-cut hypogeum of Halsaflieni,[1] and the megalithic buildings on the
hill of Corradino in Malta, being the most noteworthy. The
contemporaneity of these structures has been demonstrated by the
identity of the pottery and other objects discovered in them, including
some remarkable steatopygic figures in stone, and it is clear that they
belong to the neolithic period, numerous flints, but no metal, having
been found. Those that have been mentioned seem to have been sanctuaries
(some of them in part dwelling-places), but Halsaflieni was an enormous
ossuary, of which others may have existed in other parts of the island;
for the numerous rock-cut tombs which are everywhere to be seen belong
to the Phoenician and Roman periods. In these buildings there is a great
preference for apsidal terminations to the internal chambers, and the
façades are as a rule slightly curved. The numerous niches, generally
containing sacrificial (?) tables,[2] are often approached by
window-like openings hewn out of one of the flat slabs by which they are
enclosed. The surface of the stones in the interior is often pitted, as
a form of ornamentation. Even the barren islet of Comino, between Malta
and Gozo, was inhabited in prehistoric times.
To the Phoenician period, besides the tombs already mentioned, belong
some remains of houses and cisterns, and (probably) a few round towers
which are scattered about the island, while the important Roman house at
Cittavecchia is the finest monument of this period in the islands.
The Carthaginians came to Malta in the 6th century B.C., not as
conquerors, but as friends of a sister Phoenician colony (Freeman,
_Hist. Sicily_, i. 255): Carthage in her struggle with Rome was at last
driven to levy oppressive tribute, whereupon the Maltese gave up the
Punic garrison to Titus Sempronius under circumstances described by Livy
(xxi. 51). The Romans did not treat the Maltese as conquered enemies,
and at once gave them the privileges of a _municipium_; Cicero (_in
Verrem_) refers to the Maltese as "Socii." Nothing was to be gained by
displacing the Phoenician inhabitants in a country from which any race
less thrifty would find life impossible by agriculture. On the strength
of a monument bearing his name, it has been surmised that Hannibal was
born in Malta, while his father was governor-general of Sicily; he
certainly did not die in Malta. There is evidence from Cicero (_in
Verrem_) that a very high stage of manufacturing and commercial
prosperity, attained in Carthaginian times, continued in Malta under
the Romans. The Phoenician temple of Juno, which stood on the site of
Fort St Angelo, is also mentioned by Valerius Maximus. An inscription
records the restoration of the temple of Proserpine by Cheriston, a
freed-man of Augustus and procurator of Malta. Diodorus Siculus (L. V.,
c. 4) speaks of the importance and ornamentation of Maltese dwellings,
and to this day remains of palaces and dwellings of the Roman period
indicate a high degree of civilization and wealth. When forced to select
a place of exile, Cicero was at first (_ad Att._ III. 4, X. i. 8, 9)
attracted to Malta, over which he had ruled as quaestor 75 B.C. Among
his Maltese friends were Aulus Licinius and Diodorus. Lucius Castricius
is mentioned as a Roman governor under Augustus. Publius was "chief of
the island" when St Paul was shipwrecked (Acts xxvii. 7); and is said to
have become the first Christian bishop of Malta. The site where the
cathedral at Notabile now stands is reputed to have been the residence
of Publius and to have been converted by him into the first Christian
place of worship, which was rebuilt in 1090 by Count Roger, the Norman
conqueror of Malta. The Maltese catacombs are strikingly similar to
those of Rome, and were likewise used as places of burial and of refuge
in time of persecution. They contain clear indication of the interment
of martyrs. St Paul's Bay was the site of shipwreck of the apostle in
A.D. 58; the "topon diathalasson" referred to in Acts is the strait
between Malta and the islet of Selmun. The claim that St Paul was
shipwrecked at Meleda off the Dalmatian coast, and not at Malta, has
been clearly set at rest, on nautical grounds, by Mr Smith of Jordanhill
(_Voyage and Shipwreck of St Paul_, London, 1848). According to
tradition and to St Chrysostom (_Hom._ 54) the stay of the apostle
resulted in the conversion of the Maltese to Christianity. The
description of the islanders in Acts as "barbaroi" confirms the
testimony of Diodorus Siculus that they were Phoenicians, neither
hellenized nor romanized. The bishopric of Malta is referred to by Rocco
Pirro (_Sicilia sacra_), and by Gregory the Great (_Epist._ 2, 44; 9,
63; 10, 1). It appears that Malta was not materially affected by the
Greek schism, and remained subject to Rome.
On the final division of the Roman dominions in A.D. 395 Malta was
assigned to the empire of Constantinople. On the third Arab invasion,
A.D. 870, the Maltese joined forces against the Byzantine garrison, and
3000 Greeks were massacred. Unable to garrison the island with a large
force, the Arabs cleared a zone between the central stronghold, Medina,
and the suburb called Rabat, to restrict the fortified area. Many Arab
coins, some Kufic inscriptions and several burial-places were left by
the Arabs; but they did not establish their religion or leave a
permanent impression on the Phoenician inhabitants, or deprive the
Maltese language of the characteristics which differentiate it from
Arabic. There is no historical evidence that the domination of the Goths
and Vandals in the Mediterranean ever extended to Malta; there are fine
Gothic arches in two old palaces at Notabile, but these were built after
the Norman conquest of Malta. In 1090 Count Roger the Norman (son of
Tancred de Hauteville), then master of Sicily, came to Malta with a
small retinue; the Arab garrison was unable to offer effective
opposition, and the Maltese were willing and able to welcome the Normans
as deliverers and to hold the island after the immediate withdrawal of
Count Roger. A bishop of Malta was witness to a document in 1090. The
Phoenician population had continued Christian during the mild Arab rule.
Under the Normans the power of the Roman Church quickly augmented,
tithes were granted, and ecclesiastical buildings erected and endowed.
The Normans, like the Arabs, were not numerically strong; the rule of
both, in Sicily as well as Malta, was based on a recognition of
municipal institutions under local officials; the Normans, however,
exterminated the Mahommedans. Gradually feudal customs asserted
themselves. In 1193 Margarito Brundusio received Malta as a fief with
the title of count; he was Grand Admiral of Sicily. Constance, wife of
the emperor Henry IV. of Germany became, in 1194, heiress of Sicily and
Malta; she was the last of the Norman dynasty. The Grand Admiral of
Sicily in 1223 was Henry, count of Malta. He had led 300 Maltese at the
capture of two forts in Tripoli by the Genoese. In 1265 Pope Alexander
IV. conferred the crown of Sicily on Charles of Anjou to the detriment
of Manfred, from whom the French won the kingdom at the battle of
Benevento. Under the will of Corradino a representative of the blood of
Roger the Norman, Peter of Aragon claimed the succession, and it came to
him by the revolution known as "the Sicilian Vespers" when 28,000 French
were exterminated in Sicily. Charles held Malta for two years longer,
when the Aragonese fleet met the French off Malta, and finally crushed
them in the Grand Harbour. In 1427 the Turks raided Malta and Gozo, they
carried many of the inhabitants into captivity, but gained no foothold.
The Maltese joined the Spaniards in a disastrous raid against Gerbi on
the African coast in 1432. In 1492 the Aragonese expelled the Jews.
Dissatisfaction arose under Aragonese rule from the periodical grants of
Malta, as a marquisate or countship, to great officers of state or
illegitimate descendants of the sovereign. Exemption was obtained from
these incidences of feudalism by large payments to the Crown in return
for charters covenanting that Malta should for ever be administered
under the royal exchequer without the intervention of intermediary
feudal lords. This compact was twice broken, and in 1428 the Maltese
paid King Alfonso 30,000 florins for a confirmation of privileges, with
a proviso that entitled them to resist by force of arms any intermediate
lord that his successors might attempt to impose. Under the Aragonese,
Malta, as regards local affairs, was administered by a _Università_ or
municipal commonwealth with wide and indefinite powers, including the
election of its officers, Capitan di Verga, Jurats, &c. The minutes of
the "Consiglio Popolare" of this period are preserved, showing it had no
legislative power; this was vested in the king, and was exercised
despotically in the interests of the Crown. The Knights of St John
having been driven from Rhodes by the Turks, obtained the grant of
Malta, Gozo and Tripoli in 1530 from the emperor Charles V., subject to
a reversion in favour of the emperor's successor in the kingdom of
Aragon should the knights leave Malta, and to the annual tribute of a
falcon in acknowledgment that Malta was under the suzerainty of Spain.
The Maltese, at first, challenged the grant as a breach of the charter
of King Alfonso, but eventually welcomed the knights. The Grand Master
de l'Isle Adam, on entering the ancient capital of Notabile, swore for
himself and his successors to maintain the rights and liberties of the
Maltese. The Order of St John took up its abode on the promontory
guarded by the castle of St Angelo on the southern shore of the Grand
Harbour, and, in expectation of attacks from the Turks, commenced to
fortify the neighbouring town called the Borgo. The knights lived apart
from the Maltese, and derived their principal revenues from estates of
the Order in the richest countries of Europe. They accumulated wealth by
war, or by privateering against the Turks and their allies. The African
Arabs under Selim Pasha in 1551 ravaged Gozo, after an unsuccessful
attempt on Malta, repulsed by cavalry under Upton, an English knight.
The Order of St John and the Christian Maltese now realized that an
attempt to exterminate them would soon be made by Soliman II., and
careful preparations were made to meet the attack.
The great siege of Malta which made the island and its knights famous,
and checked the advance of Mahommedan power in southern and western
Europe, began in May 1565. The fighting men of the defenders are
variously recorded between 6100 and 9121; the roll comprises one English
knight, Oliver Starkey. The Mahommedan forces were estimated from 29,000
to 38,500. Jehan Parisot de la Valette had participated in the defence
of Rhodes, and in many naval engagements. He had been taken prisoner by
Dragut, who made him row for a year as a galley slave till ransomed.
This Grand Master had gained the confidence of Philip of Spain, the
friendship of the viceroy of Sicily, of the pope and of the Genoese
admiral, Doria. The Sultan placed his troops under the veteran Mustapha,
and his galleys under his youthful relative Piali, he hesitated to make
either supreme and ordered them to await the arrival of Dragut with his
Algerian allies, before deciding on their final plans. Meanwhile,
against Mustapha's better judgment, Piali induced the council of war to
attack St Elmo, in order to open the way for his fleet to an anchorage,
safe in all weathers, in Marsamuscetto harbour. This strategical blunder
was turned to the best advantage by La Valette, who so prolonged the
most heroic defence of St Elmo that the Turks lost 7000 killed and as
many wounded before exterminating the 1200 defenders, who fell at their
post. In the interval Dragut was mortally wounded, the attack on
Notabile was neglected, valuable time lost, and the main objective (the
Borgo) and St Angelo left intact. The subsequent siege of St Angelo, and
its supporting fortifications, was marked by the greatest bravery on
both sides. The knights and their Maltese troops fought for death or
victory, without asking or giving quarter. The Grand Master proved as
wise a leader as he was brave. By September food and ammunition were
getting scarce, a large relieving force was expected from Sicily, and
Piali became restive, on the approach of the equinox, for the safety of
his galleys. At last the viceroy of Sicily, who had the Spanish and
allied fleets at his disposal, was spurred to action by his council. He
timidly landed about 6000 or 8000 troops at the north-west of Malta and
withdrew. The Turks began a hurried embarcation and allowed the
Christians to join forces at Notabile; then, hearing less alarming
particulars of the relieving force, Mustapha relanded his reluctant
troops, faced his enemies in the open, and was driven in confusion to
his ships on the 8th of September.
The Order thus reached the highest pinnacle of its fame, and new knights
flocked to be enrolled therein from the flower of the nobility of
Europe; La Valette refused a cardinal's hat, determined not to impair
his independence. He made his name immortal by founding on Mt Sceberras
"a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen" and making Valletta a
magnificent example of fortification, unrivalled in the world. The pope
and other sovereigns donated vast sums for this new bulwark of
Christianity, but, as its ramparts grew in strength, the knights were
slow to seek the enemy in his own waters, and became false to their
traditional strategy as a naval power. Nevertheless, they harassed
Turkish commerce and made booty in minor engagements throughout the 16th
and 18th centuries, and they took part as an allied Christian power in
the great victory of Lepanto. With the growth of wealth and security the
martial spirit of the Order began to wane, and so also did its friendly
relations with the Maltese. The field for recruiting its members, as
well as its landed estates, became restricted by the Reformation in
England and Germany, and the French knights gradually gained a
preponderance which upset the international equilibrium of the Order.
The election of elderly Grand Masters became prevalent, the turmoil and
chances of frequent elections being acceptable to younger members. The
civil government became neglected and disorganized, licentiousness
increased, and riots began to be threatening. Expenditure on costly
buildings was almost ceaseless, and kept the people alive. In 1614 the
Vignacourt aqueduct was constructed. The Jesuits established a
university, but they were expelled and their property confiscated in
1768. British ships of war visited Malta in 1675, and in 1688 a fleet
under the duke of Grafton came to Valletta. The fortifications of the
"Three Cities" were greatly strengthened under the Grand Master Cotoner.
In 1722 the Turkish prisoners and slaves, then very numerous, formed a
conspiracy to rise and seize the island. Premature discovery was
followed by prompt suppression. Castle St Angelo and the fort of St
James were, in 1775, surprised by rebels, clamouring against bad
government; this rising is known as the Rebellion of the Priests, from
its leader, Mannarino. The last but one of the Grand Masters who reigned
in Malta, de Rohan, restored good government, abated abuses and
promulgated a code of laws; but the ascendancy acquired by the
Inquisition over the Order, the confiscation of the property of the
knights in France on the outbreak of the Revolution, and the intrigues
of the French made the task of regenerating the Order evidently hopeless
in the changed conditions of Christendom. On the death of Rohan the
French knights disagreed as to the selection of his successor, and a
minority were able to elect, in 1797, a German of weak character,
Ferdinand Hompesch, as the last Grand Master to rule in Malta. Bonaparte
had arranged to obtain Malta by treachery, and he took possession
without resistance in June 1798; after a stay of six days he proceeded
with the bulk of his forces to Egypt, leaving General Vaubois with 6000
troops to hold Valletta. The exiled knights made an attempt to
reconstruct themselves under the emperor Paul of Russia, but finally the
Catholic parent stem of the Order settled in Rome and continues there
under papal auspices. It still comprises members who take vows of
celibacy and prove the requisite number of quarterings.
Towards the close of the rule of the knights in Malta feudal
institutions had been shaken to their foundations, but the transition to
republican rule was too sudden and extreme for the people to accept it.
The French plundered the churches, abolished monks, nuns and nobles, and
set up forthwith the ways and doings of the French Revolution. Among
other laws Bonaparte enacted that French should at once be the official
language, that 30 young men should every year be sent to France for
their education; that all foreign monks be expelled, that no new priests
be ordained before employment could be found for those existing; that
ecclesiastical jurisdiction should cease; that neither the bishop nor
the priests could charge fees for sacramental ministrations, &c.
Stoppage of trade, absence of work (in a population of which more than
half had been living on foreign revenues of the knights), and famine,
followed the defeat of Bonaparte at the Nile, and the failure of his
plans to make Malta a centre of French trade. An attempt to seize church
valuables at Notabile was forcibly resisted by the Maltese, and general
discontent broke out into open rebellion on the 2nd of September 1798.
The French soon discovered to their dismay that, from behind the rubble
walls of every field, the agile Maltese were unassailable. The prospect
of an English blockade of Malta encouraged the revolt, of which Canon
Caruana became the leader. Nelson was appealed to, and with the aid of
Portuguese allies he established a blockade and deputed Captain Ball, R.
N. (afterwards the first governor) to assume, on the 9th of February
1799, the provisional administration of Malta and to superintend
operations on land. Nelson recognized the movement in Malta as a
successful revolution against the French, and upheld the contention that
the king of Sicily (as successor to Charles V. in that part of the
former kingdom of Aragon) was the legitimate sovereign of Malta. British
troops were landed to assist in the siege; few lives were lost in actual
combat, nevertheless famine and sickness killed thousands of the
inhabitants, and finally forced the French to surrender to the allies.
Canon Caruana and other leaders of the Maltese aspired to obtain for
Malta the freedom of the Roman Catholic religion guaranteed by England
in Canada and other dependencies, and promoted a petition in order that
Malta should come under the strong power of England rather than revert
to the kingdom of the two Sicilies.
The Treaty of Amiens (1802) provided for the restoration of the island
to the Order of St John; against this the Maltese strongly protested,
realizing that it would be followed by the re-establishment of French
influence. The English flag was flown side by side with the Neapolitan,
and England actually renewed war with France sooner than give up Malta.
The Treaty of Paris (1814), with the acclamations of the Maltese,
confirmed Great Britain in the aggregation of Malta to the empire.
A period elapsed before the government of Malta again became
self-supporting, during which over £600,000 was contributed by the
British exchequer in aid of revenue, and for the importation of
food-stuffs. The restoration of Church property, the re-establishment of
law and administration on lines to which the people were accustomed
before the French invasion, and the claiming for the Crown of the vast
landed property of the knights, were the first cares of British civil
rule. As successor to the Order, the Crown claimed and eventually
established (by the negotiations in Rome of Sir Frederick Hankey, Sir
Gerald Strickland and Sir Lintorn Simmons) with regard to the
presentation of the bishopric (worth about £4000 a year) the right to
veto the appointment of distasteful candidates. This right was exercised
to secure the nomination of Canon Caruana and later of Monsignor Pace.
When the pledge, given by the Treaty of Amiens, to restore the Order of
St John with a national Maltese "langue," could not be fulfilled,
political leaders began demanding instead the re-establishment of the
"Consiglio Popolare" of Norman times (without reflecting that it never
had legislative power); but by degrees popular aspirations developed in
favour of a free constitution on English lines. The British authorities
steadily maintained that, at least until the mass of the people became
educated, representative institutions would merely screen irresponsible
oligarchies. After the Treaty of Paris stability of government
developed, and many important reforms were introduced under the strong
government of the masterful Sir Thomas Maitland; he acted promptly,
without seeking popularity or fearing the reverse, and he ultimately
gained more real respect than any other governor, not excepting the
marquess of Hastings, who was a brilliant and sympathetic administrator.
Trial by jury for criminal cases was established in 1829. A council of
government, of which the members were nominated, was constituted by
letters patent in 1835, but this measure only increased the agitation
for a representative legislature. Freedom of the press and many salutary
innovations were brought about on a report of John Austin and G. C.
Lewis, royal commissioners, appointed in 1836. The basis of taxation was
widened, sinecures abolished, schools opened in the country districts,
legal procedure simplified, and Police established on an English
footing. Queen Adelaide visited Malta in 1838 and founded the Anglican
collegiate church of St Paul. Sir F. Hankey as chief secretary was for
many years the principal official of the civil administration. In 1847
Mr R. Moore O'Ferrall was appointed civil governor. In June 1849 the
constitution of the council was altered to comprise ten nominated and
eight elected members.
The revolutions in Italy caused about this time many, including Crispi
and some of the most intellectual Italians, to take refuge in Malta.
These foreigners introduced new life into politics and the press, and
made it fashionable for educated Maltese to delude themselves with the
idea that the Maltese were Italians, because a few of them could speak
the language of the peninsula. A clerical reaction followed against new
progressive ideas and English methods of development. After much
unreasoning vituperation the Irish Catholic civil governor, who had
arrived amidst the acclamations of all, left his post in disgust. His
successor as civil governor was Sir W. Reid, who had formerly held
military command. His determined attempts to promote education met with
intense opposition and little success. At this period the Crimean War
brought great wealth and commercial prosperity to Malta. Under Sir G. Le
Marchant, in 1858, the nominal rule of military governors was
re-established, but the civil administration was largely confided to Sir
Victor Houlton as chief secretary, whilst the real power began to be
concentrated in the hands of Sir A. Dingli, the Crown advocate, who was
the interpreter of the law, and largely its maker, as well as the
principal depository of local knowledge, able to prevent the preferment
of rivals, and to countenance the barrier which difference of language
created between governors and governed. The civil service gravitated
into the hands of a clique. At this period much money was spent on the
Marsa extension of the Grand Harbour, but the rapid increase in the size
of steamships made the scheme inadequate, and limited its value
prematurely. The military defences were entirely remodelled under Sir G.
Le Marchant, and considerable municipal improvements and embellishments
were completed. But this governor was obstructed and misrepresented by
local politicians as vehemently as his predecessors and his successors.
Ministers at home have often appeared to be inclined to the policy of
pleasing by avoiding the reforming of what might be left as it was
found. Sir A. Dingli adapted a considerable portion of the Napoleonic
Code in a series of Malta Ordinances, but stopped short at points likely
to cause agitation. Sir P. Julyan was appointed royal commissioner on
the civil establishments, and Sir P. Keenan on education; their work
revived the reform movement in 1881. Mr Savona led an agitation for a
more sincere system of education on English lines. Fierce opposition
ensued, and the _pari passu_ compromise was adopted to which reference
is made in the section on _Education_ above; Mr Savona was an able
organizer, and began the real emancipation of the Maltese masses from
educational ignorance; but he succumbed to agitation before
accomplishing substantial results.
An executive council was established in 1881, and the franchise was
extended in 1883. A quarter of a century of Sir Victor Houlton's policy
of _laissez-faire_ was changed in 1883 by the appointment of Sir Walter
Hely-Hutchinson as chief secretary. An attempt was made to utilize fully
the abilities of this eminent administrator by creating him civil
lieutenant-governor, in whom to concentrate both the real and the
nominal power of detailed administration; but the military authorities
objected to his corresponding directly with the Colonial Office; and a
political deadlock began to develop. Sir A. Dingli was transferred from
an administrative office to that of chief justice. With the continuance
of military power over details, the public could not understand where
responsibility really rested. The elected members under the leadership
of Dr Mizzi clamoured for more power, opposed reforms and protested
against the carrying of government measures by the casting vote of a
military governor as president of the council. To force a crisis,
abstention of elected members from the council was resorted to, together
with the election of notoriously unfit candidates. Under these
circumstances a constitution of a more severe type was recommended by
those responsible for the government of Malta and was about to be
adopted, as the only alternative to a deadlock, by the imperial
authorities.
A regulation excluding Maltese from the navy (because of their speaking
on board a language that their officers did not understand) provoked
from Trinity College, Cambridge, the Strickland correspondence in _The
Times_ on the constitutional rights of the Maltese, and a leading
article induced the Colonial Office to try an experiment known as the
Strickland-Mizzi Constitution of 1887. This constitution (abolished in
1903) ended a period of government by presidential casting votes and
official ascendancy. For the first time the elected members were placed
in a majority; they were given three seats in the executive council; in
local questions the government had to make every effort to carry the
majority by persuasion. When persuasion failed and imperial interests,
or the rights of unrepresented minorities, were involved the power of
the Crown to legislate by order in council could be (and was) freely
used. This system had the merit of counteracting any abuse of power by
the bureaucracy. It brought to bear on officials effective criticism,
which made them alert and hard-working. Governor Simmons eventually gave
his support to the new constitution, which was received with
acclamation. Strickland, who had been elected while an undergraduate on
the cry of equality of rights for Maltese and English, and Mizzi, the
leader of the anti-English agitation, were, as soon as elected, given
seats in the executive council to cooperate with the government; but
their aims were irreconcilable. Mizzi wanted to undo the educational
forms of Mr Savona, to ensure the predominance of the Italian language
and to work the council as a caucus. Strickland desired to replace
bureaucratic government by a system more in touch with the independent
gentlemen of the country, and to introduce English ideas and precedents.
Friction soon arose. Mizzi cared little for a constitution that did not
make him complete master of the situation, and resigned his post in the
government.
Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson left Malta in March 1889, and was succeeded
by Sir Gerald Strickland (Count Delia Catena), who lost no time in
pushing, and carrying with a rapidity that was considered hasty, reforms
that had been retarded for years. The majorities behind the government
began to dwindle and agitation to grow. Meanwhile the Royal Malta
Militia was established as a link between the Maltese and the garrison.
The police were reorganized with proper pay, criminal laws were
rigorously enforced. A naval officer was placed over the police to
diminish difficulties with the naval authorities and sailors. A marine
force was raised to stop smuggling; and the subtraction of coal during
coaling operations was stopped by drastic legislation. The civil service
was reorganized so as to reward merit and work by promotion. Tenders
were strictly enforced in letting government property and contracts; a
largely increased revenue was applied on water supply, drainage and
other works. Lepers were segregated by law.
The Malta marriage question evoked widespread agitation; Sir A. Dingli
had refrained from making any provision in his code as to marrying. The
Maltese relied on the Roman Canon Law, the English on the common law of
England, Scots or Irish had nothing but the English law to fall back
upon. Maltese authorities were ignorant of the disabilities of British
Nonconformists at common law, and they had not perceived that persons
with a British domicile could not evade their own laws by marrying in
Malta, e.g. that an English girl up to the age of 21 required the
father's or guardian's consent from which a Maltese was legally exempt
at 18. Sir G. Strickland preferred legislation to the covering up of
difficulties by governors' licences and appeals to incongruous
precedents. Sir Lintorn Simmons was appointed envoy to the Holy See, to
ascertain how far legislation might be pushed in the direction of civil
marriage without justifying clerical agitation and obstruction in the
council. He succeeded in coming to an agreement with Rome. Nevertheless
Sir A. Dingli and ecclesiastics of all denominations, for conflicting
reasons, swelled the opposition against the liberal concessions obtained
from Leo XIII. The legal necessity for legislation in accordance with
the agreement was, nevertheless, on a special reference, submitted to
the privy council, whose decision affirmed the advisability of
legislation and the need for validating retrospectively marriages not
supported by either Maltese or English common law. Agitation in the
imperial parliament stopped government action, but the publicity of the
finding of the privy council warned all concerned against the risk of
neglecting the common law of the empire whenever they were not prepared
to follow the _lex loci contractus_.
Since the British occupation it was disputed whether the military
authorities had the right to alienate for the benefit of the imperial
exchequer fortress sites no longer required for defence. The reversion
of such property was claimed for the local civil government, and the
principles governing these rights were ultimately laid down by an order
in council, which also determined military rights to restrict buildings
within the range of forts. The co-operation of naval and military
authorities was obtained for the construction, at imperial expense, of
the breakwater designed to save Malta from being abandoned by long and
deep draft modern vessels. British-born subjects were given the right to
be tried in English. The new system of education (already described) was
set up, and many new schools were built with funds provided by order in
council against the wishes of the elected majority.
An order in council (1899) making English the language of the courts
after fifteen years (by which the Maltese would have obtained the right
to be tried in English) was promulgated at a time when the system of
taxation was also being revised; henceforth agitation in favour of
Italian and against taxation attained proportions unpleasant for those
who preferred popularity to reform and progress. The elected members
demanded the recall of Sir G. Strickland on his refusing to change his
policy. The military governor gave way, as regards making English the
language of the courts on a fixed date, but educational reforms and the
imposition of new taxes (those in Malta being 27s. 6d. per head, against
93s. in England) were enacted by an order in council notwithstanding the
agitation. Mr Mereweather was appointed chief secretary and civil
lieutenant-governor in 1902, and Sir Gerald Strickland became governor
and commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands. Governor Sir F. Grenfell
was created a peer. Strenuous efforts were made to placate the Italian
party in the administration of the educational reforms; but, as these
were not repealed, elected members refused supply, and kept away from
the council. Persistence in this course led to the repeal by
letters-patent of 1903 of the Strickland-Mizzi Constitution of 1887. In
place of occasional orders in council for important matters in urgent
cases, bureaucratic government with an official majority was again, with
its drawbacks, fully re-established for all local affairs great and
small. The representatives of the people were repeatedly re-elected,
only to resign again and again as a protest against a restricted
constitution.
Authorities.--Kenrick's _Phoenicia_ (1855); A. A. Caruana's _Reports
on Phoenician and Roman Antiquities in Malta_ (1881 and 1882); Albert
Mayr, _Die Insel Malta im Altertum_ (1909); James Smith, _Voyage and
Shipwreck of St Paul_ (1866); R. Pirro, _Sicilia sacra_; T. Fazello,
_Storia di Sicilia_ (1833); C. de Bazincourt, _Histoire de la Sicile_
(1846); G. F. Abela, _Malta illustrata_ (1772); J. Quintin, _Insulae
Melitae descriptio_ (1536); G. W. von Streitburg, _Reyse nach der
Inselmalta_ (1632); R. Gregoria, _Considerazioni sopra la storia di
Sicilia_ (1839); F. C. A. Davalos, _Tableau historique de Malte_
(1802); Houel, _Voyage pittoresque_ (vol. iv., 1787); G. P. Badger,
_Description of Malta and Gozo_ (1858); G. N. Goodwin, _Guide to and
Natural History of Maltese Islands_ (1800); Whitworth Porter, _History
of Knights of Malta_ (1858); A. Bigelow, _Travels in Malta and Sicily_
(1831); M. Miège, _Histoire de Malte_ (1840); Parliamentary Papers,
reports by Mr Rownell on Taxation and Expenditure in Malta (1878), by
Sir F. Julyan on Civil Establishments (1880); and Mr Keenan on the
Educational System (1880), (the last two deal with the language
question); F. Vella, _Maltese Grammar for the Use of the English_
(1831); _Malta Penny Magazine_ (1839-1841); J. T. Mifsud, _Biblioteca
Maltese_ (1764); C. M. de Piro, _Squarci di storia_; Michele Acciardi,
_Mustafa bascia di Rodi schiavo in Malta_ (1761); A. F. Freiherr,
_Reise nach Malta in 1830_ (Vienna, 1837); B. Niderstedt, _Malta vetus
et nova_, 1660; F. Panzavecchia, _Storia dell' isola di Malta_; N. W.
Senior, _Conversations on Egypt and Malta_ (1882); G. A. Vassallo,
_Storia di Malta_ (1890); H. Felsch, _Reisebeschreibung_ (1858); W.
Hardman, _Malta_, 1798-1815 (1909); A. Nieuterberg, _Malta_ (1879);
Terrinoni, _La Presa di Malta_ (1860); Azzopardi, _Presa di Malta_
(1864); Castagna, _Storia di Malta_ (1900); Boisredon, Ransijat,
_Blocus et siège de Malte_ (1802); Buchon, _Nouvelles recherches
historiques_; C. Samminniateli, Zabarella, _L' Assedio di Malta del
1565_ (1902); Professor G. B. Mifsud, _Guida al corso di Procedura
Penale Maltese_ (1907); P. de Bono Debono, _Storia della legislazione
in Malta_ (1897); Monsignor A. Mifsud, _L'Origine della sovranità
della Grand Brettagna su Malta_ (1907); A. A. Caruana, _Frammento
critico della storia di Malta_ (1899); Ancient Pagan Tombs and
Christian Cemeteries in the Island of Malta, _Explored and Surveyed
from 1881 to 1897_; Strickland, _Remarks and Correspondence on the
Constitution of Malta_ (1887); A. Mayr, _Die vorgeschichtlichen
Denkmäler von Malta_ (1901); A. E. Caruana, _Sull' origine della
lingua Maltese_ (1896); J. C. Grech, _Flora melitensis_ (1853); Furse,
_Medagliere Gerosolimitano;_ Pisani, _Medagliere_; Galizia, _Church of
St John_; J. Murray, "The Maltese Islands, with special reference to
their Geological Structure," _Scottish Geog. Mag._ (vol. vi., 1890);
J. W. Gregory, "The Maltese Fossil Echinoidea and their evidence on
the correlation of the Maltese Rocks," _Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin._ (vol.
xxxvi., 1892); J. H. Cook, _The Har Dalam Cavern, Malta, Evidences of
Prehistoric Man in Malta_; _Collegamento geodetico delle isole maltesi
con la Sicilia_ (1902); A. Zeri, _I porti delle isole del gruppo di
Malta_ (1906); G. F. Bonamico, _Delle glossipietre di Malta_ (1688).
Brydone, Teonge, John Dryden jun., W. Tallack, Rev. H. Seddall,
Boisgolin, Rev. W. K. Bedford, W. H. Bartlett, St Priest. Msgr. Bres,
M. G. Borch, Oliver Drapper, John Davy, G. M. Letard, Taafe, Busuttil,
T. MacGill, J. Quintana, have also written on Malta. For natural
science see the works of Dr A. L. Adams, Professor E. Forbes, Captain
Spratt, Dr G. Gulia, C. A. Wright and Wood's _Tourist Flora_.
For the language question, see Mr Chamberlain's speech in the House of
Commons, on the 28th of January 1902. Also parliamentary papers for
Grievances of the Maltese Nobility, and Constitutional Changes.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See T. Zammit, _The Halsaflieni prehistoric hypogeum at Casal
Paula, Malta_ (Malta, 1910).
[2] Sometimes the pillar which represents the _baetylus_, which seems
to have been the object of worship, (see A. J. Evans in _Journal of
Hellenic Studies_, xxi., 1901) stands free sometimes it serves as
support to the table stone which covers the niche, and sometimes
again monolithic tables occur. Conical stones (possibly themselves
_baetyli_) are also found.
MALTA (or MEDITERRANEAN) FEVER, a disease long prevalent of Malta and
formerly at Gibraltar, as well as other Mediterranean centres,
characterized by prolonged high temperature, with anaemia, pain and
swelling in the joints, and neuritis, lasting on an average four months
but extending even to two or three years. Its pathology was long
obscure, but owing to conclusive research on the part of Colonel
(afterwards Sir) David Bruce, to which contributions were made by
various officers of the R.A.M.C. and others, this problem had now been
solved. A specific micro-organism, the _Micrococcus melitensis_, was
discovered in 1887, and it was traced to the milk of the Maltese goats.
A commission was sent out to Malta in 1904 to investigate the question,
and after three years' work its conclusions were embodied in a report by
Colonel Bruce in 1907. It was shown that the disappearance of the
disease from Gibraltar had synchronized with the non-importation of
goats from Malta; and preventive measures adopted in Malta in 1906, by
banishing goats' milk from the military and naval dietary, put a stop to
the occurrence of cases. In the treatment of Malta fever a vaccine has
been used with considerable success.
MALTE-BRUN, CONRAD (1755-1826), French geographer, was born on the 12th
of August 1755 at Thisted in Denmark, and died at Paris on the 14th of
December 1826. His original name was Malte Conrad Bruun. While a student
at Copenhagen he made himself famous partly by his verses, but more by
the violence of his political pamphleteering; and at length, in 1800,
the legal actions which the government authorities had from time to time
instituted against him culminated in a sentence of banishment. The
principles which he had advocated were those of the French Revolution,
and after first seeking asylum in Sweden he found his way to Paris.
There he looked forward to a political career; but, when Napoleon's
personal ambition began to unfold itself, Malte-Brun was bold enough to
protest, and to turn elsewhere for employment and advancement. He was
associated with Edme Mentelle (1730-1815) in the compilation of the
_Géographie mathématique ... de toutes les parties du monde_ (Paris,
1803-1807, 16 vols.), and he became recognized as one of the best
geographers of France. He is remembered, not only as the author of six
volumes of the learned _Précis de la géographie universelle_ (Paris,
1810-1829), continued by other hands after his death, but also as the
originator of the _Annales des voyages_ (1808), and one of the founders
of the Geographical Society of Paris. His second son, VICTOR ADOLPHE
MALTE-BRUN (1816-1889), followed his father's career of geographer, and
was a voluminous author.
MALTHUS, THOMAS ROBERT (1766-1834), English economist, was born in 1766
at the Rookery, near Guildford, Surrey, a small estate owned by his
father, Daniel Malthus, a gentleman of good family and independent
fortune, of considerable culture, the friend and correspondent of
Rousseau and one of his executors. Young Malthus was never sent to a
public school, but received his education from private tutors. In 1784
he was sent to Cambridge, where he was ninth wrangler, and became fellow
of his college (Jesus) in 1797. The same year he received orders, and
undertook the charge of a small parish in Surrey. In the following year
he published the first edition of his great work, _An Essay on the
Principle of Population as it affects the Future Improvement of Society,
with Remarks on the Speculations of Mr Godwin, M. Condorcet, and other
Writers_. The work excited a good deal of surprise as well as attention;
and with characteristic thoroughness and love of truth the author went
abroad to collect materials for the verification and more exhaustive
treatment of his views. As Britain was then at war with France, only the
northern countries of Europe were quite open to his research at that
time; but during the brief Peace of Amiens Malthus continued his
investigations in France and Switzerland. The result of these labours
appeared in the greatly enlarged and more mature edition of his work
published in 1803. In 1805 Malthus married happily, and not long after
was appointed professor of modern history and political economy in the
East India Company's College at Haileybury. This post he retained till
his death suddenly from heart disease on the 23rd of December 1834.
Malthus was one of the most amiable, candid and cultured of men. In all
his private relations he was not only without reproach, but
distinguished for the beauty of his character. He bore popular abuse and
misrepresentation without the slightest murmur or sourness of temper.
The aim of his inquiries was to promote the happiness of mankind, which
could be better accomplished by pointing out the real possibilities of
progress than by indulging in vague dreams of perfectibility apart from
the actual facts which condition human life.
Malthus's _Essay on Population_ grew out of some discussions which he
had with his father respecting the perfectibility of society. His father
shared the theories on that subject of Condorcet and Godwin; and his son
combated them on the ground that the realization of a happy society will
always be hindered by the miseries consequent on the tendency of
population to increase faster than the means of subsistence. His father
was struck by the weight and originality of his views, asked him to put
them in writing, and then recommended the publication of the manuscript.
It was in this way the _Essay_ saw the light. Thus it will be seen that
both historically and philosophically the doctrine of Malthus was a
corrective reaction against the superficial optimism diffused by the
school of Rousseau. It was the same optimism, with its easy methods of
regenerating society and its fatal blindness to the real conditions that
circumscribe human life, that was responsible for the wild theories of
the French Revolution and many of its consequent excesses.
The project of a formal and detailed treatise on population was an
afterthought of Malthus. The essay in which he had studied a hypothetic
future led him to examine the effects of the principle he had put
forward on the past and present state of society; and he undertook an
historical examination of these effects, and sought to draw such
inferences in relation to the actual state of things as experience
seemed to warrant. In its original form he had spoken of no checks to
population but those which came under the head either of vice or of
misery. In the 1803 edition he introduced the new element of the
preventive check supplied by what he calls "moral restraint," and is
thus enabled to "soften some of the harshest conclusions" at which he
had before arrived. The treatise passed through six editions in his
lifetime, and in all of them he introduced various additions and
corrections. That of 1816 is the last he revised, and supplies the final
text from which it has since been reprinted.
Notwithstanding the great development which he gave to his work and the
almost unprecedented amount of discussion to which it gave rise, it
remains a matter of some difficulty to discover what solid contribution
he has made to our knowledge, nor is it easy to ascertain precisely what
practical precepts, not already familiar, he founded on his theoretic
principles. This twofold vagueness is well brought out in his celebrated
correspondence with Nassau Senior, in the course of which it seems to be
made apparent that his doctrine is new not so much in its essence as in
the phraseology in which it is couched. He himself tells us that when,
after the publication of the original essay, the main argument of which
he had deduced from David Hume, Robert Wallace, Adam Smith and Richard
Price, he began to inquire more closely into the subject, he found that
"much more had been done" upon it "than he had been aware of." It had
"been treated in such a manner by some of the French economists,
occasionally by Montesquieu, and, among English writers, by Dr Franklin,
Sir James Steuart, Arthur Young and Rev. J. Townsend, as to create a
natural surprise that it had not excited more of the public attention."
"Much, however," he thought, "remained yet to be done. The comparison
between the increase of population and food had not, perhaps, been
stated with sufficient force and precision," and "few inquiries had been
made into the various modes by which the level" between population and
the means of subsistence "is effected." The first desideratum here
mentioned--the want, namely, of an accurate statement of the relation
between the increase of population and food--Malthus doubtless supposed
to have been supplied by the celebrated proposition that "population
increases in a geometrical, food in an arithmetical ratio." This
proposition, however, has been conclusively shown to be erroneous, there
being no such difference of law between the increase of man and that of
the organic beings which form his food. When the formula cited is not
used, other somewhat nebulous expressions are sometimes employed, as,
for example, that "population has a tendency to increase faster than
food," a sentence in which both are treated as if they were spontaneous
growths, and which, on account of the ambiguity of the word "tendency,"
is admittedly consistent with the fact asserted by Senior, that food
tends to increase faster than population. It must always have been
perfectly well known that population will probably (though not
necessarily) increase with every augmentation of the supply of
subsistence, and may, in some instances, inconveniently press upon, or
even for a certain time exceed, the number properly corresponding to
that supply. Nor could it ever have been doubted that war, disease,
poverty--the last two often the consequences of vice--are causes which
keep population down. In fact, the way in which abundance, increase of
numbers, want, increase of deaths, succeed each other in the natural
economy, when reason does not intervene, had been fully explained by
Joseph Townsend in his _Dissertation on the Poor Laws_ (1786) which was
known to Malthus. Again, it is surely plain enough that the apprehension
by individuals of the evils of poverty, or a sense of duty to their
possible offspring, may retard the increase of population, and has in
all civilized communities operated to a certain extent in that way. It
is only when such obvious truths are clothed in the technical
terminology of "positive" and "preventive checks" that they appear novel
and profound; and yet they appear to contain the whole message of
Malthus to mankind. The laborious apparatus of historical and
statistical facts respecting the several countries of the globe, adduced
in the altered form of the essay, though it contains a good deal that is
curious and interesting, establishes no general result which was not
previously well known.
It would seem, then, that what has been ambitiously called Malthus's
theory of population, instead of being a great discovery as some have
represented it, or a poisonous novelty, as others have considered it, is
no more than a formal enunciation of obvious, though sometimes
neglected, facts. The pretentious language often applied to it by
economists is objectionable, as being apt to make us forget that the
whole subject with which it deals is as yet very imperfectly
understood--the causes which modify the force of the sexual instinct,
and those which lead to variations in fecundity, still awaiting a
complete investigation.
It is the law of diminishing returns from land, involving as it
does--though only hypothetically--the prospect of a continuously
increasing difficulty in obtaining the necessary sustenance for all the
members of a society, that gives the principal importance to population
as an economic factor. It is, in fact, the confluence of the Malthusian
ideas with the theories of Ricardo, especially with the corollaries
which the latter deduced from the doctrine of rent (though these were
not accepted by Malthus), that has led to the introduction of population
as an element in the discussion of so many economic questions in modern
times.
Malthus had undoubtedly the great merit of having called public
attention in a striking and impressive way to a subject which had
neither theoretically nor practically been sufficiently considered. But
he and his followers appear to have greatly exaggerated both the
magnitude and the urgency of the dangers to which they pointed.[1] In
their conceptions a single social imperfection assumed such portentous
dimensions that it seemed to overcloud the whole heaven and threaten the
world with ruin. This doubtless arose from his having at first omitted
altogether from his view of the question the great counteracting agency
of moral restraint. Because a force exists, capable, if unchecked, of
producing certain results, it does not follow that those results are
imminent or even possible in the sphere of experience. A body thrown
from the hand would, under the single impulse of projection, move for
ever in a straight line; but it would not be reasonable to take special
action for the prevention of this result, ignoring the fact that it will
be sufficiently counteracted by the other forces which will come into
play. And such other forces exist in the case we are considering. If the
inherent energy of the principle of population (supposed everywhere the
same) is measured by the rate at which numbers increase under the most
favourable circumstances, surely the force of less favourable
circumstances, acting through prudential or altruistic motives, is
measured by the great difference between this maximum rate and those
which are observed to prevail in most European countries. Under a
rational system of institutions, the adaptation of numbers to the means
available for their support is effected by the felt or anticipated
pressure of circumstances and the fear of social degradation, within a
tolerable degree of approximation to what is desirable. To bring the
result nearer to the just standard, a higher measure of popular
enlightenment and more serious habits of moral reflection ought indeed
to be encouraged. But it is the duty of the individual to his possible
offspring, and not any vague notions as to the pressure of the national
population on subsistence, that will be adequate to influence conduct.
It can scarcely be doubted that the favour which was at once accorded to
the views of Malthus in certain circles was due in part to an
impression, very welcome to the higher ranks of society, that they
tended to relieve the rich and powerful of responsibility for the
condition of the working classes, by showing that the latter had chiefly
themselves to blame, and not either the negligence of their superiors or
the institutions of the country. The application of his doctrines, too,
made by some of his successors had the effect of discouraging all active
effort for social improvement. Thus Chalmers "reviews _seriatim_ and
gravely sets aside all the schemes usually proposed for the amelioration
of the economic condition of the people" on the ground that an increase
of comfort will lead to an increase of numbers, and so the last state of
things will be worse than the first.
Malthus has in more modern times derived a certain degree of reflected
lustre from the rise and wide acceptance of the Darwinian hypothesis.
Its author himself, in tracing its filiation, points to the phrase
"struggle for existence" used by Malthus in relation to the social
competition. Darwin believed that man advanced to his present high
condition through such a struggle, consequent on his rapid
multiplication. He regarded, it is true, the agency of this cause for
the improvement of the race as largely superseded by moral influences in
the more advanced social stages. Yet he considered it, even in these
stages, of so much importance towards that end that, notwithstanding the
individual suffering arising from the struggle for life, he deprecated
any great reduction in the natural, by which he seems to mean the
ordinary, rate of increase.
Besides his great work, Malthus wrote _Observations on the Effect of
the Corn Laws_; _An Inquiry into the Nature and Progress of Rent_;
_Principles of Political Economy_; and _Definitions in Political
Economy_. His views on rent were of real importance.
For his life see _Memoir_ by his friend Dr Otter, bishop of Chichester
(prefixed to 2nd ed., 1836, of the _Principles of Political Economy_),
and _Malthus and his Work_, by J. Bonar (London, 1885). Practically
every treatise on economics deals with Malthus and his essay, but the
following special works may be referred to: Soetbeer, _Die Stellung
der Sozialisten zur Malthusschen Bevölkerungslehre_ (Berlin, 1886); G.
de Molinari, _Malthus, essai sur le principe de population_ (Paris,
1889); Cossa, _Il Principio di popolazione di T. R. Malthus_ (Milan,
1895); and Ricardo, _Letters to Malthus_, ed. J. Bonar (1887).
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Malthus himself said, "It is probable that, having found the bow
bent too much one way, I was induced to bend it too much the other in
order to make it straight."
MALTON, a market town in the Thirsk and Malton parliamentary division of
Yorkshire, England, 21 m. N.E. of York by a branch of the North Eastern
railway. The town comprises Old Malton and New Malton in the North
Riding, and Norton on the opposite side of the river Derwent, in the
East Riding. Pop. of urban district of Malton (1901), 4758; of urban
district of Norton 3842. The situation, on the wooded hills rising from
the narrow valley, is very picturesque. The church of St Michael is a
fine late Norman building with perpendicular tower; the church of St
Leonard, of mixed architecture, with square tower and spire, has three
Norman arches and a Norman font. The church of St Mary at Old Malton was
attached to a Gilbertine priory founded in 1150; it is transitional
Norman and Early English, with later insertions. Remains of the priory
are scanty, but include a crypt under a modern house. In the
neighbourhood of Malton are the slight but beautiful fragments of
Kirkham Abbey, an Early English Augustinian foundation of Walter l'Espec
(1131); and the fine mansion of Castle Howard, a massive building by
Vanbrugh, the seat of the earls of Carlisle, containing a noteworthy
collection of pictures. Malton possesses a town-hall, a corn exchange, a
museum, and a grammar-school founded in 1547. There are iron and brass
foundries, agricultural implement works, corn mills, tanneries and
breweries. In the neighbourhood are lime and whinstone quarries.
Traces of a Romano-British village exist on the east side of the town,
but there appears to be no history of Malton before the Norman Conquest.
The greater part of Malton belonged to the crown in 1086 and was
evidently retained until Henry I. gave the castle and its appurtenances
to Eustace son of John, whose descendants took the name of Vescy.
Eustace meditated the deliverance of Malton Castle to King David of
Scotland in 1138, but his plans were altered owing to the battle of the
Standard. The "burgh" of Malton is mentioned in 1187, and in 1295 the
town returned two members to parliament. It was not represented again,
however, until 1640, when an act was passed to restore its ancient
privileges. In 1867 the number of members was reduced to one, and in
1885 the town was disfranchised. Until the 17th century the burgesses
had all the privileges of a borough by prescriptive right, and were
governed by two bailiffs and two under-bailiffs, but these liberties
were taken from them in 1684 and have never been revived. From that time
a bailiff and two constables were appointed at the court leet of the
lord of the manor until a local board was formed in 1854. In the 13th
century Agnes de Vescy, then lady of the manor, held a market in Malton
by prescription, and Camden writing about 1586 says that the lord of the
manor then held two weekly markets, on Tuesday and Saturday, the last
being the best cattle market in the county. The markets are now held on
Saturdays and alternate Tuesdays, and still belong to the lord of the
manor.
MALTZAN, HEINRICH VON, BARON ZU WARTENBURG UND PENZLIN (1826-1874),
German traveller, was born on the 6th of September 1826 near Dresden. He
studied law at Heidelberg, but on account of ill health spent much of
his time from 1850 in travel. Succeeding to his father's property in
1852, he extended the range of his journeys to Morocco and other parts
of Barbary, and before his return home in 1854 had also visited Egypt,
Palestine and other countries of the Levant. In 1856-1857 he was again
in Algeria; in 1858 he reached the city of Morocco; and in 1860 he
succeeded in performing the pilgrimage to Mecca, which he afterwards
described in _Meine Wallfahrt nach Mecca_ (Leipzig, 1865), but had to
flee for his life to Jidda without visiting Medina. He then visited Aden
and Bombay, and after some two years of study in Europe again began to
wander through the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean, repeatedly
visiting Algeria. His first book of travel, _Drei Jahre im Nordwesten
von Afrika_ (Leipzig), appeared in 1863, and was followed by a variety
of works and essays, popular and scientific. Maltzan's last book, _Reise
nach Südarabien_ (Brunswick, 1873), is chiefly valuable as a digest of
much information about little-known parts of south Arabia collected from
natives during a residence at Aden in 1870-1871. Among his other
services to science must be noticed his collection of Punic inscriptions
(_Reise in Tunis und Tripolis_, Leipzig, 1870), and the editing of
Adolph von Wrede's remarkable journey in Hadramut (_Reise in Hadramaut_,
&c., Brunswick, 1870). After long suffering from neuralgia, Maltzan died
by his own hand at Pisa on the 23rd of February 1874.
MALUS, ÉTIENNE LOUIS (1775-1812), French physicist, was born at Paris on
the 23rd of June 1775. He entered the military engineering school at
Mezières; but, being regarded as a suspected person, he was dismissed
without receiving a commission, and obliged to enter the army as a
private soldier. Being employed upon the fortifications of Dunkirk, he
attracted the notice of the director of the works, and was selected as a
member of the École polytechnique then to be established under G. Monge.
After three years at the École he was admitted into the corps of
engineers, and served in the army of the Sambre and Meuse; he was
present at the passage of the Rhine in 1797, and at the affairs of
Ukratz and Altenkirch. In 1798 he joined the Egyptian expedition and
remained in the East till 1801. On his return he held official posts
successively at Antwerp, Strassburg and Paris, and devoted himself to
optical research. A paper published in 1809 ("Sur une propriété de la
lumière réfléchie par les corps diaphanes") contained the discovery of
the polarization of light by reflection, which is specially associated
with his name, and in the following year he won a prize from the
Institute with his memoir, "Théorie de la double refraction de la
lumière dans les substances cristallines." He died of phthisis in Paris
on the 23rd of February 1812.
MALVACEAE, in botany, an order of Dicotyledons belonging to the series
Columniferae, to which belong also the orders Tiliaceae (containing
_Tilia_, the lime-tree), Bombaceae (containing _Adansonia_, the baobab),
Sterculiaceae (containing _Theobroma_, cocoa, and _Colo_, cola-nut). It
contains 39 genera with about 300 species, and occurs in all regions
except the coldest, the number of species increasing as we approach the
tropics. It is represented in Britain by three genera: _Malva_, mallow;
_Althaea_, marsh-mallow; and _Lavatera_, tree-mallow. The plants are
herbs, as in the British mallows, or, in the warmer parts of the earth,
shrubs or trees. The leaves are alternate and often palmately lobed or
divided; the stipules generally fall early. The leaves and young shoots
often bear stellate hairs and the tissues contain mucilage-sacs. The
regular, hermaphrodite, often showy flowers are borne in the leaf-axils,
solitary or in fasicles, or form more or less complicated cymose
arrangements. An epicalyx (see MALLOW, figs. 3, 4), formed by a whorl of
three or more bracteoles is generally present just beneath the calyx;
sometimes, as in _Abutilon_, it is absent. The parts of the flowers are
typically in fives (fig. 1); the five sepals, which have a valvate
aestivation, are succeeded by five often large showy petals which are
twisted in the bud; they are free to the base, where they are attached
to the staminal tube and fall with it when the flower withers. The very
numerous stamens are regarded as arising from the branching of a whorl
of five opposite the petals; they are united into a tube at the base,
and bear kidney-shaped one-celled anthers which open by a slit across
the top (fig. 2). The large spherical pollen-grains are covered with
spines. The carpels are one to numerous; when five in number, as in
_Abutilon_, they are opposite the petals, or, as in _Hibiscus_, opposite
the sepals. In the British genera and many others they are numerous,
forming a whorl round the top of the axis in the centre of the flower,
the united styles rising from the centre and bearing a corresponding
number of stigmatic branches. In _Malope_ the numerous carpels are
arranged one above the other in vertical rows. One or more anatropous
ovules are attached to the inner angle of each carpel; they are
generally ascending but sometimes pendulous or horizontal; the position
may vary, as in _Abutilon_, in one and the same carpel.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Floral Diagram of Hollyhock (_Althaea rosea_).
a, Stamens.
b, Bract.
g, Pistil of carpels.
i, Epicalyx, formed from an involucre of bracteoles.
p, Petals.
s, Sepals.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.
1, Anther.
2, Pollen grain of Hollyhock (_Althaea rosea_) enlarged. The pollen
grain bears numerous spines, the dark spots indicate thin places in
the extine.]
The flowers are proterandrous; when the flower opens the unripe stigmas
are hidden in the staminal tube and the anthers occupy the centre of the
flower; as the anthers dehisce the filaments bend backwards and finally
the ripe stigmas spread in the centre. Pollination is effected by
insects which visit the flower for the honey, which is secreted in pits
one between the base of each petal and is protected from rain by hairs
on the lower margin of the petals. In small pale-flowered forms, like
_Malva rotundifolia_, which attract few insects, self-pollination has
been observed, the style-arms twisting to bring the stigmatic surfaces
into contact with the anthers.
Except in _Malvaviscus_ which has a berry, the fruits are dry. In
_Malva_ (see MALLOW) and allied genera they form one-seeded schizocarps
separating from the persistent central column and from each other. In
_Hibiscus_ and _Gossypium_ (cotton-plant, q.v.), the fruit is a capsule
splitting loculicidally. Distribution of the seeds is sometimes aided by
hooked outgrowths on the wall of the schizocarp, or by a hairy covering
on the seed, an extreme case of which is the cotton-plant where the seed
is buried in a mass of long tangled hairs--the cotton. The embryo is
generally large with much-folded cotyledons and a small amount of
endosperm.
The largest genus, _Hibiscus_, contains 150 species, which are widely
distributed chiefly in the tropics; _H. rosasinensis_ is a well-known
greenhouse plant. _Abutilon_ (q.v.) contains 80 species, mainly
tropical; _Lavatera_, with 20 species, is chiefly Mediterranean;
_Althaea_ has about 15 species in temperate and warm regions, _A.
rosea_ being the hollyhock (q.v.); _Malva_ has about 30 species in the
north-temperate zone. Several genera are largely or exclusively
American.
MALVASIA (Gr. _Monemvasia_, i.e. the "city of the single approach or
entrance"; Ital. _Napoli di Malvasia_; Turk. _Mengeshe_ or _Beneshe_),
one of the principal fortresses and commercial centres of the Levant
during the middle ages, still represented by a considerable mass of
ruins and a town of about 550 inhabitants. It stood on the east coast of
the Morea, contiguous to the site of the ancient Epidaurus Limera, of
which it took the place. So extensive was its trade in wine that the
name of the place became familiar throughout Europe as the distinctive
appellation of a special kind--Ital. _Malvasia_; Span. _Malvagia_; Fr.
_Malvoisie_; Eng. _Malvesie_ or _Malmsey_. The wine was not of local
growth, but came for the most part from Tenos and others of the
Cyclades.
As a fortress Malvasia played an important part in the struggles
between Byzantium, Venice and Turkey. The Byzantine emperors
considered it one of their most valuable posts in the Morea, and
rewarded its inhabitants for their fidelity by unusual privileges.
Phrantzes (Lib. IV. cap. xvi.) tells how the emperor Maurice made the
city (previously dependent in ecclesiastical matters on Corinth) a
metropolis or archbishop's see, and how Alexius Comnenus, and more
especially Andronicus II. (Palaeologus) gave the Monembasiotes freedom
from all sorts of exactions throughout the empire. It was captured
after a three years' siege by Guillaume de Villehardouin in 1248, but
the citizens retained their liberties and privileges, and the town was
restored to the Byzantine emperors in 1262. After many changes, it
placed itself under Venice from 1463 to 1540, when it was ceded to the
Turks. In 1689 it was the only town of the Morea which held out
against Morosini, and Cornaro his successor only succeeded in reducing
it by famine. In 1715 it capitulated to the Turks, and on the failure
of the insurrection of 1770 the leading families were scattered
abroad. As the first fortress which fell into the hands of the Greeks
in 1821, it became in the following year the seat of the first
national assembly.
See Curtius, _Peloponnesos_, ii. 293 and 328; Castellan, _Lettres sur
la Morée_ (1808), for a plan; Valiero, _Hist. della guerra di Candia_
(Venice, 1679), for details as to the fortress; W. Miller in _Journal
of Hellenic Studies_ (1907).
MALVERN, an inland watering-place in the Bewdley parliamentary division
of Worcestershire, England, 128 m. W.N.W. from London by the Great
Western railway, served also by a branch of the Midland railway from
Ashchurch on the Bristol-Birmingham line. Pop. of urban district(1901),
16,449. It is beautifully situated on the eastern slopes of the Malvern
Hills, which rise abruptly from the flat valley of the Severn to a
height of 1395 ft. in the Worcestershire Beacon. The district still
bears the name of Malvern Chase, originally a Crown-land and forest,
though it was granted to the earldom of Gloucester by Edward I. A ditch
along the summit of the hills determined the ancient boundary. Becoming
a notorious haunt of criminals, the tract was disafforested by Charles
I., with the exception of a portion known as the King's Chase, part of
which is included in the present common-land formed under the Malvern
Hills Act of 1884.
Malvern was in early times an important ecclesiastical settlement, but
its modern fame rests on its fine situation, pure air, and chalybeate
and bituminous springs. The open-air cure for consumptive patients is
here extensively practised.
The name Malvern is collectively applied to a line of small towns and
villages, extending along the foot of the hills for 5 m. The principal
is GREAT MALVERN, lying beneath the Worcestershire Beacon. It has a
joint station of the Great Western and Midland railways. Here was the
Benedictine priory which arose in 1083 out of a hermitage endowed by
Edward the Confessor. The priory church of SS. Mary and Michael is a
fine cruciform Perpendicular building, with an ornate central tower,
embodying the original Norman nave, and containing much early glass and
carved choir-stalls. The abbey gate and the refectory also remain.
There are here several hydropathic establishments, and beautiful
pleasure gardens. Malvern College, founded in 1862, is an important
English public school. A museum is attached to it. Mineral waters are
manufactured. At MALVERN WELLS, 2½ m. S., are the principal medicinal
springs, also the celebrated Holy Well, the water of which is of perfect
purity. There are extensive fishponds and hatcheries; and golf-links.
The Great Western railway has a station, and the Midland one at Hanley
Road. LITTLE MALVERN lies at the foot of the Herefordshire Beacon, which
is crowned by a British camp, 1½ m. S. of Malvern Wells. There was a
Benedictine priory here, of which traces remain in the church. MALVERN
LINK, 1 m. N.E. of Great Malvern, of which it forms a suburb, has a
station on the Great Western railway. WEST MALVERN and NORTH MALVERN,
named from their position relative to Great Malvern, are pleasant
residential quarters on the higher slopes of the hills.
MALWA, an historic province of India, which has given its name to one of
the political agencies into which Central India is divided. Strictly,
the name is confined to the hilly table-land, bounded S. by the Vindhyan
range, which drains N. into the river Chambal; but it has been extended
to include the Nerbudda valley farther south. Its derivation is from the
ancient tribe of Malavas about whom very little is known, except that
they founded the Vikrama Samvat, an era dating from 57 B.C., which is
popularly associated with a mythical king Vikramaditya. The earliest
name of the tract seems to have been Avanti, from its capital the modern
Ujjain. The position of the Malwa or Moholo mentioned by Hsuan Tsang
(7th century) is plausibly assigned to Gujarat. The first records of a
local dynasty are those of the Paramaras, a famous Rajput clan, who
ruled for about four centuries (800-1200), with their capital at Ujjain
and afterwards at Dhar. The Mahommedans invaded Malwa in 1235; and in
1401 Dilawar Khan Ghori founded an independent kingdom, which lasted
till 1531. The greatest ruler of this dynasty was Hoshang Shah
(1405-1435), who made Mandu (q.v.) his capital and embellished it with
magnificent buildings. In 1562 Malwa was annexed to the Mogul empire by
Akbar. On the break-up of that empire, Malwa was one of the first
provinces to be conquered by the Mahrattas. About 1743 the Mahratta
peshwa obtained from Delhi the title of governor, and deputed his
authority to three of his generals--Sindhia of Gwalior, Holkar of
Indore, and the Ponwar of Dhar who claims descent from the ancient
Paramaras. At the end of the 18th century Malwa became a cockpit for
fighting between the rival Mahratta powers, and the headquarters of the
Pindaris or irregular plunderers. The Pindaris were extirpated by the
campaign of Lord Hastings in 1817, and the country was reduced to order
by the energetic rule of Sir John Malcolm. Malwa is traditionally the
land of plenty, in which sufferers from famine in the neighbouring
tracts always take refuge. But in 1899-1900 it was itself visited by a
severe drought, which seriously diminished the population, and has since
been followed by plague. The most valuable product is opium.
The Malwa agency has an area of 8919 sq. m. with a population (1901) of
1,054,753. It comprises the states of Dewas (senior and junior branch),
Jaora, Ratlam, Sitamau and Sailana, together with a large portion of
Gwalior, parts of Indore and Tonk, and about 35 petty estates and
holdings. The headquarters of the political agent are at Nimach.
Malwa is also the name of a large tract in the Punjab, south of the
river Sutlej, which is one of the two chief homes of the Sikhs, the
other being known as Manjha. It includes the British districts of
Ferozpore and Ludhiana, together with the native states of Patiala,
Jind, Nabha and Maler Kotla.
See J. Malcolm, _Central India_ (1823); C. E. Luard, _Bibliography of
Central India_ (1908), and _The Paramars of Dhar and Malwa_ (1908).
MAMARONECK, a township of Westchester county, New York, U.S.A., on Long
Island Sound, about 20 m. N.E. of New York City and a short distance
N.E. of New Rochelle. Pop. (1890), 2385; (1900) 3849; (1905) 5655;
(1910) 5602. Mamaroneck is served by the New York, New Haven & Hartford
railway. The township includes the village of Larchmont (pop. in 1910,
1958), incorporated in 1891, and part of the village of Mamaroneck (pop.
in 1910, including the part in Rye township, 5699), incorporated in
1895. Larchmont is the headquarters of the Larchmont Yacht Club. The
site of Mamaroneck township was bought in 1660 from the Indians by John
Richbell, an Englishman, who obtained an English patent to the tract in
1668. The first settlement was made by relatives of his on the site of
Mamaroneck village in 1676, and the township was erected in 1788. On the
28th of August 1776, near Mamaroneck, a force of American militiamen
under Capt. John Flood attacked a body of Loyalist recruits under
William Lounsbury, killing the latter and taking several prisoners. Soon
afterwards Mamaroneck was occupied by the Queen's Rangers under Colonel
Robert Rogers. On the night of the 21st of October an attempt of a force
of Americans under Colonel John Haslet to surprise the Rangers failed,
and the Americans, after a hand-to-hand fight, withdrew with 36
prisoners. Mamaroneck was the home of John Peter DeLancey (1753-1828), a
Loyalist soldier in the War of Independence, and was the birthplace of
his son William Heathcote DeLancey (1797-1865), a well-known Protestant
Episcopal clergyman, provost of the University of Pennsylvania in
1827-1832 and bishop of western New York from 1839 until his death.
James Fenimore Cooper, the novelist, married (1811) a daughter of John
Peter DeLancey; lived in Mamaroneck for several years, and here wrote
his first novel, _Precaution_, and planned _The Spy_.
MAMELI, GOFFREDO (1827-1849), Italian poet and patriot, was born at
Genoa of a noble Sardinian family. He received a sound classical
education at the Scolopi College, and later studied law and philosophy
at the university of Genoa. When nineteen years old he corresponded with
Mazzini, to whom he became whole-heartedly devoted; among other
patriotic poems he wrote a hymn to the Bandiera brothers, and in the
autumn of 1847 a song called "Fratelli d'Italia," which as Carducci
wrote, "resounded through every district and on every battlefield of the
peninsula in 1848 and 1849." Mameli served in the National Guard at
Genoa, and then joined the volunteers in the Lombard campaign of 1848,
but after the collapse of the movement in Lombardy he went to Rome,
where the republic was proclaimed and whence he sent the famous despatch
to Mazzini: "Roma! Repubblica! Venite!" At first he wrote political
articles in the newspapers, but when the French army approached the city
with hostile intentions he joined the fighting ranks and soon won
Garibaldi's esteem by his bravery. Although wounded in the engagement of
the 30th of April, he at once resumed his place in the ranks, but on the
3rd of June he was again wounded much more severely, and died in the
Pellegrini hospital on the 6th of July 1849. Besides the poems mentioned
above, he wrote hymns to Dante, to the Apostles, "Dio e popolo," &c. The
chief merit of his work lies in the spontaneity and enthusiasm for the
Italian cause which rendered it famous, in spite of certain technical
imperfections, and he well deserved the epithet of "The Tyrtaeus of the
Italian revolution."
See A. G. Barrili, "G. Mameli nella vita e nell' arte," in _Nuova
Antologia_ (June 1, 1902); the same writer's edition of the _Scritti
editi ed inediti di G. Mameli_ (Genoa, 1902); Countess Martinengo
Cesaresco, _Italian Characters_ (London, 1901); A. Luzio, _Profili
Biografici_ (Milan, 1906); G. Trevelyan, _Garibaldi's Defence of the
Roman Republic_ (London, 1907).
MAMELUKE (anglicized through the French, from the Arabic _mamluk_, a
slave), the name given to a series of Egyptian sultans, originating
(1250) in the usurpation of supreme power by the bodyguard of Turkish
slaves first formed in Egypt under the successors of Saladin. See EGYPT:
_History_ (Moslem period).
MAMERTINI, or "children of Mars," the name taken by a band of Campanian
(or Samnite) freebooters who about 289 B.C. seized the Greek colony of
Messana at the north-east corner of Sicily, after having been hired by
Agathocles to defend it (Polyb. 1. 7. 2). The adventure is explained by
tradition (e.g. Festus 158, Müller) as the outcome of a _ver sacrum_;
the members of the expedition are said to have been the male children
born in a particular spring of which the produce had been vowed to
Apollo (cf. SAMNITES), and to have settled first in Sicily near
Tauromenium. An inscription survives (R. S. Conway, _Italic Dialects_,
1) which shows that they took with them the Oscan language as it was
spoken in Capua or Nola at that date, and the constitution usual in
Italic towns of a free community (_touta_ =) governed by two annual
magistrates (_meddices_). The inscription dedicated some large building
(possibly a fortification) to Apollo, which so far confirms the
tradition just noticed. Though in the Oscan language, the inscription is
written in the Greek alphabet common to south Italy from the 4th century
B.C. onwards, viz. the Tarentine Ionic, and so are the legends of two
coins of much the same date as the inscription (Conway, ib. 4). From 282
onwards (B. V. Head, _Historia numorum_, 136) the legend itself is
Graecized ([Greek: MAMERTINON] instead of [Greek: MAAMERTINOUM]) which
shows how quickly here, as everywhere, "Graecia capta ferum victorem
cepit." On the Roman conquest of Sicily the town secured an independence
under treaty (Cicero, _Verr._ 3. 6. 13). The inhabitants were still
called Mamertines in the time of Strabo (vi. 2. 3).
See further Mommsen, _C.I.L._ x. sub loc., and the references already
given. (R. S. C.)
MAMERTINUS, CLAUDIUS (4th century A.D.), one of the Latin panegyrists.
After the death of Julian, by whom he was evidently regarded with
special favour, he was praefect of Italy (365) under Valens and
Valentinian, but was subsequently (368) deprived of his office for
embezzlement. He was the author of an extant speech of thanks to Julian
for raising him to the consulship, delivered on the 1st of January 362
at Constantinople. Two panegyrical addresses (also extant) to Maximian
(emperor A.D. 286-305) are attributed to an older _magister_ Mamertinus,
but it is probable that the corrupt MS. superscription contains the word
_memoriae_, and that they are by an unknown _magister memoriae_ (an
official whose duty consisted in communicating imperial rescripts and
decisions to the public). The first of these was delivered on the
birthday of Rome (April 21, 289), probably at Maximian's palace at
Augusta Trevirorum (Trèves), the second in 290 or 291, on the birthday
of the emperor. By some they are attributed to Eumenius (q.v.) who was a
_magister memoriae_ and the author of at least one (if not more)
panegyrics.
The three speeches will be found in E. Bahrens, _Panegyrici latini_
(1874); see also Teuffel-Schwabe, _Hist. of Roman Literature_ (Eng.
trans.), § 417. 7.
MAMIANI DELLA ROVERE, TERENZIO, COUNT (1802-1885), Italian writer and
statesman, was born at Pesaro in 1799. Taking part in the outbreaks at
Bologna arising out of the accession of Pope Gregory XVI., he was
elected deputy for Pesaro to the assembly, and subsequently appointed
minister of the interior; but on the collapse of the revolutionary
movement he was exiled. He returned to Italy after the amnesty of 1846,
and in 1848 he was entrusted with the task of forming a ministry. He
remained prime minister, however, only for a few months, his political
views being anything but in harmony with those of the pope. He
subsequently retired to Genoa where he worked for Italian unity, was
elected deputy in 1856, and in 1860 became minister of education under
Cavour. In 1863 he was made minister to Greece, and in 1865 to
Switzerland, and later senator and councillor of state. Meanwhile, he
had founded at Genoa in 1849 the Academy of Philosophy, and in 1855 had
been appointed professor of the history of philosophy at Turin; and he
published several volumes, not only on philosophical and social
subjects, but of poetry, among them _Rinnovamente della filosofia antica
italiana_ (1836), _Teoria della Religione e dello stato_ (1869), _Kant e
l'ontologia_ (1879), _Religione dell' avenire_ (1880), _Di un nuovo
diritto europeo_ (1843, 1857). He died at Rome on the 21st of May, 1885.
See _Indice delle opere di Terenzio Mamiani_ (Pesaro, 1887); Gaspare,
_Vita di Terenzio Mamiani_ (Ancona, 1887); Barzellotti, _Studii e
ritratti_ (Bologna, 1893).
MAMMALIA (from Lat. _mamma_, a teat or breast), the name proposed by the
Swedish naturalist Linnaeus for one of the classes, or primary
divisions, of vertebrated animals, the members of which are collectively
characterized by the presence in the females of special glands secreting
milk for the nourishment of the young. With the exception of the lowest
group, such glands always communicate with the exterior by means of the
teats, nipples or mammae, from which the class derives its name. The
class-name (modified by the French into _Mammifères_, and replaced in
German by the practically equivalent term _Säugethiere_) has been
anglicized into "Mammals" (mammal, in the singular). Of recent years,
and more especially in America, it has become a custom to designate the
study of mammals by the term "mammalogy." Etymologically, however, that
designation cannot be justified; for it is of hybrid (Latin and Greek)
origin, and is equivalent to "mastology," the science which deals with
the mammary gland (Gr. [Greek: mastos], woman's breast), a totally
different signification. As regards existing forms of life, the
limitations of the class are perfectly well defined and easy of
recognition; for although certain groups (not, by the way, whales,
which, although excluded in popular estimation from the class, are in
all essential respects typical mammals) are exceedingly aberrant, and
present structural features connecting them with the lower vertebrate
classes, yet they are by common consent retained in the class to which
they are obviously most nearly affiliated by their preponderating
characteristics. There is thus at the present day a great interval,
unbridged by any connecting links, between mammals and the other classes
of vertebrates.
Not so, however, when the extinct forms of vertebrate life are taken
into consideration, for there is a group of reptiles from the early part
of the Secondary, or Mesozoic period, some of whose members must have
been so intimately related to mammals that, were the whole group fully
known, it would clearly be impossible to draw a distinction between
Mammalia on the one hand and Reptilia on the other. Indeed, as it is, we
are already partially acquainted with one of these early intermediate
creatures (_Tritylodon_), which forms a kind of zoological shuttlecock,
being, so to speak, hit from one group to another, and back again, by
the various zoologists by whom its scanty remains have been studied.
Considered collectively, mammals, which did not make their appearance on
the earth for some time after reptiles had existed, are certainly the
highest group of the whole vertebrate sub-kingdom. This expression must
not, however, be considered in too restricted a sense. In mammals, as in
other classes, there are low as well as high forms; but by any tests
that can be applied, especially those based on the state of development
of the central nervous system, it will be seen that the average exceeds
that of any other class, that many species of this class far excel those
of any other in perfection of structure, and that it contains one form
which is unquestionably the culminating point amongst organized beings.
Mammals, then, are vertebrated animals, possessing the normal
characteristics of the members of that primary division of the animal
kingdom. They are separated from fishes and batrachians (Pisces and
Batrachians) on the one hand, and agree with reptiles, and birds
(Reptilia and Aves) on the other, in the possession during intra-uterine
life of the membranous vascular structures respectively known as the
amnion and the allantois, and likewise in the absence at this or any
other period of external gills. A four-chambered heart, with a complete
double circulation, and warm blood (less markedly so in the lowest group
than in the rest of the class), distinguish mammals from existing
reptiles, although not from birds. From both birds and reptiles the
class is distinguished, so far at any rate as existing forms are
concerned, by the following features: the absence of a nucleus in the
red corpuscles of the blood, which are nearly always circular in
outline; the free suspension of the lungs in a thoracic cavity,
separated from the abdominal cavity by a muscular partition, or
diaphragm, which is the chief agent in inflating the lungs in
respiration; the aorta, or main artery, forming but a single arch after
leaving the heart, which curves over the left terminal division of the
windpipe, or bronchus; the presence of more or fewer hairs on the skin
and the absence of feathers; the greater development of the bridge, or
commissure, connecting the two halves of the brain, which usually forms
a complete corpus callosum, or displays an unusually large size of its
anterior portion; the presence of a fully developed larynx at the upper
end of the trachea or windpipe, accompanied by the absence of a syrinx,
or expansion, near the lower end of the same; the circumstance that each
half of the lower jaw (except perhaps at a very early stage of
development) consists of a single piece articulating posteriorly with
the squamosal element of the skull without the intervention of a
separate quadrate bone; the absence of prefrontal bones in the skull;
the presence of a pair of lateral knobs, or condyles (in place of a
single median one), on the occipital aspect of the skull for
articulation with the first vertebra; and, lastly, the very obvious
character of the female being provided with milk-glands, by the
secretion of which the young (produced, except in the very lowest group,
alive and not by means of externally hatched eggs) are nourished for
some time after birth.
In the majority of mammals both pairs of limbs are well developed and
adapted for walking or running. The fore-limbs may, however, be
modified, as in moles, for burrowing, or, as in bats, for flight, or
finally, as in whales and dolphins, for swimming, with the assumption in
this latter instance of a flipper-like form and the complete
disappearance of the hind-limbs. Special adaptations for climbing are
exhibited by both pairs of limbs in opossums, and for hanging to boughs
in sloths. In no instance are the fore-limbs wanting.
In the great majority of mammals the hind extremity of the axis of the
body is prolonged into a tail. Very generally the tail has distinctly
the appearance of an appendage, but in some of the lower mammals, such
as the thylacine among marsupials, and the aard-vark or ant-bear among
the edentates, it is much thickened at the root, and passes insensibly
into the body, after the fashion common among reptiles. As regards
function, the tail may be a mere pendent appendage, or may be adapted to
grasp boughs in climbing, or even to collect food or materials for a
nest or sleeping place, as in the spider-monkeys, opossums and
rat-kangaroos. Among jumping animals it may serve as a balance, as in
the case of jerboas and kangaroos, while in the latter it is also used
as a support when resting; among many hoofed mammals it is used as a
fly-whisk; and in whales and dolphins, as well as in the African
_Potamogale_ and the North American musquash, it plays an important part
in swimming. Its supposed use as a trowel by the beaver is, however, not
supported by the actual facts of the case.
As already indicated, the limbs of different mammals are specially
modified for various modes of life; and in many cases analogous
modifications occur, in greater or less degree, throughout the entire
body. Those modifications most noticeable in the case of cursorial types
may be briefly mentioned as examples. In this case, as might be
expected, the greatest modifications occur in the limbs, but correlated
with this is also an elongation of the head and neck in long-legged
types. Adaptation for speed is further exhibited in the moulding of the
shape of the body so as to present the minimum amount of resistance to
the air, as well as in increase in heart and lung capacity to meet the
extra expenditure of energy. Finally, in the jumping forms we meet with
an increase in the length and weight of the tail, which has to act as a
counterpoise. As regards the feet, a reduction in the number of digits
from the typical five is a frequent feature, more especially among the
hoofed mammals, where the culmination in this respect is attained by the
existing members of the horse tribe and certain representatives of the
extinct South American _Proterotheriidae_, both of which are
monodactyle. Brief reference may also be made to the morphological
importance of extraordinary length or shortness in the skulls of
mammals--dolichocephalism and brachycephalism; both these features being
apparently characteristic of specialized types, the former condition
being (as in the horse) often, although not invariably, connected with
length of limb and neck, and adaptation to speed, while brachycephalism
may be correlated with short limbs and an abbreviated neck. Exceptions
to this rule, as exemplified by the cats, are due to special adaptive
causes. In point of bodily size mammals present a greater range of
variation than is exhibited by any other living terrestrial animals, the
extremes in this respect being displayed by the African elephant on the
one hand and certain species of shrew-mice (whose head and body scarcely
exceed an inch and a half in length) on the other. When the aquatic
members of the class are taken into consideration, the maximum
dimensions are vastly greater, Sibbald's rorqual attaining a length of
fully 80 ft., and being probably the bulkiest and heaviest animal that
has ever existed. Within the limits of individual groups, it may be
accepted as a general rule that increase in bulk or stature implies
increased specialization; and, further, that the largest representatives
of any particular group are also approximately the latest. The latter
dictum must not, however, be pushed to an extreme, since the African
elephant, which is the largest living land mammal, attaining in
exceptional cases a height approaching 12 ft., was largely exceeded in
this respect by an extinct Indian species, whose height has been
estimated at between 15 and 16 ft.
In regard to sense-organs, ophthalmoscopic observations on the eyes of
living mammals (other than man) have revealed the existence of great
variation in the arrangement of the blood-vessels, as well as in the
colour of the retina; blue and violet seem to be unknown, while red,
yellow and green form the predominating shades. In the main, the various
types of minute ocular structure correspond very closely to the
different groups into which mammals are divided, this correspondence
affording important testimony in the favour of the general correctness
of the classification. Among the exceptions are the South American
squirrel-monkeys, whose eyes approximate in structure to those of the
lemurs. Man and monkeys alone possess parallel and convergent vision of
the two eyes, while a divergent, and consequently a very widely
extended, vision is a prerogative of the lower mammals; squirrels, for
instance, and probably also hares and rabbits, being able to see an
object approaching them directly from behind without turning their
heads.
An osteological question which has been much discussed is the fate of
the reptilian quadrate bone in the mammalian skull. In the opinion of F.
W. Thyng, who has carefully reviewed all the other theories, the balance
of evidence tends to show that the quadrate has been taken up into the
inner ear, where it is represented among the auditory ossicles by the
incus.
Although the present article does not discuss mammalian osteology in
general (for which see VERTEBRATA), it is interesting to notice in this
connexion that the primitive condition of the mammalian tympanum
apparently consisted merely of a small and incomplete bony ring, with,
at most, an imperfect ventral wall to the tympanic cavity, and that a
close approximation to this original condition still persists in the
monotremes, especially _Ornithorhynchus_. The tympano-hyal is the
characteristic mammalian element in this region; but the entotympanic
likewise appears to be peculiar to the class, and to be unrepresented
among the lower vertebrates. The tympanum itself has been regarded as
representing one of the elements--probably the supra-angular--of the
compound reptilian lower jaw. The presence of only seven vertebrae in
the neck is a very constant feature among mammals; the exceptions being
very few.
Two other points in connexion with mammalian osteology may be noticed. A
large number of mammals possess a perforation, or foramen, on the inner
side of the lower end of the humerus, and also a projection on the shaft
of the femur known as the third trochanter. From its occurrence in so
many of the lower vertebrates, the entepicondylar foramen of the
humerus, as it is called, is regarded by Dr E. Stromer as a primitive
structure, of which the original object was to protect certain nerves
and blood-vessels. It is remarkable that it should persist in the
spectacled bear of the Andes, although it has disappeared in all other
living members of the group. The third trochanter of the femur, on the
other hand, can scarcely be regarded as primitive, seeing that it is
absent in several of the lower groups of mammals. Neither can its
presence be attributed, as Professor A. Gaudry suggests, to the
reduction in the number of the toes, as otherwise it should not be found
in the rhinoceros. Its general absence in man forbids the idea of its
having any connexion with the upright posture.
_Hair._--In the greater number of mammals the skin is more or less
densely clothed with a peculiarly modified form of epidermis known as
hair. This consists of hard, elongated, slender, cylindrical or
tapering, thread-like masses of epidermic tissue, each of which grows,
without branching, from a short prominence, or papilla, sunk at the
bottom of a pit, or follicle, in the true skin, or dermis. Such hairs,
either upon different parts of the skin of the same species, or in
different species, assume very diverse forms and are of various sizes
and degrees of rigidity--as seen in the fur of the mole, the bristles
of the pig, and the spines of the hedgehog and porcupine, which are
all modifications of the same structures. These differences arise
mainly from the different arrangement of the constituent elements into
which the epidermal cells are modified. Each hair is composed usually
of a cellular pithy internal portion, containing much air, and a
denser or more horny external or cortical part. In some mammals, as
deer, the substance of the hair is almost entirely composed of the
central medullary or cellular substance, and is consequently very
easily broken; in others the horny part prevails almost exclusively,
as in the bristles of the wild boar. In the three-toed sloth
(_Bradypus_) the hairs have a central horny axis and a pithy exterior.
Though generally nearly smooth, or but slightly scaly, the surface of
some hairs is imbricated; that is to say, shows projecting scale-like
processes, as in some bats, while in the two-toed sloth (_Choloepus_)
they are longitudinally grooved or fluted. Though usually more or less
cylindrical or circular in section, hairs are often elliptical or
flattened, as in the curly-haired races of men, the terminal portion
of the hair of moles and shrews, and conspicuously in the spines of
the spiny squirrels of the genus _Xerus_ and those of the mouse-like
_Platacanthomys_. Hair having a property of mutual cohesion or
"felting," which depends upon a roughened scaly surface and a tendency
to curl, as in domestic sheep, is called "wool."
It has been shown by J. C. H. de Meijere that the insertion of the
individual hairs in the skin displays a definite arrangement, constant
for each species, but varying in different groups. In jerboas, for
example, a bunch of twelve or thirteen hairs springs from the same
point, while in the polar bear a single stout hair and several slender
ones arise together, and in the marmosets three equal-sized hairs form
regular groups. These tufts or groups likewise display an orderly and
definite grouping in different mammals, which suggests the origin of
such groups from the existence in primitive mammals of a scaly coat
comparable to that of reptiles, and indeed directly inherited
therefrom.
In a large proportion of mammals there exist hairs of two distinct
types: the one long, stiff, and alone appearing on the surface, and
the other shorter, finer and softer, constituting the under-fur, which
may be compared to the down of birds. A well-known example is
furnished by the fur-bearing seals, in which the outer fur is removed
in the manufacture of commercial "seal-skin," leaving only the soft
and fine under-fur.
Remarkable differences in the direction or slope of the hair are
noticeable on different parts of the body and limbs of many mammals,
especially in certain apes, where the hair of the fore-limbs is
inclined towards the elbow from above and from below. More remarkable
still is the fact that the direction of the slope often differs in
closely allied groups, as, for instance, in African and Asiatic
buffaloes, in which the hair of the middle line of the back has
opposite directions. Whorls of hair, as on the face of the horse and
the South American deer known as brockets, occur where the different
hair-slopes meet. In this connexion reference may be made to patches
or lines of long and generally white hairs situated on the back of
certain ruminants, which are capable of erection during periods of
excitement, and serve, apparently, as "flags" to guide the members of
a herd in flight. Such are the white chrysanthemum-like patches on the
rump of the Japanese deer and of the American prong-buck
(_Antilocapra_), and the line of hairs situated in a groove on the
loins of the African spring-buck. The white underside of the tail of
the rabbit and the yellow rump-patch of many deer are analogous.
The eye-lashes, or _ciliae_, are familiar examples of a special local
development of hair. Special tufts of stout stiff hairs, sometimes
termed _vibrissae_, and connected with nerves, and in certain cases
with glands, occur in various regions. They are most common on the
head, while they constitute the "whiskers," or "feelers," of the cats
and many rodents. In other instances, notably in the lemurs, but also
in certain carnivora, rodents and marsupials, they occupy a position
on the fore-arm near the wrist, in connexion with glands, and receive
sensory powers from the radial nerve. In some mammals the hairy
covering is partial and limited to particular regions; in others, as
the hippopotamus and the sea-cows, or Sirenia, though scattered over
the whole surface, it is extremely short and scanty; but in none is
it reduced to so great an extent as in the Cetacea, in which it is
limited to a few small bristles confined to the neighbourhood of the
lips and nostrils, and often present only in the young, or even the
foetal condition.
Some kinds of hairs, as those of the mane and tail of the horse,
persist throughout life, but more generally, as in the case of the
body-hair of the same animal, they are shed and renewed periodically,
generally annually. Many mammals have a longer hairy coat in winter,
which is shed as summer comes on; and some few, which inhabit
countries covered in winter with snow, as the Arctic fox, variable
hare and ermine, undergo a complete change of colour in the two
seasons, being white in winter and grey or brown in summer. There has
been much discussion as to whether this winter whitening is due to a
change in the colour of the individual hairs or to a change of coat.
It has, however, been demonstrated that the senile whitening of human
hair is due to the presence of phagocytes, which devour the
pigment-bodies; and from microscopic observations recently made by the
French naturalist Dr E. Trouessart, it appears that much the same kind
of action takes place in the hairs of mammals that turn white in
winter. Cold, by some means or other, causes the pigment-bodies to
shift from the normal positions, and to transfer themselves to other
layers of the hair, where they are attacked and devoured by
phagocytes. The winter whitening of mammals is, therefore, precisely
similar to the senile bleaching of human hair, no shift of the coat
taking place. Under the influence of exposure to intense cold a small
mammal has been observed to turn white in a single night, just as the
human hair has been known to blanch suddenly under the influence of
intense emotion, and in both cases extreme activity of the phagocytes
is apparently the inducing cause. The African golden-moles
(_Chrysochloris_), the desmans or water-moles (_Myogale_), and the
West African _Potamogale velox_, are remarkable as being the only
mammals whose hair reflects those iridescent tints so common in the
feathers of tropical birds.
The principal and most obvious purpose of the hairy covering is to
protect the skin. Its function in the hairless Cetacea is discharged
by the specially modified and thickened layer of fatty tissue beneath
the skin known as "blubber."
_Scales, &c._--True scales, or flat imbricated plates of horny
material, covering the greater part of the body, are found in one
family only of mammals, the pangolins or _Manidae_; but these are also
associated with hairs growing from the intervals between the scales or
on the parts of the skin not covered by them. Similarly imbricated
epidermic productions form the covering of the under-surface of the
tail of the African flying rodents of the family _Anomaluridae_; and
flat scutes, with the edges in apposition, and not overlaid, clothe
both surfaces of the tail of the beaver, rats and certain other
members of the rodent order, and also of some insectivora and
marsupials. Armadillos alone possess an external bony skeleton,
composed of plates of bony tissue, developed in the skin and covered
with scutes of horny epidermis. Other epidermic appendages are the
horns of ruminants and rhinoceroses--the former being elongated,
tapering, hollow caps of hardened epidermis of fibrous structure,
fitting on and growing from conical projections of the frontal bones
and always arranged in pairs, while the latter are of similar
structure, but without any internal bony support, and situated in the
middle line. Callosities, or bare patches covered with hardened and
thickened epidermis, are found on the buttocks of many apes, the
breast of camels, the inner side of the limbs of _Equidae_, the
grasping under-surface of the tail of prehensile-tailed monkeys,
opossums, &c. The greater part of the skin of the one-horned Asiatic
rhinoceros is immensely thickened and stiffened by an increase of the
tissue of both the skin and epidermis, constituting the well-known
jointed "armour-plated" hide of those animals.
_Nails, Claws and Hoofs._--With few exceptions, the terminal
extremities of the digits of both limbs of mammals are more or less
protected or armed by epidermic plates or sheaths, constituting the
various forms of nails, claws or hoofs. These are absent in the
Cetacea alone. A perforated spur, with a special secreting gland in
connexion with it, is found attached to each hind-leg of the males of
the existing species of Monotremata.
_Scent-glands, &c._--Besides the universally distributed sweat-glands
connected with the hair-system, most mammals have special glands in
modified portions of the skin, often involuted to form a shallow
recess or a deep sac with a narrow opening, situated in various parts
of the surface of the body, and secreting odorous substances, by the
aid of which individuals recognize one another. These probably afford
the principal means by which wild animals are able to become aware of
the presence of other members of the species, even at great distances.
To this group of structures belong the suborbital face-gland,
"larmier," or "crumen," of antelopes and deer, the frontal gland of
the muntjak and of bats of the genus _Phyllorhina_, the chin-gland of
the chevrotains and of _Taphozous_ and certain other bats, the
glandular patch behind the ear of the chamois and the reed-buck, the
glands on the lower parts of the legs of most deer and a few antelopes
(the position of which is indicated by tufts of long and often
specially coloured hair), the interdigital foot-glands of goats,
sheep, and many other ruminants, the temporal gland of elephants, the
lateral glands of the musk-shrew, the gland on the back of the hyrax
and the peccary (from the presence of which the latter animal takes
the name _Dicotyles_), the gland on the tails of the members of the
dog-tribe, the preputial glands of the musk-deer and beaver (both well
known for the use made of their powerfully odorous secretion in
perfumery), and also of the swine and hare, the anal glands of
Carnivora, the perineal gland of the civet (also of commercial value),
the caudal glands of the fox and goat, the gland on the wing-membrane
of bats of the genus _Saccopteryx_, the post-digital gland of the
rhinoceros, &c. Very generally these glands are common to both sexes,
and it is in such cases that their function as a means of mutual
recognition is most evident. It has been suggested that the
above-mentioned callosities or "chestnuts" on the limbs of horses are
vestigial scent-glands; and it is noteworthy that scrapings or
shavings from their surface have a powerful attraction for other
horses, and are also used by poachers and burglars to keep dogs
silent. The position of such glands on the lower portions of the limbs
is plainly favourable to a recognition-taint being left in the tracks
of terrestrial animals; and antelopes have been observed deliberately
to rub the secretion from their face-glands on tree-trunks. When
glands are confined to the male, their function is no doubt sexual;
the secretion forming part of the attraction, or stimulus, to the
other sex.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Upper and Lower Teeth of one side of the Mouth
of a Dolphin (_Lagenorhynchus_), as an example of the homoeodont type
of dentition. The bone covering the outer side of the roots of the
teeth has been removed to show their simple character.]
_Dentition._--In the great majority of mammals the teeth form a
definite series, of which the hinder elements are of a more or less
complex type, while those in front are simpler. With the exception of
the marsupials, a set of deciduous, or milk, teeth is developed in
most mammals with a complicated type of dentition; these milk-teeth
being shed at a comparatively early period (occasionally even _in
utero_), when they are succeeded by the larger permanent series, which
is the only other ever developed. This double series of teeth thus
forms a very characteristic feature of mammals generally. Both the
milk and the permanent dentition display the aforesaid complexity of
the hinder teeth as compared with those in front, and since the number
of milk-teeth is always considerably less than that of the permanent
set, it follows that the hinder milk-teeth are usually more complex
than the teeth of which they are the predecessors in the permanent
series, and represent functionally, not their immediate successors,
but those more posterior permanent teeth which have no direct
predecessors. This character is clearly seen in those animals in which
the various members of the lateral or cheek series are well
differentiated from each other in form, as the Carnivora, and also in
man.
In mammals with two sets of teeth the number of those of the permanent
series preceded by milk-teeth varies greatly, being sometimes, as in
marsupials and some rodents, as few as one on each side of each jaw,
and in other cases including the larger portion of the series. As a
rule, the teeth of the two sides of the jaws are alike in number and
character, except in cases of accidental or abnormal variation, and in
the tusks of the narwhal, in which the left is of immense size, and
the right rudimentary. In mammals, such as dolphins and some
armadillos, which have a large series of similar teeth, not always
constant in number in different individuals, there may indeed be
differences in the two sides; but, apart from these in describing the
dentition of any mammal, it is generally sufficient to give the number
and characters of the teeth of one side only. As the teeth of the
upper and the lower jaws work against each other in masticating, there
is a general correspondence or harmony between them, the projections
of one series, when the mouth is closed, fitting into corresponding
depressions of the other. There is also a general resemblance in the
number, characters and mode of succession of both series; so that,
although individual teeth of the upper and lower jaws may not be in
the strict sense of the term homologous parts, there is a great
convenience in applying the same descriptive terms to the one which
are used for the other.
The simplest dentition is that of many species of dolphin (fig. 1), in
which the crowns are single-pointed, slightly curved cones, and the
roots also single and tapering; so that all the teeth are alike in
form from the anterior to the posterior end of the series, though it
may be with some slight difference in size, those at the two
extremities being rather smaller than the others. Such a dentition is
called "homoeodont" (Gr. [Greek: homoios], like, [Greek: odous],
tooth), and in the case cited, as the teeth are never changed, it is
also monophyodont (Gr. [Greek: monos], alone, single, [Greek: phyein],
to generate, [Greek: odous], tooth). Such teeth are adapted only for
catching slippery living prey, like fish.
In a very large number of mammals the teeth of different parts of the
series are more or less differentiated in character; and, accordingly,
have different functions to perform. The front teeth are simple and
one-rooted, and are adapted for cutting and seizing. They are called
"incisors." The back, lateral or cheek teeth, on the other hand, have
broader and more complex crowns, tuberculated or ridged, and supported
on two or more roots. They crush or grind the food, and are hence
called "molars." Many mammals have, between these two sets, a tooth at
each corner of the mouth, longer and more pointed than the others,
adapted for tearing or stabbing, or for fixing struggling prey. From
the conspicuous development of such teeth in the Carnivora, especially
the dogs, they have received the name of "canines." A dentition with
its component parts so differently formed that these distinctive terms
are applicable to them is called heterodont (Gr. [Greek: heteros],
different). In most cases, though by no means invariably, mammals with
a heterodont dentition are also diphyodont (Gr. [Greek: diphyês], of
double form).
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Milk and Permanent Dentitions of Upper (I.)
and Lower (II.) Jaws of the Dog (_Canis_), with the symbols by which
the different teeth are designated. The third upper molar (_m_ 3) is
the only tooth wanting to complete the typical heterodont mammalian
dentition.]
This general arrangement is obvious in a considerable number of
mammals; and examination shows that, under great modifications in
detail, there is a remarkable uniformity of essential characters in
the dentition of a large number of members of the class belonging to
different orders and not otherwise closely allied, so much that it is
possible to formulate a common plan of dentition from which the others
have been derived by the alteration of some and the suppression of
other members of the series, and occasionally, but very rarely, by
addition. In this generalized form of mammalian dentition the total
number of teeth present is 44, or 11 above and 11 below on each side.
Those of each jaw are placed in continuous series without intervals
between them; and, although the anterior teeth are simple and
single-rooted, and the posterior teeth complex and with several roots,
the transition between the two kinds is gradual.
In dividing and grouping such teeth for the purpose of description and
comparison more definite characters are required than those derived
merely from form or function. The first step towards a classification
rests on the fact that the upper jaw is composed of two bones, the
premaxilla and the maxilla, and that the division or suture between
these bones separates the three front teeth from the rest. These three
teeth, which are implanted in the premaxilla, form a distinct group,
to which the name of "incisor" is applied. This distinction is,
however, not so important as it appears at first sight, for their
connexion with the bone is only of a secondary nature, and, although
it happens conveniently that in the great majority of cases the
division between the bones coincides with the interspace between the
third and fourth tooth of the series, still, when it does not, as in
the mole, too much weight must not be given to this fact, if it
contravenes other reasons for determining the homologies of the teeth.
The eight remaining teeth of the upper jaw offer a natural division,
inasmuch as the three hindmost never have milk-predecessors; and,
although some of the anterior teeth may be in the same case, the
particular one preceding these three always has such a predecessor.
These three, then, are grouped as the "molars." Of the five teeth
between the incisors and molars the most anterior, or the one usually
situated close behind the pre-maxillary suture, very generally assumes
a lengthened and pointed form, and constitutes the "canine" of the
Carnivora, the tusk of the boar, &c. It is customary, therefore, to
call this tooth, whatever its size or form, the "canine." The
remaining four are the "premolars." This system has been objected to
as artificial, and in many cases not descriptive, the distinction
between premolars and canine especially being sometimes not obvious;
but the terms are now in such general use, and also so convenient,
that it is not likely they will be superseded. It is frequently
convenient to refer to all the teeth behind the canine as the
"cheek-teeth."
With regard to the lower teeth the difficulties are greater, owing to
the absence of any suture corresponding to that which defines the
incisors above; but since the number of the teeth is the same, since
the corresponding teeth are preceded by milk-teeth, and since in the
large majority of cases it is the fourth tooth of the series which is
modified in the same way as the canine (or fourth tooth) of the upper
jaw, it is reasonable to adopt the same divisions as with the upper
series, and to call the first three, which are implanted in the part
of the mandible opposite to the premaxilla, the incisors, the next the
canine, the next four the premolars, and the last three the molars.
It may be observed that when the mouth is closed, especially when the
opposed surfaces of the teeth present an irregular outline, the
corresponding upper and lower teeth are not exactly opposite,
otherwise the two series could not fit into one another, but as a rule
the points of the lower teeth shut into the interspaces in front of
the corresponding teeth of the upper jaw. This is very distinct in the
canine teeth of the Carnivora, and is a useful guide in determining
the homologies of the teeth of the two jaws.
For the sake of brevity the complete dentition is described by the
following formula, the numbers above the line representing the teeth
of the upper, those below the line those of the lower jaw: incisors
(3--3)/(3--3), canines (1--1)/(1--1), premolars (4--4)/(4--4), molars,
(3--3)/(3--3) = (11--11)/(11--11) total 44. As, however, initial
letters may be substituted for the names of each group, and it is
unnecessary to give more than the numbers of the teeth on one side of
the mouth, the formula may be abbreviated into:
_i_ 3/3, _c_ 1/1, _p_ 4/4, _m_ 3/3; total 44.
The individual teeth of each group are enumerated from before
backwards, and by such a formula as the following:--
_i_ 1, _i_ 2, _i_ 3, _c_, _p_ 1, _p_ 2, _p_ 3, _p_ 4, _m_ 1, _m_ 2, _m_ 3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
_i_ 1, _i_ 2, _i_ 3, _c_, _p_ 1, _p_ 2, _p_ 3, _p_ 4, _m_ 1, _m_ 2, _m_ 3
a special numerical designation is given by which each one can be
indicated. In mentioning any single tooth, such a sign as m1 will mean
the first upper molar, m1 the first lower molar, and so on.
When, as is the case among nearly all existing mammals with the
exception of the members of the genera _Sus_ (pigs), _Gymnura_
(rat-shrew), _Talpa_ (moles) and _Myogale_ (desmans) the number of
teeth is reduced below the typical forty-four, it appears to be an
almost universal rule that if one of the incisors is missing it is the
second, or middle one, while the premolars commence to disappear from
the front end of the series and the molars from the hinder end.
The milk-dentition is expressed by a similar formula, _d_ for
deciduous, being added before the letter expressive of the nature of
the tooth. As the three molars and (almost invariably) the first
premolar of the permanent series have no predecessors, the typical
milk-dentition would be expressed as follows: _di_ 3/3, _dc_ 1/1, _dm_
3/3 = 28. The teeth which precede the premolars of the permanent
series are called either milk-molar or milk-premolar. When there is a
marked difference between the premolars and molars of the permanent
dentition, the first milk-molar resembles a premolar, while the last
has the characters of the posterior molar. It is sometimes convenient
to refer to all the seven cheek-teeth as members of a single
continuous series (which they undoubtedly are), and for this purpose
the following nomenclature has been proposed:--
Upper Jaw. Lower Jaw.
Cheek-tooth 1 Protus. Protid.
" 2 Deuterus. Deuterid.
" 3 Tritus. Tritid.
" 4 Tetartus. Tetartid.
" 5 Pemptus. Pemptid.
" 6 Hectus. Hectid.
" 7 Hebdomus. Hebdomid.
With the exception of the Cetacea, most of the Edentata, and the
Sirenia, in which the teeth, when present, have been specialized in a
retrograde or aberrant manner, the placental mammals as a whole have a
dentition conforming more or less closely to the foregoing type.
With the marsupials the case is, however, somewhat different; the
whole number not being limited to 44, owing largely to the fact that
the number of upper incisors may exceed three pairs, reaching indeed
in some instances to as many as five. Moreover, with the exception of
the wombats, the number of pairs of incisors in the upper always
exceeds those in the lower. When fully developed, the number of
cheek-teeth is, however, seven; and it is probable that, as in
placentals, the first four of these are premolars and the remaining
three molars, although it was long held that these numbers should be
transposed. The most remarkable feature about the marsupial dentition
is that, at most, only a single pair of teeth is replaced in each jaw;
this pair, on the assumption that there are four premolars,
representing the third of that series. With the exception of this
replacing pair of teeth in each jaw, it is considered by many
authorities that the marsupial dentition corresponds to the deciduous,
or milk, dentition of placentals. If this be really the case, the
rudiments of an earlier set of teeth which have been detected in the
jaws of some members of the order, represent, not the milk-series, but
a prelacteal dentition. On the assumption that these functional teeth
correspond to the milk-series of placentals, marsupials in this
respect agree exactly with modern elephants, in which the same
peculiarity exists.
In very few mammals are teeth entirely absent. Even in the whalebone
whales their germs are formed in the same manner and at the same
period of life as in other mammals, and even become partially
calcified, although they never rise above the gums, and completely
disappear before birth. In the American anteaters and the pangolins
among the Edentata no traces of teeth have been found at any age.
Adult monotremes are in like case, although the duck-billed platypus
(_Ornithorhynchus_) has teeth when young on the sides of the jaws. The
northern sea-cow (_Rhytina_), now extinct, appears to have been
toothless throughout life.
In different groups of mammals the dentition is variously specialized
in accordance with the nature of the food on which the members of
these groups subsist. From this point of view the various adaptive
modifications of mammalian dentition may be roughly grouped under the
headings of piscivorous, carnivorous, insectivorous, omnivorous and
herbivorous.
The fish-eating, or piscivorous, type of dentition is exemplified
under two phases in the dolphins and in the seals (being in the latter
instance a kind of retrograde modification from the carnivorous type).
In the dolphins, and in a somewhat less marked degree among the seals,
this type of dentition consists of an extensive series of conical,
nearly equal-sized, sharp-pointed teeth, implanted in an elongated and
rather narrow mouth (fig. 1), and adapted to seize slippery prey
without either tearing or masticating. In the dolphins the teeth form
simple cones, but in the seals they are often trident-like; while in
the otters the dentition differs but little from the ordinary
carnivorous type.
This carnivorous adaptation, in which the function is to hold and kill
struggling animals, often of large size, attains its highest
development in the cats (_Felidae_). The canines are in consequence
greatly developed, of a cutting and piercing type, and from their wide
separation in the mouth give a firm hold; the jaws being as short as
is consistent with the free action of the canines, or tusks, so that
no power is lost. The incisors are small, so as not to interfere with
the penetrating action of the tusks; and the crowns of some of the
teeth of the cheek-series are modified into scissor-like blades, in
order to rasp off the flesh from the bones, or to crack the bones
themselves, while the later teeth of this series tend to disappear.
In the insectivorous type, as exemplified in moles and shrew-mice, the
middle pair of incisors in each jaw are long and pointed so as to have
a forceps-like action for seizing insects, the hard coats of which are
broken up by the numerous sharp cusps surmounting the cheek-teeth.
In the omnivorous type, as exemplified in man and monkeys, and to a
less specialized degree in swine, the incisors are of moderate and
nearly equal size; the canines, if enlarged, serve for other purposes
than holding prey, and such enlargement is usually confined to those
of the males; while the cheek-teeth have broad flattened crowns
surmounted by rounded bosses, or tubercles.
In the herbivorous modification, as seen in three distinct phases in
the horse, the kangaroo, and in ruminants, the incisors are generally
well developed in one or both jaws, and have a nipping action, either
against one another or against a toothless hard pad in the upper jaw;
while the canines are usually small or absent, at least in the upper
jaw, but in the lower jaw may be approximated and assimilated to the
incisors. The cheek-teeth are large, with broad flattened crowns
surmounted either by simple transverse ridges, or complicated by
elevations and infoldings. In the specialized forms the premolars tend
to become more or less completely like the molars; and, contrary to
what obtains among the Carnivora, the whole series of cheek-teeth
(with the occasional exception of the first) is very strongly
developed.
Opinions differ as to the mode in which the more complicated
cheek-teeth of mammals have been evolved from a simpler type of tooth.
According to one theory, this has been brought about by the fusion of
two or more teeth of a simple conical type to form a compound tooth. A
more generally accepted view--especially among palaeontologists--is
the tritubercular theory, according to which the most generalized type
of tooth consists of three cusps arranged in a triangle, with the apex
pointing inwards in the teeth of the upper jaw. Additions of extra
cusps form teeth of a more complicated type. Each cusp of the
primitive triangle has received a separate name, both in the teeth of
the upper and of the lower jaw, while names have also been assigned to
super-added cusps. Molar teeth of the simple tritubercular type
persist in the golden moles (_Chrysochloris_) among the Insectivora
and also in the marsupial mole (_Notoryctes_) among the marsupials.
The type is, moreover, common among the mammals of the early Eocene,
and still more so in those of the Jurassic epoch; this forming one of
the strongest arguments in favour of the tritubercular theory. (See
Professor H. F. Osborn, "Palaeontological Evidence for the Original
Tritubercular Theory," in vol. xvii. (new series) of the _American
Journal of Science_, 1904.)
_Digestive System._--As already mentioned, mammals are specially
characterized by the division of the body-cavity into two main
chambers, by means of the horizontal muscular partition known as the
diaphragm, which is perforated by the great blood-vessels and the
alimentary tube. The mouth of the great majority of mammals is
peculiar for being guarded by thick fleshy lips, which are, however,
absent in the Cetacea; their principal function being to seize the
food, for which purpose they are endowed, as a rule, with more or less
strongly marked prehensile power. The roof of the mouth is formed by
the palate, terminating behind by a muscular, contractile arch, having
in man and a few other species a median projection called the uvula,
beneath which the mouth communicates with the pharynx. The anterior
part of the palate is composed of mucous membrane tightly stretched
over the flat or slightly concave bony layer which separates the mouth
from the nasal passages, and is generally raised into a series of
transverse ridges, which sometimes, as in ruminants, attain a
considerable development. In the floor of the mouth, between the two
branches of the lower jaw, and supported behind by the hyoid
apparatus, lies the tongue, an organ the free surface of which,
especially in its posterior part, is devoted to the sense of taste,
but which by reason of its great mobility (being composed almost
entirely of muscular fibres) performs important mechanical functions
connected with masticating and procuring food. Its modifications of
form in different mammals are numerous. Between the long, extensile,
worm-like tongue of the anteaters, essential to the peculiar mode of
feeding of those animals, and the short, immovable and almost
functionless tongue of the porpoise, every intermediate condition is
found. Whatever the form, the upper surface is, however, covered with
numerous fine papillae, in which the terminal filaments of the
taste-nerve are distributed. In some mammals, notably lemurs, occurs a
hard structure known as the sublingua, which may terminate in a free
horny tip. If, as has been suggested, this organ represents the tongue
of reptiles, the mammalian tongue will obviously be a super-added
organ distinctive of the class.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Diagrammatic Plan of the general arrangement
of the Alimentary Canal in a typical Mammal.
o, oesophagus;
st, stomach;
p, pylorus;
ss, small intestine (abbreviated);
c, caecum;
ll, large intestine or
colon, ending in
r, the rectum.]
Salivary glands, of which the most constant are the parotid and the
submaxillary, are always present in terrestrial mammals. Next in
constancy are the "sublingual," closely associated with the
last-named, at all events in the locality in which the secretion is
poured out; and the "zygomatic," found only in some mammals in the
cheek, just under cover of the anterior part of the zygomatic arch,
the duct entering the mouth-cavity near that of the parotid.
The alimentary, or intestinal, canal varies greatly in relative length
and capacity in different mammals, and also offers manifold
peculiarities of form, being sometimes a simple cylindrical tube of
nearly uniform calibre throughout, but more often subject to
alterations of form and capacity in different portions of its
course--the most characteristic and constant being the division into
an upper and narrower and a lower and wider portion, called
respectively the small and the large intestine; the former being
arbitrarily divided into duodenum, jejunum and ileum, and the latter
into colon and rectum. One of the most striking peculiarities of this
part of the canal is the frequent presence of a blind pouch, "caecum,"
situated at the junction of the large and the small intestine. Their
structure presents an immense variety of development, from the
smallest bulging of a portion of the side-wall of the tube to a huge
and complex sac, greatly exceeding in capacity the remainder of the
alimentary canal. It is only in herbivorous mammals that the caecum is
developed to this great extent, and among these there is a
complementary relationship between the size and complexity of the
organ and that of the stomach. Where the latter is simple the caecum
is generally the largest, and vice versa. In vol. xvii. (1905) of the
_Transactions_ of the Zoological Society of London, Dr P. Chalmers
Mitchell has identified the paired caeca, or blind appendages, of the
intestine of birds with the usually single caecum of mammals. These
caeca occur in birds (as in mammals) at the junction of the small with
the large intestine; and while in ordinary perching-birds they are
reduced to small nipple-like buds of no functional importance, in many
other birds--owls for instance--they form quite long receptacles.
Among mammals, the horse and the dog may be cited as instances where
the single caecum is of large size, this being especially the case of
the former, where it is of enormous dimensions; in human beings, on
the other hand, the caecum is rudimentary, and best known in connexion
with "appendicitis." The existence of paired caeca was previously
known in a few armadillos and anteaters, but Dr Mitchell has shown
that they are common in these groups, while he has also recorded their
occurrence in the hyrax and the manati. With the aid of these
instances of paired caeca, coupled with the frequent existence of a
rudiment of its missing fellow when only one is functional, the author
has been enabled to demonstrate conclusively that these double organs
in birds correspond in relations with their normally single
representative in mammals.
In mammals both caecum and colon are often sacculated, a disposition
caused by the arrangement of the longitudinal bands of muscular tissue
in their walls; but the small intestine is always smooth and
simple-walled externally, though its lining membrane often exhibits
contrivances for increasing the absorbing surface without adding to
the general bulk of the organ, such as the numerous small tags, or
"villi," by which it is everywhere beset, and the more obvious
transverse, longitudinal, or reticulating folds projecting into the
interior, met with in many animals, of which the "valvulae
conniventes" of man form well-known examples. Besides the crypts of
Lieberkühn found throughout the intestinal canal, and the glands of
Brunner confined to the duodenum, there are other structures in the
mucous membrane, about the nature of which there is still much
uncertainty, called "solitary" and "agminated" glands, the latter more
commonly known by the name of "Peyer's patches." Of the liver little
need be said, except that in all living mammals it has been divided
into a number of distinct lobes, which have received separate names.
It has, indeed, been suggested that in the earlier mammals the liver
was a simple undivided organ. This, however, is denied by G. Ruge
(vol. xxix. of Gegenbaur's _Morphologisches Jahrbuch_).
_Origin of Mammals._--That mammals have become differentiated from a
lower type of vertebrates at least as early as the commencement of the
Jurassic period is abundantly testified by the occurrence of the remains
of small species in strata of that epoch, some of which are mentioned in
the articles MARSUPIALIA and MONOTREMATA (q.v.). Possibly mammalian
remains also occur in the antecedent Triassic epoch, some
palaeontologists regarding the South African _Tritylodon_ as a mammal,
while others consider that it was probably a reptile. Whatever may be
the true state of the case with regard to that animal probably also
holds good in the case of the approximately contemporaneous European
_Microlestes_. Of the European Jurassic (or Oolitic) mammals our
knowledge is unfortunately very imperfect; and from the scarcity of
their remains it is quite probable that they are merely stragglers from
the region (possibly Africa) where the class was first differentiated.
It is not till the early Eocene that mammals become a dominant type in
the northern hemisphere.
It is now practically certain that mammals are descended from reptiles.
Dr H. Gadow, in a paper on the origin of mammals contributed to the
_Zeitschrift für Morphologie_, sums up as follows: "Mammals are
descendants of reptiles as surely as they [the latter] have been evolved
from Amphibia. This does not mean that any of the living groups of
reptiles can claim their honour of ancestry, but it means that the
mammals have branched where the principal reptilian groups meet, and
that is a long way back. The Theromorpha, especially small Theriodontia,
alone show us what these creatures were like." It may be explained that
the Theromorpha, or Anomodontia, are those extinct reptiles so common in
the early Secondary (Triassic) deposits of South Africa, some of which
present a remarkable resemblance in their dentition and skeleton to
mammals, while others come equally near amphibians. A difficulty
naturally arises with regard to the fact that in reptiles the occipital
condyle by which the skull articulates with the vertebral column is
single, although composed of three elements, whereas in amphibians and
mammals the articulation is formed by a pair of condyles. Nevertheless,
according to Professor H. F. Osborn, the tripartite reptilian condyle,
by the loss of its median element, has given rise to the paired
mammalian condyles; so that this difficulty disappears. The fate of the
reptilian quadrate bone (which is reduced to very small dimensions in
the Anomodontia) has been referred to in an earlier section of the
present article, where some mention has also been made of the
disappearance in mammals of the hinder elements of the reptilian lower
jaw, so as to leave the single bone (dentary) of each half of this part
of the skeleton in mammals.
Most of the earliest known mammals appear to be related to the
Marsupialia and Insectivora. Others however (inclusive of _Tritylodon_
and _Microlestes_, if they be really mammals), seem nearer to the
Monotremata; and the question has yet to be decided whether placentals
and marsupials on the one hand, and monotremes on the other are not
independently derived from reptilian ancestors.
With regard to the evolution of marsupials and placentals, it has been
pointed out that the majority of modern marsupials exhibit in the
structure of their feet traces of the former opposability of the thumb
and great toe to the other digits; and it has accordingly been argued
that all marsupials are descended from arboreal ancestors. This doctrine
is now receiving widespread acceptation among anatomical naturalists;
and in the _American Naturalist_ for 1904, Dr W. D. Matthew, an American
palaeontologist, considers himself provisionally justified in so
extending it as to include all mammals. That is to say, he believes
that, with the exception of the duckbill and the echidna, the mammalian
class as a whole can lay claim to descent from small arboreal forms.
This view is, of course, almost entirely based upon palaeontological
considerations; and these, in the author's opinion, admit of the
conclusion that all modern placental and marsupial mammals are descended
from a common ancestral stock, of which the members were small in bodily
size. These ancestral mammals, in addition to their small size, were
characterized by the presence of five toes to each foot, of which the
first was more or less completely opposable to the other four. The
evidence in favour of this primitive opposability is considerable. In
all the groups which are at present arboreal, the palaeontological
evidence goes to show that their ancestors were likewise so; while
since, in the case of modern terrestrial forms, the structure of the
wrist and ankle joints tends to approximate to the arboreal type, as we
recede in time, the available evidence, so far as it goes, is in favour
of Dr Matthew's contention.
The same author also discusses the proposition from another standpoint,
namely, the condition of the earth's surface in Cretaceous times. His
theory is that in the early Cretaceous epoch the animals of the world
were mostly aerial, amphibious, aquatic or arboreal; the flora of the
land being undeveloped as compared with its present state. On the other
hand, towards the close of the Cretaceous epoch (when the Chalk was in
course of deposition), the spread of a great upland flora vastly
extended the territory available for mammalian life. Accordingly, it was
at this epoch that the small ancestral insectivorous mammals first
forsook their arboreal habitat to try a life on the open plains, where
their descendants developed on the one hand into the carnivorous and
other groups, in which the toes are armed with nails or claws, and on
the other into the hoofed group, inclusive of such monsters as the
elephant and the giraffe. The hypothesis is not free from certain
difficulties, one of which will be noticed later.
_Classification._--Existing mammals may be primarily divided into three
main groups, or subclasses, of which the second and third are much more
closely related to one another than is either of them to the first.
These three classes are the Monotremata (or Prototheria), the
Marsupialia (Didelphia, or Metatheria), and the Placentalia
(Monodelphia, or Eutheria); the distinctive characters of each being
given in separate articles (see MONOTREMATA, MARSUPIALIA and
MONODELPHIA.)
The existing monotremes and marsupials are each represented only by a
single order; but the placentals are divided into the following
ordinal and subordinal groups, those which are extinct being marked
with an asterisk (*):--
1. Insectivora (Moles, Hedgehogs, &c.).
2. Chiroptera (Bats).
3. Dermoptera (Colugo, or Flying Lemur).
4. Edentata:--
a. Xenarthra (Anteaters, Sloths and Armadillos).
b. Pholidota (Pangolins).
c. Tubulidentata (Ant-bears, or Aard-varks).
5. Rodentia (Gnawing Mammals):--
a. Duplicidentata (Hares and Picas).
b. Simplicidentata (Rats, Beavers, &c.).
6. *Tillodontia (_Tillotherium_).
7. Carnivora:--
a. Fissipedia (Cats, Dogs, Bears, &c.).
b. Pinnipedia (Seals and Walruses).
c. *Creodonta (_Hyaenodon_, &c.).
8. Cetacea (Whales and Dolphins):--
a. *Archaeoceti (_Zeuglodon_, &c.).
b. Odontoceti (Spermwhales and Dolphins).
c. Mystacoceti (Whalebone Whales).
9. Sirenia (Dugongs and Manatis).
10. Ungulata (Hoofed Mammals):--
a. Proboscidea (Elephants and Mastodons).
b. Hyracoidea (Hyraxes).
c. *Barypoda (_Arsinöitherium_).
d. *Toxodontia (_Toxodon_, &c.).
e. *Amblypoda (_Uintatherium_, &c.).
f. *Litopterna (_Macrauchenia_, &c.).
g. *Ancylopoda (_Chalicotherium_, &c.).
h. *Condylarthra (_Phenacodus_, &c.).
i. Perissodactyla (Tapirs, Horses, &c.).
j. Artiodactyla (Ruminants, Swine, &c.).
11. Primates:--
a. Prosimiae (Lemurs and Galagos).
b. Anthropoidea (Monkeys, Apes and Man).
Separate articles are devoted to each of these orders, where
references will be found to other articles dealing with some of the
minor groups and a number of the more representative species.
_Relationships of the Groups._--As we recede in time we find the
extinct representatives of many of these orders approximating more and
more closely to a common generalized type, so that in a large number
of early Eocene forms it is often difficult to decide to which group
they should be assigned.
The Insectivora are certainly the lowest group of existing placental
mammals, and exhibit many signs of affinity with marsupials; they may
even be a more generalized group than the latter. From the Insectivora
the bats, or Chiroptera, are evidently a specialized lateral offshoot;
while the Dermoptera may be another branch from the same stock. As to
the Edentata, it is still a matter of uncertainty whether the
pangolins (Pholidota) and the ant-bears (Tubulidentata) are rightly
referred to an order typically represented by the sloths, anteaters,
and armadillos of South and Central America, or whether the two
first-named groups have any close relationship with one another. Much
uncertainty prevails with regard to the ancestry of the group as a
whole, although some of the earlier South American forms have a
comparatively full series of teeth, which are also of a less
degenerate type than those of their modern representatives.
An almost equal degree of doubt obtains with regard to the ancestry of
that very compact and well-defined group the Rodentia. If, however,
the so-called Proglires of the lower Eocene are really ancestral
rodents, the order is brought into comparatively close connexion with
the early generalized types of clawed, or unguiculate mammals. Whether
the extinct Tillodontia are most nearly allied to the Rodentia, the
Carnivore or the Ungulata, and whether they are really entitled to
constitute an ordinal group by themselves, must remain for the present
open questions.
The Carnivora, as represented by the (mainly) Eocene Creodonta, are
evidently an ancient and generalized type. As regards the number and
form of their permanent teeth, at any rate, creodonts present such a
marked similarity to carnivorous marsupials, that it is difficult to
believe the two groups are not allied, although the nature of the
relationship is not yet understood, and the minute internal structure
of the teeth is unlike that of marsupials and similar to that of
modern Carnivora. There is the further possibility that creodonts may
be directly descended from the carnivorous reptiles; a descent which
if proved might introduce some difficulty with regard to the
above-mentioned theory as to the arboreal ancestry of mammals
generally. Be this as it may, there can be little doubt that the
creodonts are related to the Insectivora, which, as stated above, show
decided signs of kinship with the marsupials.
A much more interesting relationship of the creodont carnivora has,
however, been established on the evidence of recent discoveries in
Egypt. From remains of Eocene age in that country Dr E. Fraas, of
Stuttgart, has demonstrated the derivation of the whale-like
_Zeuglodon_ from the creodonts. Dr C. E. Andrews has, moreover, not
only brought forward additional evidence in favour of this most
remarkable line of descent, but is confident--which Professor Fraas
was not--that _Zeuglodon_ itself is an ancestral cetacean, and
consequently that whales are the highly modified descendants of
creodonts. It must be admitted, however, that the links between
_Zeuglodon_ and typical cetaceans are at present unknown; but it may
be hoped that these will be eventually brought to light from the
deposits of the Mokattam Range, near Cairo. Whales and dolphins being
thus demonstrated to be nothing more than highly modified Carnivora,
might almost be included in the same ordinal group.
An analogous statement may be made with regard to the sea-cows, or
Sirenia, which appear to be derivates from the great herbivorous order
of Ungulata, and might consequently be included in that group, as
indeed has been already done in Dr Max Weber's classification. It is
with the proboscidean suborder of the Ungulata to which the Sirenia
are most nearly related; the nature of this relationship being
described by Dr Andrews as follows:--
"In the first place, the occurrence of the most primitive Sirenians
with which we are acquainted in the same region as the most
generalized proboscidean, _Moeritherium_, is in favour of such a view,
and this is further supported by the similarity of the brain-structure
and, to some extent, of the pelvis in the earliest-known members of
the two groups. Moreover, in the anatomy of the soft-parts of the
recent forms there are a number of remarkable points of resemblance.
Among the common characters may be noted the possession of: (1)
pectoral mammae; (2) abdominal testes; (3) a bifid apex of the heart;
(4) bilophodont molars with a tendency to the formation of an
additional lobe from the posterior part of the cingulum. The peculiar
mode of displacement of the teeth from behind forwards in some members
of both groups may perhaps indicate a relationship, although in the
case of the Sirenia the replacement takes place by means of a
succession of similar molars, while in the Proboscidea the molars
remain the same numerically, but increase greatly in size and number
of transverse ridges."
These and certain other facts referred to by the same author point to
the conclusion that not only are the Sirenia and the Proboscidea
derived from a single ancestral stock, but that the Hyracoidea--and so
_Arsinöitherium_--are also derivatives from the same stock, which must
necessarily have been Ethiopian.
Of the other suborders of ungulates, the Toxodontia and Litopterna are
exclusively South American, and while the former may possibly be
related to the Hyracoidea and Barypoda, the latter is perhaps more
nearly akin to the Perissodactyla. The Amblypoda, on the other hand,
are perhaps not far removed from the ancestral Proboscidea, which
depart comparatively little from the generalized ungulate type. The
latter is represented by the Eocene Condylarthra, which undoubtedly
gave rise to the Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla, and probably to
most, if not all, of the other groups. The Condylarthra, in their
turn, approximate closely to the ancestral Carnivora, as they also do
in some degree to the ancestral Primates. As regards the latter order,
although we are at present unacquainted with all the connecting links
between the lemurs and the monkeys, there is little doubt that the
ancestors of the former represent the stock from which the latter have
originated. C. D. Earle, in the _American Naturalist_ for 1897,
observes that "so far as the palaeontological evidence goes it is
decidedly in favour of the view that apes and lemurs are closely
related. Beginning with the earliest known lemur, _Anaptomorphus_,
this genus shows tendencies towards the anthropoids, and, when we pass
up into the Oligocene of the Old World, _Adapis_ is a decidedly mixed
type, and probably not far from the common stem-form which gave origin
to both suborders of the Primates. In regard to _Tarsius_, it is
evidently a type nearly between the lemurs and apes, but with many
essential characters belonging to the former group."
_Distribution._--For an account of the "realms" and "regions" into which
the surface of the globe has been divided by those who have made a
special study of the geographical distribution of animals, see
ZOOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION. For the purposes of such zoo-geographical
divisions, mammals are much better adapted than birds, owing to their
much more limited powers of dispersal; most of them (exclusive of the
purely aquatic forms, such as seals, whales, dolphins and sea-cows)
being unable to cross anything more than a very narrow arm of the sea.
Consequently, the presence of nearly allied groups of mammals in areas
now separated by considerable stretches of sea proves that at no very
distant date such tracts must have had a land-connexion. In the case of
the southern continents the difficulty is, however, to determine whether
allied groups of mammals (and other animals) have reached their present
isolated habitats by dispersal from the north along widely sundered
longitudinal lines, or whether such a distribution implies the former
existence of equatorial land-connexions. It may be added that even bats
are unable to cross large tracts of sea; and the fact that fruit-bats of
the genus _Pteropus_ are found in Madagascar and the Seychelles, as well
as in India, while they are absent from Africa, is held to be an
important link in the chain of evidence demonstrating a former
land-connexion between Madagascar and India.
There is another point of view from which mammals are of especial
importance in regard to geographical distribution, namely their
comparatively late rise and dispersal, or "radiation," as compared with
reptiles.
As regards terrestrial mammals (with which alone we are at present
concerned), one of the most striking features in their distribution is
their practical absence from oceanic islands; the only species found in
such localities being either small forms which might have been carried
on floating timber, or such as have been introduced by human agency.
This absence of mammalian life in oceanic islands extends even to New
Zealand, where the indigenous mammals comprise only two peculiar species
of bats, the so-called Maori rat having been introduced by man.
One of the leading features in mammalian distribution is the fact that
the Monotremata, or egg-laying mammals, are exclusively confined to
Australia and Papua, with the adjacent islands. The marsupials also
attain their maximum development in Australia ("Notogaea" of the
distributionists), extending, however, as far west as Celebes and the
Moluccas, although in these islands they form an insignificant
minority among an extensive placental fauna, being represented only by
the cuscuses (_Phalanger_), a group unknown in either Papua or
Australia. Very different, on the other hand, is the condition of
things in Australia and Papua, where marsupials (and monotremes) are
the dominant forms of mammalian life, the placentals being represented
(apart from bats, which are mainly of an Asiatic type) only by a
number of more or less aberrant rodents belonging to the mouse-tribe,
and in Australia by the dingo, or native dog, and in New Guinea by a
wild pig. The dingo was, however, almost certainly brought from Asia
by the ancestors of the modern natives; while the Papuan pig is also
in all probability a human introduction, very likely of much later
date. The origin of the Australasian fauna is a question pertaining to
the article ZOOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION. The remaining marsupials (namely
the families _Didelphyidae_ and _Epanorthidae_) are American, and
mainly South and Central American at the present day; although during
the early part of the Tertiary period representatives of the
first-named family ranged all over the northern hemisphere.
The Insectivora (except a few shrews which have entered from the
north) are absent from South America, and appear to have been mainly
an Old World group, the only forms which have entered North America
being the shrew-mice (_Soricidae_) and moles (_Talpidae_). The
occurrence of one aberrant group (_Solenodon_) in the West Indies is,
however, noteworthy. The family with the widest distribution is the
_Soricidae_, the _Talpidae_ being unknown in Africa. The tree-shrews
(_Tupaiidae_) are exclusively Asiatic, whereas the jumping-shrews
(_Macroscelididae_) are equally characteristic of the African
continent. Madagascar is the sole habitat of the tenrecs
(_Centetidae_), as is Southern Africa of the golden moles
(_Chrysochloridae_). It is, however, important to mention that an
extinct South American insectivore, _Necrolestes_, has been referred
to the family last mentioned; and even if this reference should not be
confirmed in the future, the occurrence of a representative of the
order in Patagonia is a fact of considerable importance in
distribution.
The Rodentia have a wider geographical range than any other order of
terrestrial mammals, being, as already mentioned, represented by
numerous members of the mouse-tribe (_Muridae_) even in Australasia.
With the remarkable exception of Madagascar, where it is represented
by the _Nesomyidae_, that family has thus a cosmopolitan distribution.
Very noteworthy is the fact that, with the exception of Madagascar
(and of course Australia) the squirrel family (_Sciuridae_) is also
found in all parts of the world. Precisely the same may be said of the
hares, which, however, become scarce in South America. On the other
hand, the scaly-tailed squirrels (_Anomaluridae_), the jumping-hares
(_Pedetidae_), and the strand-moles (_Bathyergidae_) are exclusively
African; while the sewellels (_Haplodontidae_) and the pocket-gophers
(_Geomyidae_) are as characteristically North American, although a few
members of the latter have reached Central America. The beavers
(_Castoridae_) are restricted to the northern hemisphere, whereas the
dormice (_Gliridae_) and the mole-rats (_Spalacidae_) are exclusively
Old World forms, the latter only entering the north of Africa, in
which continent the former are largely developed. The jerboa group
(_Dipodidae_, or _Jaculidae_) is also mainly an Old World type,
although its aberrant representatives the jumping-mice (_Zapus_) have
effected an entrance into Arctic North America. Porcupines enjoy a
very wide range, being represented throughout the warmer parts of the
Old World, with the exception of Madagascar (and of course
Australasia), by the _Hystricidae_, and in the New World by the
_Erethizontidae_. Of the remaining families of the Simplicidentata,
all are southern, the cavies (_Caviidae_), chinchillas
(_Chinchillidae_), and degus (_Octodontidae_) being Central and South
American, while the _Capromyidae_ are common to southern America and
Africa, and the _Ctenodactylidae_ are exclusively African. The near
alliance of all these southern families, and the absence of so many
Old World families from Madagascar form two of the most striking
features in the distribution of the order. Lastly, among the
Duplicidentata, the picas (_Ochotonidae_ or _Lagomyidae_) form a group
confined to the colder or mountainous regions of the northern
hemisphere.
Among the existing land Carnivora (of which no representatives except
the introduced dingo are found in Australasia) the cat-tribe
(_Felidae_) has now an almost cosmopolitan range, although it only
reached South America at a comparatively recent date. Its original
home was probably in the northern hemisphere; and it has no
representatives in Madagascar. The civet-tribe (_Viverridae_), on the
other hand, which is exclusively an Old World group, is abundant in
Madagascar, where it is represented by peculiar and aberrant types.
The hyenas (_Hyaenidae_), at any rate at the present day, to which
consideration is mainly limited, are likewise Old World. The dog-tribe
(_Canidae_), on the other hand, are, with the exception of Madagascar,
an almost cosmopolitan group. Their place of origin was, however,
almost entirely in the northern hemisphere, and not improbably in some
part of the Old World, where they gave rise to the bears (_Ursidae_).
The latter are abundant throughout the northern hemisphere, and have
even succeeded in penetrating into South America, but, with the
exception of the Mediterranean zone, have never succeeded in entering
Africa, and are therefore of course unknown in Madagascar. The raccoon
group (_Procyonidae_) is mainly American, being represented in the Old
World only by the pandas (_Aelurus_ and _Aeluropus_), of which the
latter apparently exhibits some affinity to the bears. The birthplace
of the group was evidently in the northern hemisphere--possibly in
east Central Asia. The weasel-tribe (_Mustelidae_) is clearly a
northern group, which has, however, succeeded in penetrating into
South America and Africa, although it has never reached Madagascar.
The extinct creodonts, especially if they be the direct descendants of
the anomodont reptiles, may have originated in Africa, although they
are at present known in that continent only from the Fayum district.
Elsewhere they occur in South America and throughout a large part of
the northern hemisphere, where they appear to have survived in India
to the later Oligocene or Miocene.
In the case of the great order, or assemblage, of Ungulata it is
necessary to pay somewhat more attention to fossil forms, since a
considerable number of groups are either altogether extinct or largely
on the wane.
So far as is at present known, the earliest and most primitive group,
the Condylarthra, is a northern one, but whether first developed in
the eastern or the western hemisphere there is no sufficient evidence.
The more or less specialized Litopterna and Toxodontia, as severally
typified by the macrauchenia and the toxodon, are, on the other hand,
exclusively South American. With the primitive five-toed Amblypoda, as
represented by the coryphodon, we again reach a northern group, common
to the two hemispheres; but there is not improbably some connexion
between this group and the much more specialized Barypoda, as
represented by _Arsinöitherium_, of Africa. The Ancylopoda, again,
typified by _Chalicotherium_, and characterized by the claw-like
character of the digits, are probably another northern group, common
to the eastern and western hemispheres.
Recent discoveries have demonstrated the African origin of the
elephants (Proboscidea) and hyraxes (Hyracoidea), the latter group
being still indeed mainly African, and in past times also limited to
Africa and the Mediterranean countries. As regards the elephants (now
restricted to Africa and tropical Asia), there appears to be evidence
that the ancestral mastodons, after having developed from African
forms probably not very far removed from the Amblypoda, migrated into
Asia, where they gave rise to the true elephants. Thence both
elephants and mastodons reached North America by the Bering Sea route;
while the former, which arrived earlier than the latter, eventually
penetrated into South America.
The now waning group of Perissodactyla would appear to have originally
been a northern one, as all the three existing families, rhinoceroses
(_Rhinocerotidae_), tapirs (_Tapiridae_), and horses (_Equidae_), are
well represented in the Tertiaries of both halves of the northern
hemisphere. If eastern Central Asia were tentatively given as the
centre of radiation of the group, this might perhaps best accord with
the nature of the case. Rhinoceroses disappeared comparatively early
from the New World, and never reached South America. In Siberia and
northern Europe species of an African type survived till a
comparatively late epoch, so that the present relegation of the group
to tropical Asia and Africa may be regarded as a modern feature in
distribution. Horses, now unknown in a wild state in the New World,
although still widely spread in the Old, attained a more extensive
range in past times, having successfully invaded South America. On the
other hand, in common with the rest of the Perissodactyla, they never
reached Madagascar. In addition to the occurrence of their fossil
remains almost throughout the world, the former wide range of the
tapirs is attested by the fact of their living representatives being
confined to such widely sundered areas as Malaysia and tropical
America.
The Artiodactyla are the only group of ungulates known to have been
represented in Madagascar; but since both these Malagasy forms--namely
two hippopotamuses (now extinct) and a river-hog--are capable of
swimming, it is most probable that they reached the island by crossing
the Mozambique Channel. As regards the deer-family (_Cervidae_), which
is unknown in Africa south of the Sahara, it is quite evident that it
originated in the northern half of the Old World, whence it reached
North America by the Bering Sea route, and eventually travelled into
South America. More light is required with regard to the past history
of the giraffe-family (_Giraffidae_), which includes the African okapi
and the extinct Indian _Sivatherium_, and is unknown in the New World.
Possibly, however, its birthplace may prove to be Africa; if so, we
shall have a case analogous to that of the African elephant, namely
that while giraffes flourished during the Pliocene in Asia (where
they may have originated), they survive only in Africa. An African
origin has also been suggested for the hollow-horned ruminants
(_Bovidae_); and if this were substantiated it would explain the
abundance of that family in Africa and the absence from the heart of
that continent of the deer-tribe. Some confirmation of this theory is
afforded by the fact that whereas we can recognize ancestral deer in
the Tertiaries of Europe we cannot point with certainty to the
forerunners of the _Bovidae_. Whether its birthplace was in Africa or
to the north, it is, however, clear that the hollow-horned ruminants
are essentially an Old World group, which only effected an entrance
into North America at a comparatively recent date, and never succeeded
in reaching South America. So far as it goes, this fact is also in
favour of the African ancestry of the group.
The _Antilocapridae_ (prongbuck), whose relationships appear to be
rather with the _Cervidae_ than with the _Bovidae_, are on the other
hand apparently a North American group. The chevrotains
(_Tragulidae_), now surviving only in West and Central Africa and
tropical Asia, are conversely a purely Old World group.
The camels (_Tylopoda_) certainly originated in the northern
hemisphere, but although their birthplace has been confidently claimed
for North America, an equal, if not stronger, claim may be made on the
part of Central Asia. From the latter area, where wild camels still
exist, the group may be assumed to have made its way at an early
period into North America; whence, at a much later date, it finally
penetrated into South America. In the Old World it seems to have
reached the fringe of the African continent, where its wanderings in a
wild state were stayed.
The pigs (_Suidae_) and the hippopotamuses (_Hippopotamidae_) are
essentially Old World groups, the former of which has alone succeeded
in reaching America, where it is represented by the collateral branch
of the peccaries (_Dicotylinae_). An African origin would well explain
the present distribution of both groups, but further evidence on this
point is required before anything decisive can be affirmed, although
it is noteworthy that the earliest known pig (_Geniohyus_) is African.
The Suinae are at present spread all over the Old World, although the
African forms (other than the one from the north) are markedly
distinct from those inhabiting Europe and Asia. Hippopotamuses, on the
contrary, are now exclusively African, although they were represented
in tropical Asia during the Pliocene and over the greater part of
Europe at a later epoch.
A brief notice with regard to the distribution of the Primates must
suffice, as their past history is too imperfectly known to admit of
generalizations being drawn. The main facts at the present day are,
firstly, the restriction of the Prosimiae, or lemurs, to the warmer
parts of the Old World, and their special abundance in Madagascar
(where other Primates are wanting); and, secondly, the wide structural
distinction between the monkeys of tropical America (Platyrrhina), and
the Old World monkeys and apes, or Catarrhina. It is, however,
noteworthy that extinct lemurs occur in the Tertiary deposits of both
halves of the northern hemisphere--a fact which has induced Dr J. L.
Wortman to suggest a polar origin for the entire group--a view we are
not yet prepared to endorse. For the distribution of the various
families and genera the reader may be referred to the article
PRIMATES; and it will suffice to mention here that while chimpanzees
and baboons are now restricted to Africa and (in the case of the
latter group) Arabia, they formerly occurred in India.
As regards aquatic mammals, the greater number of the Cetacea, or
whales and dolphins, have, as might be expected, a very wide
distribution in the ocean. A few, on the other hand, have a very
restricted range, the Greenland right whale (_Balaena mysticetus_)
being, for instance, limited to the zone of the northern circumpolar
ice, while no corresponding species occurs in the southern hemisphere.
In this case, not only temperature, but also the peculiar mode of
feeding, may be the cause. The narwhal and the beluga have a very
similar distribution, though the latter occasionally ranges farther
south. The bottle-noses (_Hyperöodon_) are restricted to the North
Atlantic, never entering, so far as known, the tropical seas. Other
species are exclusively tropical or austral in their range. The pigmy
whale (_Neobalaena marginata_), for instance, has only been met with
in the seas round Australia, New Zealand and South America, while a
beaked whale (_Berardius arnouxi_) appears to be confined to the New
Zealand seas.
The Cetacea, however, are by no means limited to the ocean, or even to
salt water, some entering large rivers for considerable distances, and
others being exclusively fluviatile. The susu (_Platanista_) is, for
instance, extensively distributed throughout nearly the whole of the
river systems of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Indus, ascending as high
as there is water enough to swim in, but apparently never passing out
to sea. The individuals inhabiting the Indus and the Ganges must
therefore have been for long ages isolated without developing any
distinctive anatomical characters, those by which _P. indi_ was
separated from _P. gangetica_ having been shown to be of no constant
value. _Orcella fluminalis_, again, appears to be limited to the
Irrawaddy; and at least two distinct species of dolphin, belonging to
different genera, are found in the Amazon. It is remarkable that none
of the great lakes or inland seas of the world is inhabited by
cetaceans.
The great difference in the manner of life of the sea-cows, or
Sirenia, as compared with that of the Cetacea, causes a corresponding
difference in their geographical distribution. Slow in their
movements, and feeding on vegetable substances, they are confined to
the neighbourhood of rivers, estuaries or coasts, although there is a
possibility of accidental transport by currents across considerable
distances. Of the three genera existing within historic times, one
(_Manatus_) is exclusively confined to the shores of the tropical
Atlantic and the rivers entering into it, individuals scarcely
specifically distinguishable being found both on the American and the
African. The dugong (_Halicore_) is distributed in different colonies,
at present isolated, throughout the Indian Ocean from Arabia to North
Australia; while the _Rhytina_ or northern sea-cow was, for some time
before its extinction, limited to a single island in the extreme north
of the Pacific Ocean.
The seals (_Pinnipedia_) although capable of traversing long reaches
of ocean, are less truly aquatic than the last two groups, always
resorting to the land or to ice-floes for breeding. The geographical
range of each species is generally more or less restricted, usually
according to climate, as they are mostly inhabitants either of the
Arctic or Antarctic seas and adjacent temperate regions, few being
found within the tropics. For this reason the northern and the
southern species are for the most part quite distinct. In fact, the
only known exception is the case of a colony of elephant-seals
(_Macrorhinus leoninus_), whose general range is in the southern
hemisphere, inhabiting the coast of California. In this case a
different specific name has been given to the northern form, but the
characters by which it is distinguished are of little importance, and
probably, except for the abnormal geographical distribution, would
never have been discovered. The most remarkable circumstance connected
with the distribution of seals is the presence of members of the order
in the three isolated great lakes or inland seas of Central Asia--the
Caspian, Aral and Baikal--which, notwithstanding their long isolation,
have varied but slightly from species now inhabiting the Polar Ocean.
AUTHORITIES.--The above article is partly based on that of Sir W. H.
Flower in the 9th edition of this work. The literature connected with
mammals is so extensive that all that can be attempted here is to
refer the reader to a few textbooks, with the aid of which, combined
with that of the annual volumes of the _Zoological Record_, he may
obtain such information on the subject as he may require: F. E.
Beddard, "Mammals," _The Cambridge Natural History_, vol. x. (1902);
W. H. Flower and R. Lydekker, _The Study of Mammals_ (London, 1891);
Max Weber, _Die Säugethiere_ (Jena, 1904); W. T. Blanford, _The Fauna
of British India--Mammalia_ (1888-1891); D. G. Elliot, _Synopsis of
the Mammals of North America_ (Chicago, 1901) and _The Mammals of
Middle America and the West Indies_ (Chicago, 1904); W. L. Sclater,
_The Fauna of South Africa--Mammals_ (Cape Town, 1901-1902); W. K.
Parker, _Mammalian Descent_ (London, 1885); E. Trouessart, _Catalogus
mammalium, tam viventium quam fossilium_ (Paris, 1898-1899); and
supplement, 1904-1905; T. S. Palmer, _Index generum mammalium_
(Washington, 1904); W. L. and P. L. Sclater, _The Geography of
Mammals_ (London, 1899); R. Lydekker, _A Geographical History of
Mammals_ (Cambridge, 1896). (W. H. F.; R. L.)
MAMMARY GLAND (Lat. _mamma_), or female breast, the organ by means of
which the young are suckled, and the possession of which, in some region
of the trunk, entitles the animal bearing it to a place in the order of
Mammalia.
_Anatomy._--In the human female the gland extends vertically from the
second to the sixth rib, and transversely from the edge of the sternum
to the mid axillary line; it is embedded in the fat superficial to the
pectoralis major muscle, and a process which extends toward the arm-pit
is sometimes called the axillary tail. A little below the centre of the
glandular swelling is the _nipple_, surrounding which is a pigmented
circular patch called the areola; this is studded with slight nodules,
which are the openings of areolar glands secreting an oily fluid to
protect the skin during suckling. During the second or third month of
pregnancy the areola becomes more or less deeply pigmented, but this to
a large extent passes off after lactation ceases. In structure the gland
consists of some fifteen to twenty lobules, each of which has a
_lactiferous duct_ opening at the summit of the nipple, and branching in
the substance of the gland to form secondary lobules, the walls of which
are lined by cubical epithelium in which the milk is secreted. These
secondary lobules project into the surrounding fat, so that it is
difficult to dissect out the gland cleanly. Before opening at the nipple
each lactiferous duct has a fusiform dilatation called the _ampulla_.
After the child-bearing period of life the breasts atrophy and tend to
become pendulous, while in some African races they are pendulous
throughout life. Variations in the mammary glands are common; often
the left breast is larger than the right, and in those rare cases in
which one breast is suppressed it is usually the right, though
suppression of the breast does not necessarily include absence of the
nipple.
[Illustration: (From A. F. Dixon, Cunningham's _Text Book of Anatomy_.)
FIG. 1.--Dissection of the Mammary Gland.]
_Supernumerary nipples and glands_ are not uncommon, and, when they
occur, are usually situated in the mammary line which extends from the
anterior axillary fold to the spine of the pubis; hence, when an extra
nipple appears above the normal one, it is external to it, but, when
below, it is nearer the middle line. The condition of extra breasts is
known as _polymasty_, that of extra nipples as _polythely_, and it is
interesting to notice that the latter is commoner in males than in
females. O. Ammon (quoted by Wiedersheim) records the case of a German
soldier who had four nipples on each side. These nipples in the human
subject are seldom found below the costal margin. In normal males the
breast structure is present, but rudimentary, though it is not very
rare to find instances of boys about puberty in whom a small amount of
milk is secreted, and one case at least is recorded of a man who
suckled a child. A functional condition of the mammary glands in men
is known as _gynaekomasty_. (For further details see _The Structure of
Man_, by R. Wiedersheim, translated by H. and M. Bernard, and edited
by G. B. Howes, London, 1895.)
_Embryology._--There is every probability that the mammary glands are
modified and hypertrophied sebaceous glands, and transitional stages
are seen in the areolar glands, which sometimes secrete milk. At an
early stage of foetal life a raised patch of ectoderm is seen, which
later on becomes a saucer-like depression; from the bottom of this
fifteen or twenty solid processes of cells, each presumably
representing a sebaceous gland, grow into the mesoderm which forms the
connective-tissue stroma of the mamma. Later on these processes
branch. The last stage is that the centre of the _mammary pit_ or
saucer-like depression once more grows up to form the nipple, and at
birth the processes become tubular, thus forming lactiferous ducts.
The glands grow little until the age of puberty, but their full
development is not reached until the birth of the first child.
_Comparative Anatomy._--In the lower Mammals the mammary line, already
mentioned, appears in the embryo as a ridge, and in those which have
many young at a birth patches of this develop in the thoracic and
abdominal regions to form the mammae, while the intervening parts of
the ridge disappear. The number of mammae is not constant in animals
of the same species; as an instance of this it will be found that in
the dog the number of nipples varies from seven to ten, though animals
with many nipples are more liable to variation than those with few.
When only a few young are produced at a time the mammae are few, and
it seems to depend on the convenience of suckling in which part of the
mammary line the glands are developed. In the pouched Mammals
(Monotremes and Marsupials) inguinal mammae are found, and so they are
in most Ungulates as well as in the Cetacea. In the elephants,
Sirenia, Chiroptera and most of the Primates, on the other hand, they
are confined to the pectoral region, and this is also the case in some
Rodents, e.g. the jumping hare (_Pedetes caffer_). In the monotremes
the mammary pit remains throughout life, and the milk is conducted
along the hairs to the young, but in other Mammals nipples are formed
in one of two ways. One is that already described in Man, which is
common to the Marsupials and Primates, while in the other the margin
or _vallum_ of the mammary pit grows up, and so forms a nipple with a
very deep pit, into the bottom of which the lactiferous ducts open.
The latter is regarded as the primary arrangement. In the monotremes
the mammae are looked upon, not as modified sebaceous glands, as in
other Mammals, but as altered sweat glands. It is further of interest
to notice that in these primitive Mammals the glands are equally
developed in both sexes, and it is thought that among the bats the
male often assists in suckling the young (see G. Dobson, _Brit. Museum
Cat. of the Chiroptera_, London, 1878). These facts, together with the
occasional occurrence of gynaekomasty in man, make it probable that
the ancestral Mammal was an animal in which both sexes helped in the
process of lactation.
For further details and literature up to 1906 see _Comparative Anatomy
of Vertebrates_, by R. Wiedersheim, adapted by W. N. Parker (1907),
and Bronn's _Classen und Ordnungen des Thierreichs_. (F. G. P.)
_Diseases of the Mammary Gland._--Inflammation of the breast
(_mastitis_) is apt to occur in a woman who is suckling, and is due to
the presence of septic micro-organisms, which, as a rule, have found
their way into the milk-ducts, the lymphatics or the veins, through a
crack, or other wound, in a nipple which has been made sore by the
infant's vigorous attempts to obtain food. Especially is this septic
inflammation apt to occur if the nipple is depressed, or so badly
formed that the infant has difficulty in feeding from it. The inflamed
breast is enlarged, tender and painful, and the skin over it is hot,
and perhaps too reddened. The woman feels ill and feverish, and she
may shiver, or have a definite rigor--which suggests that the
inflammation is running on to the formation of an abscess. The abscess
may be superficial to, or beneath, the breast, but it is usually
within the breast itself. The infant should at once be weaned, the
milk-tension being relieved by the breast-pump. Fomentations should be
applied under waterproof jaconette, and the breast should be evenly
supported by a bandage or by the corsets. Belladonna and glycerine
should be smeared over the breast, with the view of checking the
secretion of milk, as well as of easing pain. But before this is done
six or eight leeches may be applied. On the first indication that
matter is collecting, an incision should be made, for if the matter is
allowed to remain locked up in the breast tissue the abscess will
rapidly increase in size, and the whole of the breast may become
infected and destroyed. Supposing that, in making the incision, no pus
is discovered, the relief to the vascular tension thus afforded will
be nevertheless highly beneficial. The operation had better be done
under a general anaesthetic, so that the surgeon can introduce a
probe, or his finger, into the wound, breaking down the partitions
which are likely to exist between separate abscesses, and thus enable
them to be drained through the one opening. As the discharge begins to
cease, the tenderness subsides, and gentle massage, or firm strapping
of the breast, will prove useful. The general treatment will consist
in the administration of an aperient, and, the tongue being clean, in
prescribing such drugs as quinine, strychnia and iron. The diet should
be liberal, but not carried to such excess that the power of digestion
and absorption is overtaxed. During the early acute stage of the
disease small doses of morphia may be necessary. When the tongue has
cleaned, a little wine may be given with advantage.
_Chronic Eczema_ around the nipple of a woman late in life, with,
perhaps, localized ulceration, is known as _Paget's Disease_. The
importance of it is that cancerous infiltration is apt to pass from it
along the milk-ducts and to involve the breast in malignant disease.
Hence, when eczema about the nipple refuses to clear up under the
influence of soothing treatment, it is well to insist on the removal
of the entire breast. Sometimes this eczema is malignant from the
beginning, being associated with the active prolifization of the
epithelial cells of the milk-ducts, and with their escape into the
surrounding tissues. The nipple is retracted in most of these cases,
which, however, are not often met with.
_Chronic Mastitis_ is of frequent occurrence in women who are past
middle age. The part of the breast involved is enlarged, hard, and
more or less tender and painful. It is sometimes impossible clinically
to distinguish this disease from cancer. True, the tumour is not so
definite or so hard as a cancer, nor is it attached to the skin, nor
to the muscles of the chest wall, and if there are any glands
secondarily enlarged in the arm-pit they are not so hard as they may
be in cancer. But all these are questions of degree. It is, of course,
highly inadvisable to leave it to time to clear up the diagnosis, for
a chronic mastitis, innocent at first, may eventually become
cancerous. If in any case the difficulty of distinguishing a chronic
mastitis from a malignant tumour of the breast is insuperable, the
safest course is to remove the breast and have it examined by the
microscope. The suggestion, sometimes made, as to the preliminary
removal of a small piece of the tumour for examination is not to be
recommended.
A simple glandular tumour, _fibro-adenoma_, is apt to be found in the
breasts of youngish women, who may possibly give an account of some
blow or other injury; there may, however, be no history of injury. The
tumour is smooth, rounded or oval, and lies loose in the midst of the
breast; as a rule it is not tender. It is not associated with enlarged
glands in the arm-pit. The tumour had best be removed, though there is
no urgency about the operation, as the growth is absolutely innocent.
There is, however, no telling as to what course an innocent tumour of
the breast may take as middle age comes on.
_Cysts of the Breast._--A _galactocele_ is a tumour due to the locking
up of milk in a greatly dilated duct. Other forms of cystic disease
may be due to serous or hydatid fluid, or to thin pus, being
surrounded by fibrous walls. Such cysts are best treated by free
incision, and by passing a gauze dressing into their depths. If the
tissue is occupied by many cysts, the whole breast had better be
removed.
_Cancer of the Breast_ may be met with in men as well as in women; in
men, however, it is very rare. It is commonest in women between the
ages of forty and fifty. It is sometimes met with in women of twenty;
and the younger the individual the more malignant is the disease.
Married life seems to have no effect as regards the incidence of the
disease, but it often happens that a breast which gave trouble during
the period of suckling becomes later the subject of cancer; in other
cases there is a clear history of the attack having followed an
injury. It is, thus, as if inflammatory changes in the breast were the
direct cause of a later cancerous invasion. Though it is impossible to
affirm that heredity has a great influence in the incidence of cancer,
it is, nevertheless, remarkable that the members of certain families
are unusually prone to the disease.
The chief feature of a cancerous tumour of the breast is its great
hardness. The technical name for the growth is _scirrhus_ (Gr. [Greek:
skiros], or [Greek: skirros], any hard coat or covering, _stucco_),
from its stony hardness. The tumour consists of a dense framework of
fibrous tissue, with groups of cancer-cells in the spaces. The
malignancy of the disease depends upon the cells, not upon the fibrous
tissue. In young subjects the cells predominate, but in old ones the
contraction of the fibrous tissue throughout the breast compresses and
destroys the cells, and this sometimes to such an extent that there is
at last nothing left at the site but contracted fibrous tissue, all
trace of malignancy having disappeared. This variety of the disease is
found in old people, and is called _atrophic cancer_.
The cells of a cancerous breast are apt to be carried by the
lymphatics to the lymphatic glands in the arm-pit, and by the
bloodstream to the spinal column and to other parts of the skeleton,
and sometimes to the liver, which thus becomes large and hard, or to
the other breast.
As the fibrous tissue around the tumour becomes invaded by the new
growth it undergoes contraction (much as a string becomes shorter when
it is wetted), and as this shortening of the fibrous bands increases
the nipple may be retracted, and the breast may be closely bound down
to the chest-wall; and, further, the skin overlying the tumour may be
drawn in towards the tumour so as to form a conspicuous dimple. Later,
the nutrition of this patch of skin may be so interfered with that it
mortifies or breaks down, and thus a cancerous ulcer is produced. This
ulcer slowly spreads, and its floor is covered with a discharge in
which septic micro-organisms undergo cultivation; in this way the
ulcer becomes highly offensive. By the use of antiseptic lotions and a
frequent change of dressings, however, all unpleasant smell can be
checked or prevented. As the ulcer extends it is apt to implicate
large blood-vessels, so that serious, and sometimes alarming,
haemorrhages take place. And if the breast had previously been in
pain, the bleeding is likely to give great relief. But repeated
haemorrhages bring on increasing exhaustion, and thus materially
hasten the end.
There is at present only one trustworthy treatment for cancer, and
that is its free removal by operation. The entire breast and the
nipple must be sacrificed. At the present day the operation itself is
not a "dreadful" one. To be successful it must be very thorough, and
it must be done _early_. The patient, being under an anaesthetic,
feels nothing, and the subsequent dressings of the wound are attended
with scarcely any pain. There need be but a couple of days of
confinement to bed, and when the wound has soundly healed the patient
may be encouraged to use her arm. Should there be recurrence of
cancerous nodules in or about the wound, their removal should be
promptly and widely effected. The writer has records of one case in
which between the first operation and the last report there was a
space of over twenty-nine years, and another of fifteen years. Each of
these patients had one extensive operation, and four or five smaller
operations for dealing with recurrences. Each of them, however, might
be considered unlikely subjects for further return.
For a _superficial cancer_ the X-rays may be of service, but many
applications of the rays are likely to be needed, and the case may
possibly refuse to yield to their influence, and, after loss of
valuable time, the disease may have eventually to be removed by the
knife. The great advantage which the treatment by the knife offers
over every other method is that the growth can be cleanly, efficiently
and promptly removed, and, with it, all the affected lymph-spaces, and
the lymphatic glands which are secondarily implicated.
As regards the value of radium in the treatment of cancer of the
breast, the high expectations which were somewhat widely associated
with this newly-found element early in 1909 must be said to have been
unjustified by any precise results. Injections of radium salts have
been made into the substance of a cancer, and tubes of aluminium
containing the salt have been introduced into the growth, but no deep
cancer has thereby been cured. Radium has also been exposed again and
again on the surface of the affected breast, but similarly with no
great result. Unfortunately, whilst one is experimenting in the
treatment of an operable cancer, the epithelial cells of the growth
may be making their way towards distant parts, where no rays or
emanations could possibly reach them. Whatever may be the future of
radium as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of cancer of the
breast, it is certain that, on the facts as known at the beginning of
1910, the only safe course is to remove the breast by direct
operation, together with the associated lymph-spaces and lymphatic
glands. And if this is done promptly and thoroughly cancer of the
breast will come more and more into the class of curable diseases.
(E. O.*)
MAMMEE APPLE, SOUTH AMERICAN OR ST DOMINGO APRICOT, the fruit of _Mammea
americana_ (natural order Clusiaceae), a large tree with opposite
leathery gland-dotted leaves, white, sweet-scented, short-stalked,
solitary or clustered axillary flowers and yellow fruit 3 to 6 in. in
diameter. The bitter rind encloses a sweet aromatic flesh, which is
eaten raw or steeped in wine or with sugar, and is also used for
preserves. There are one to four large rough seeds, which are bitter and
resinous, and used as anthelmintics. An aromatic liqueur distilled from
the flowers is known as _eau de créole_ in the West Indies, and the
acrid resinous gum is used to destroy the chigoes which attack the naked
feet of the negroes. The wood is durable and well adapted for building
purposes; it is beautifully grained and used for fancy work.
MAMMON, a word of Aramaic origin meaning "riches." The etymology is
doubtful; connexions with a word meaning "entrusted," or with the Hebrew
_matmon_, treasure, have been suggested. "Mammon," Gr. [Greek: mamônâs]
(see Professor Eb. Nestle in _Ency. Bib._ s.v.), occurs in the Sermon on
the Mount (Matt. vi. 24) and the parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke
xvi. 9-13). The Authorized Version keeps the Syriac word. Wycliffe uses
"richessis." The _New English Dictionary_ quotes _Piers Plowman_ as
containing the earliest personification of the name. Nicholaus de Lyra
(commenting on the passage in Luke) says that _Mammon est nomen
daemonis_. There is no trace, however, of any Syriac god of such a name,
and the common identification of the name with a god of covetousness or
avarice is chiefly due to Milton (_Paradise Lost_, i. 678).
MAMMOTH (O. Russ. _mammot_, mod. _mamant_; the Tatar word _mama_, earth,
from which it is supposed to be derived, is not known to exist), a name
given to an extinct elephant, _Elephas primigenius_ of Blumenbach.
Probably no extinct animal has left such abundant evidence of its former
existence; immense numbers of bones, teeth, and more or less entire
carcases, or "mummies," as they may be called, having been discovered,
with the flesh, skin and hair _in situ_, in the frozen soil of the
tundra of northern Siberia.
The general characteristics of the order PROBOSCIDEA, to which the
mammoth belongs, are given under that heading. The mammoth pertains to
the most highly specialized section of the group of elephants, which
also contains the modern Asiatic species. Of the whole group it is in
many respects, as in the size and form of the tusks and the characters
of the molar teeth, the farthest removed from the mastodon type, while
its nearest surviving relative, the Asiatic elephant (_E. maximus_), has
retained the slightly more generalized characters of the mammoth's
contemporaries of more southern climes, _E. columbi_ of America and _E.
armeniacus_ of the Old World. The tusks, or upper incisor teeth, which
were probably smaller in the female, in the adult males attained the
length of from 9 to 10 ft. measured along the outer curve. Upon leaving
the head they were directed at first downwards, and outwards, then
upwards and finally inwards at the tips, and generally with a tendency
to a spiral form not seen in other elephants.
It is chiefly by the characters of the molar teeth that the various
extinct modifications of the elephant type are distinguished. Those of
the mammoth (fig. 2) differ from the corresponding organs of allied
species in great breadth of the crown as compared with the length, the
narrowness and crowding or close approximation of the ridges, the
thinness of the enamel, and its straightness, parallelism and absence
of "crimping," as seen on the worn surface or in a horizontal section
of the tooth. The molars, as in other elephants, are six in number on
each side above and below, succeeding each other from before
backwards. Of these Dr Falconer gave the prevailing "ridge-formula"
(or number of complete ridges in each tooth) as 4, 8, 12, 12, 16, 24,
as in _E. maximus_. Dr Leith-Adams, working from more abundant
materials, has shown that the number of ridges of each tooth,
especially those at the posterior end of the series, is subject to
individual variation, ranging in each tooth of the series within the
following limits: 3 to 4, 6 to 9, 9 to 12, 9 to 15, 14 to 16, 18 to
27--excluding the small plates, called "talons," at each end. Besides
these variations in the number of ridges or plates of which each tooth
is composed, the thickness of the enamel varies so much as to have
given rise to a distinction between a "thick-plated" and a
"thin-plated" variety--the latter being most prevalent among specimens
from the Arctic regions. From the specimens with thick enamel plates
the transition to the other species mentioned above, including _E.
maximus_, is almost imperceptible.
The bones of the skeleton generally more resemble those of the Indian
elephant than of any other species, but the skull differs in the
narrower summit, narrower temporal fossae, and more prolonged incisive
sheaths, supporting the roots of the enormous tusks. Among the
external characters by which the mammoth was distinguished from either
of the existing species of elephant was the dense clothing, not only
of long, coarse outer hair, but also of close under woolly hair of a
reddish-brown colour, evidently in adaptation to the cold climate it
inhabited. This character is represented in rude but graphic drawings
of prehistoric age found in caverns in the south of France. It should
be added that young Asiatic elephants often show considerable traces
of the woolly coat of the mammoth. The average height does not appear
to have exceeded that of either of the existing species of elephant.
The geographical range of the mammoth was very extensive. There is
scarcely a county in England in which its remains have not been found in
alluvial gravel or in caverns, and numbers of its teeth are dredged in
the North Sea. In Scotland and Ireland its remains are less abundant,
and in Scandinavia and Finland they appear to be unknown; but they have
been found in vast numbers at various localities throughout the greater
part of central Europe (as far south as Santander and Rome), northern
Asia, and the northern part of the American continent.
[Illustration: (From Tilesius.)
Fig. 1.--Skeleton of Mammoth (_Elephas primigenius_), with portions of
the skin.]
The mammoth belongs to the post-Tertiary or Pleistocene epoch and was
contemporaneous with man. There is evidence to show that it existed in
Britain before, during and after the glacial period. It is in northern
Siberia that its remains have been found in the greatest abundance and
in exceptional preservation. For a long period there has been from that
region an export of mammoth-ivory, fit for commercial purposes, to China
and to Europe. In the middle of the 10th century trade was carried on at
Khiva in fossil ivory. Middendorff estimated the number of tusks which
have yearly come into the market during the last two centuries at at
least a hundred pairs, but Nordenskiöld considers this estimate too low.
Tusks are found along the whole shore-line between the mouth of the Obi
and Bering Strait, and the farther north the more numerous they become,
the islands of New Siberia being one of the favourite collecting
localities. The remains are found not only round the mouths of the great
rivers, but embedded in the frozen soil in such circumstances as to
indicate that the animals lived not far from the localities in which
they are found; and they are exposed either by the melting of the ice in
warm summers or the washing away of the sea-cliffs or river-banks. In
this way the bodies of more or less nearly perfect animals, often
standing in the erect position, with the soft parts and hairy covering
entire, have been brought to light.
[Illustration: (From Owen.)
FIG. 2.--Grinding surface of Upper Molar Tooth of the Mammoth (_Elephas
primigenius_). c, cement; d, dentine; e, enamel.]
For geographical distribution and anatomical characters see Falconer's
_Paleontological Memoirs_, vol. ii (1868); B. Dawkins, "_Elephas
Primigenius_, its Range in Space and Time," _Quart. Journ. Geol.
Soc._, xxxv. 138 (1879); and A. Leith Adams, "Monograph of British
Fossil Elephants," part ii., _Palaeontographical Society_ (1879).
(W. H. F.; R. L.*)
MAMMOTH CAVE, a cave in Edmondson county, Kentucky, U.S.A., 37° 14´ N.
lat. and 86° 12´ W. long., by rail 85 m. S.S.W. of Louisville.
Steamboats run from the mouth of the Green river, near Evansville,
Indiana, to the Mammoth Cave landing. The cave is usually said to have
been discovered, in 1809, by a hunter named Hutchins; but the county
records, as early as 1797, fixed its entrance as the landmark for a
piece of real estate. Its mouth is in a forest ravine, 194 ft. above
Green river and 600 ft. above the sea. This aperture is not the original
mouth, the latter being a chasm a quarter of a mile north of it, and
leading into what is known as Dixon's cave. The two portions are not now
connected, though persons in one can make themselves heard by those in
the other.
The cavernous limestone of Kentucky covers an area of 8000 sq. m., is
massive and homogeneous, and belongs to the Subcarboniferous period. It
shows few traces of dynamic disturbance, but has been carved, mainly by
erosion since the Miocene epoch, into many caverns, of which the Mammoth
Cave is the largest.
The natural arch that admits one to Mammoth Cave has a span of 70 ft.,
and from a ledge above it a cascade leaps 59 ft. to the rocks below,
where it disappears. A flight of stone steps leads the way down to a
narrow passage, through which the air rushes with violence, outward in
summer and inward in winter. The temperature of the cave is uniformly
54° F. throughout the year, and the atmosphere is both chemically and
optically of singular purity. While the lower levels are moist from the
large pools and rivers that have secret connexion with Green river, the
upper galleries are extremely dry. These conditions led at one time to
the erection of thirteen cottages at a point about 1 m. underground, for
the use of invalids, especially consumptives. The experiment failed, and
only two cottages now remain as curiosities.
The Main Cave, from 40 to 300 ft. wide and from 35 to 125 ft. high, has
several vast rooms, e.g. the Rotunda, where are the ruins of the old
saltpetre works; the Star Chamber, where the protrusion of white
crystals through a coating of the black oxide of manganese creates an
optical illusion of great beauty; the Chief City, where an area of 2
acres is covered by a vault 125 ft. high, and the floor is strewn with
rocky fragments, among which are found numerous half-burnt torches made
of canes, and other signs of prehistoric occupancy. Two skeletons were
exhumed near the Rotunda; but few other bones of any description have
been found. The so-called Mammoth Cave "mummies" (i.e. bodies kept by
being inhumed in nitrous earth), with accompanying utensils, ornaments,
braided sandals and other relics, were found in Short and Salt Caves
near by, and removed to Mammoth Cave for exhibition. The Main Cave,
which abruptly ends 4 m. from the entrance, is joined by winding
passages, with spacious galleries on different levels; and, although the
diameter of the area of the whole cavern is less than 10 m., the
combined length of all accessible avenues is supposed to be about 150 m.
[Illustration: Map of Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.]
The chief points of interest are arranged along two lines of
exploration, besides which there are certain side excursions. The "short
route" requires about four hours, and the "long route" nine. Audubon's
Avenue, the one nearest the entrance, is occupied in winter by myriads
of bats, that hang from the walls in clusters like swarms of bees. The
Gothic Avenue contains numerous large stalactites and stalagmites, and
an interesting place called the Chapel, and ends in a double dome and
cascade. Among the most surprising features of cave scenery are the
vertical shafts that pierce through all levels, from the uppermost
galleries, or even from the sink-holes, down to the lowest floor. These
are styled pits or domes, according to the position occupied by the
observer. A crevice behind a block of stone, 40 ft. long by 20 ft. wide,
called the Giant's Coffin, admits the explorer to a place where six
pits, varying in depth from 65 ft. to 200 ft., exist in an area of 600
yds. This includes Gorin's Dome, which is viewed from a point midway in
its side, and also from its top, and was formerly regarded as the finest
room in the cavern. Others admire more the Mammoth Dome, at the
termination of Spark's Avenue, where a cataract falls from a height of
150 ft. amid walls wonderfully draped with stalactitic tapestry. The
Egyptian Temple, which is a continuation of the Mammoth Dome, contains
six massive columns, two of them quite perfect and 80 ft. high and 25
ft. in diameter. The combined length of these contiguous chambers is 400
ft. By a crevice above they are connected with an arm of Audubon's
Avenue. Lucy's Dome, one of the group of Jessup Domes, is supposed to be
the loftiest of all these vertical shafts. A pit called the "Maelstrom,"
in Croghan's Hall, is the spot most remote from the mouth of the cave.
There are some fine stalactites near this pit, and others in the Fairy
Grotto and in Pensico Avenue; but, considering the magnitude of Mammoth
Cave, its poverty of stalactitic ornamentation is remarkable. The wealth
of crystals is, however, surprising, and these are of endless variety
and fantastic beauty.
Cleveland's Cabinet and Marion's Avenue, each a mile long, are adorned
by myriads of gypsum rosettes and curiously twisted crystals, called
"oulopholites." These cave flowers are unfolded by pressure, as if a
sheaf were forced through a tight binding, or the crystal fibres curl
outward from the centre of the group. Thus spotless arches of 50 ft.
span are embellished by floral clusters and garlands, hiding nearly
every foot of the grey limestone. The botryoidal formations hanging by
thousands in Mary's Vineyard resemble mimic clusters of grapes, as the
oulopholites resemble roses. Again, there are chambers with drifts of
snowy crystals of the sulphate of magnesia, the ceilings so thickly
covered with their efflorescence that a loud concussion will cause them
to fall like flakes of snow.
Many small rooms and tortuous paths, where nothing of special interest
can be found, are avoided as much as possible on the regular routes; but
certain disagreeable experiences are inevitable. There is peril also in
the vicinity of the deep pits. The one known as the Bottomless Pit was
for many years a barrier to all further exploration, but it is now
crossed by a wooden bridge. Long before the shaft had been cut as deep
as now the water flowed away by a channel gradually contracting to a
serpentine way, so extremely narrow as to be called the Fat Man's
Misery. The walls, only 18 in. apart, change direction eight times in
105 yds., while the distance from the sandy path to the ledge overhead
is but 5 ft. The rocky sides are finely marked with waves and ripples,
as if running water had suddenly been petrified. This winding way
conducts one to River Hall, beyond which lie the crystalline gardens
that have been described. It used to be said that, if this narrow
passage were blocked up, escape would be impossible; but an intricate
web of fissures, called the Corkscrew, has been discovered, by means of
which a good climber, ascending only a few hundred feet, lands 1000 yds.
from the mouth of the cave, and cuts off one or two miles.
The waters, entering through numerous domes and pits, and falling,
during the rainy season, in cascades of great volume, are finally
collected in River Hall, where they form several extensive lakes, or
rivers, whose connexion with Green River is known to be in deep springs
appearing under arches on its margin. Whenever there is a freshet in
Green River the streams in the cave are joined in a continuous body of
water, the rise sometimes being 60 ft. above the low-water mark. The
subsidence within is less rapid than the rise; and the streams are
impassable for about seven months in each year. They are navigable from
May to October, and furnish interesting features of cave scenery. The
first approach is called the Dead Sea, embraced by cliffs 60 ft. high
and 100 ft. long, above which a path has been made, whence a stairway
leads down to the banks of the river Styx, a body of water 40 ft. long,
crossed by a natural bridge. Lake Lethe comes next--a broad basin
enclosed by walls 90 ft. high, below which a narrow path leads to a
pontoon at the neck of the lake. A beach of the finest yellow sand
extends for 500 yds. to Echo River, the largest of all being from 20 to
200 ft. wide, 10 to 40 ft. deep and about three-quarters of a mile long.
It is crossed by boats. The arched passage-way is very symmetrical,
varying in height from 19 to 35 ft., and famous for its musical
reverberations--not a distinct echo, but an harmonious prolongation of
sound for from 10 to 30 seconds after the original tone is produced. The
long vault has a certain keynote of its own, which, when firmly struck,
excites harmonics, including tones of incredible depth and sweetness.
There are several other streams here besides those in River Hall. On one
of them F. J. Stevenson of London is said to have floated for seven
hours without finding its end. A glance at the accompanying map will
show that there is a labyrinth of avenues and chasms seldom visited and
never fully explored. New discoveries are frequently made. An exploring
party in 1904 found a curious complex of upper and lower galleries
accessible from the most eastern portion of the cave; beyond which
another party, in 1905, discovered several large domes previously
unknown. H. C. Hovey, in 1907, was led by expert guides into still
wilder recesses, where a series of five domes were found, that opened
into each other by tall gateways; each dome being 60 ft. in diameter and
175 ft. high. This magnificent group has since been named "Hovey's
Cathedral Domes." No instrumental survey of the Mammoth Cave has ever
been allowed by the management. The best map possible is therefore only
the result of estimates and partial measurements. The depths of the most
noted pits have easily been ascertained by line and plummet and the
height of several large domes has been found by the use of small
balloons. While making a survey exclusively for the cave-owners in 1908,
Max Kaemper of Berlin, Germany, forced an opening from the main cave
into a remarkable region to which the general name of "Violet City" was
given, in honour of Mrs Violet Blair Janin, who owned a third of the
Mammoth Cave estate. Special features are Kaemper Hall, Blair Castle,
the Marble Temple and Walhalla. There are eleven enormous pits, many
large fine stalactites and stalagmites and surprisingly beautiful mural
decorations. Dr Hovey made and published (1909) a new handbook embodying
all known discoveries of importance, with four sketch-maps of the routes
of usual exhibition.
The fauna of Mammoth Cave has been classified by F. W. Putnam, A. S.
Packard and E. D. Cope, who have catalogued twenty-eight species truly
subterraneous, besides those that may be regarded as stragglers from the
surface. They are distributed thus: _Vertebrata_, 8 species; _Insecta_,
17; _Arachnida_, 12; _Myriapoda_, 2; _Crustacea_, 5; _Vermes_, 3;
_Mollusca_, 1. Ehrenberg adds a list of 8 Polygastric _Infusoria_, 1
fossil infusorian, 5 _Phytolitharia_ and several microscopic fungi. A
bed of _Agaricus_ was found by the writer near the river Styx; and upon
this hint an attempt has been made to propagate edible fungi in this
locality. All the known forms of plant-life are either fungi or allied
to them, and many are only microscopic. The most interesting inhabitants
of Mammoth Cave are the blind, wingless grasshoppers, with extremely
long antennae; blind, colourless crayfish (_Cambarus pellucidus_,
Telk.); and the blind fish, _Amblyopsis spelaeus_, colourless and
viviparous, from 1 in. to 6 in. long. The _Cambarus_ and _Amblyopsis_
have wide distribution, being found in many other caves, and also in
deep wells, in Kentucky and Indiana. Fish not blind are occasionally
caught, which are apparently identical with species existing in streams
outside. The true subterranean fauna may be regarded as chiefly of
Pleistocene origin; yet certain forms are possibly remnants of Tertiary
life.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--_Plan and Description of the Great and Wonderful Cave
in Kentucky_, by Dr Nahum Ward (1816); _Notes on the Mammoth Cave,
with a Map_, by Edmund F. Lee, C. E. (1835); _Rambles in the Mammoth
Cave in 1844_, by Alexander Bullitt, with map by Stephen Bishop;
guide-books by Wright (1858), Binkerd (1869), Forwood (1875), Proctor
(1878), Hovey (1882), &c., and Hovey and Call (1897); Hovey's
_Celebrated American Caverns_ (1882, &c.); and _The Mammoth Cave and
its Inhabitants_, by Packard and F. W. Putnam (1879). (H. C. H.)
MAMORÉ, a large river of Bolivia which unites with the Beni in 10° 20´
S. to form the Madeira, one of the largest tributaries of the Amazon. It
rises on the northern slope of the Sierra de Cochabamba east of the city
of Cochabamba, and is known as the Chimoré down to its junction with the
Chapare, or Chapari. Its larger tributaries are the Chapare, Sécure,
Apere and Yacuma from the west, and the Ichila, Guapay or Grande, Ivari
and Guaporé from the east. Taking into account its length only, the
Guapay should be considered the upper part of the Mamoré; but it is
shallow and obstructed, and carries a much smaller volume of water. The
Guaporé, or Itenez, also rivals the Mamoré in length and volume, having
its source in the Serra dos Parecis, Matto Grosso, Brazil, a few miles
from streams flowing northward to the Tapajos and Amazon, and southward
to the Paraguay and Paraná. The Mamoré is interrupted by rapids a few
miles above its junction with the Beni, but a railway 180 m. long has
been undertaken from below the rapids of the Madeira. Above the rapids
the river is navigable to Chimoré, at the foot of the _sierra_, and most
of its tributaries are navigable for long distances. Franz Keller (in
_The Amazon and Madeira Rivers_; New York, 1874) gives the outflow of
the Mamoré at mean water level, and not including the Guaporé, as 2530
cub. in. per second, and the area of its drainage basin, also not
including the Guaporé, as 9382 sq. m.
See Edward D. Mathews, _Up the Amazon and Madeira Rivers_ (London,
1879).
MAMUN (c. 786-833), originally ABDALLAH, surnamed AL-MA'MUN ("in whom
men trust"), the seventh of the Abbasid caliphs of Bagdad, was born
about A.D. 786, and was the second son of Harun al-Rashid. By Harun's
will he was successor-designate to his brother Amin, during whose reign
he was to be governor of the eastern part of the empire. On Harun's
death (809) Amin succeeded and Mamun acquiesced. Irritated, however, by
the treatment he received from Amin, and supported by a portion of the
army, Mamun speedily rebelled. A five years' struggle between the two
brothers ended in the death of Amin and the proclamation of Mamun as
caliph at Bagdad (Sept. 813). Various factions and revolts, which
disturbed the first years of his reign, were readily quelled by his
prudent and energetic measures. But a much more serious rebellion,
stirred up by his countenancing the heretical sect of Ali and adopting
their colours, soon after threatened his throne. His crown was actually
on the head of his uncle Ibrahim b. Mahdi (surnamed Mobarek) for a short
time (Barbier de Meynard, in _Journal Asiatique_, March-April 1869).
This inaugurated a period of tranquillity, which Mamun employed in
fostering literature and science. He had already, while governor of
Khorasan, founded a college there, and attracted to it the most eminent
men of the day, and Bagdad became the seat of academical instruction. At
his own expense he caused to be translated into Arabic many valuable
books from the Greek, Persian, Chaldean and Coptic languages; and he was
himself an ardent student of mathematics and astronomy. The first Arabic
translation of Euclid was dedicated to him in 813. Mamun founded
observatories at Bagdad and Kassiun (near Damascus), and succeeded in
determining the inclination of the ecliptic. He also caused a degree of
the meridian to be measured on the plain of Shinar; and he constructed
astronomical tables, which are said to be wonderfully accurate.
In 827 he was converted to the heterodox faith of the Mo'tazilites, who
asserted the free-will of man and denied the eternity of the Koran. The
later years (829-830) of his reign were distracted by hostilities with
the Greek emperor Theophilus, while a series of revolts in different
parts of the Arabian empire betokened the decline of the military glory
of the caliphs. Spain and part of Africa had already asserted their
independence, and Egypt and Syria were now inclined to follow. In 833,
after quelling Egypt, at least nominally, Mamun marched into Cilicia to
prosecute the war with the Greeks, but died near Tarsus, leaving his
crown to a younger brother, Motasim. The death of Mamun ended an
important epoch in the history of science and letters and the period of
Arabian prosperity which his father's reign had begun.
See further under CALIPHATE, sect. C., §§ 5, 6, 7.
MAMUND, a Pathan tribe and valley on the Peshawar border of the
North-West Frontier Province of India. The Mamunds live partly in Bajour
and partly in Afghan territory, due north of the Mohmands, a much larger
tribe, with whom they must not be confounded. They are one of the clans
of the Tarkanis (q.v.), and number 6000 fighting men; they gave much
trouble during the Chitral Campaign in 1895, and again during the
Mohmand Expedition in 1897 they inflicted severe losses upon General
Jeffrey's brigade. (See MOHMAND.)
MAN, the word common to Teutonic languages for a single person of the
human race, of either sex, the Lat. _homo_, and Gr. [Greek: anthrôpos];
also for the human race collectively, and for a full-grown adult male
human being. Teutonic languages, other than English, have usually
adopted a derivative in the first sense, e.g. German _Mensch_.
Philologists are not in agreement as to whether the Sanskrit _manu_ is
the direct source, or whether both are to be traced to a common root.
Doubt also is thrown on the theory that the word is to be referred to
the Indo-Germanic root, _men_, meaning "to think," seen in "mind," man
being essentially the thinking or intelligent animal. (See
ANTHROPOLOGY.)
MAN, ISLE OF (anc. _Mona_), a dominion of the crown of England, in the
Irish Sea. (For map, see ENGLAND, section I.) It is about 33 m. long by
about 12 broad in the broadest part. Its general form resembles that of
an heraldic lozenge, though its outline is very irregular, being
indented with numerous bays and narrow creeks. Its chief physical
characteristic is the close juxtaposition of mountain, glen and sea,
which has produced a variety and beauty of scenery unsurpassed in any
area of equal size elsewhere.
The greater part of its surface is hilly. The hills, which reach their
culminating point in Snaefell (2034 ft.), have a definite tendency to
trend in the direction of the longer axis, but throw out many radiating
spurs, which frequently extend to the coast-line. They are, for the most
part, smooth and rounded in outline, the rocks being such as do not
favour the formation of crags, though, owing to the rapidity of their
descent, streams have frequently rent steep-walled craggy gulleys in
their sides. The strength of the prevalent westerly winds has caused
them to be treeless, except in some of the lower slopes, but they are
clad with verdure to their summits. Rising almost directly from the sea,
they appear higher than they really are, and therefore present a much
more imposing appearance than many hills of greater altitude. On the
south-west, where they descend precipitously into the sea, they unite
with the cliffs to the north and south of them to produce the most
striking part of the coast scenery for which the isle is remarkable.
But, indeed, the whole coast from Peel round by the Calf, past
Castletown and Douglas to Maughold Head, near Ramsey, is distinguished
by rugged grandeur. From Ramsey round by the Point of Ayre to within a
few miles of Peel extend low sandy cliffs, bordered by flat sandy
shores, which surround the northern plain. This plain is relieved only
by a low range of hills, the highest of which attains an elevation of
270 ft. The drainage of the island radiates from the neighbourhood of
Snaefell, from which mountain and its spurs streams have on all sides
found their way to the sea. The most important of these are the Sulby,
falling into the sea at Ramsey; the _Awin-glass_ (bright river) and the
_Awin-dhoo_ (dark river), which unite their waters near Douglas; the
_Neb_, at the mouth of which Peel is situated; and the _Awin-argid_
(silver river, now called the Silverburn), which joins the sea at
Castletown. There are no lakes. The narrow, winding glens thus formed,
which are studded with clumps of fir, sycamore and mountain ash,
interspersed with patches of gorse, heather and fern, afford a striking
and beautiful contrast to the bare mountain tops. Traces of an older
system of drainage than that which now exists are noticeable in many
places, the most remarkable being the central depression between Douglas
and Peel. The chief bays are, on the east coast, Ramsey, with an
excellent anchorage, Laxey, Douglas, Derbyhaven, Castletown and Port St
Mary; and, on the west coast, Port Erin and Peel.
_Geology._--The predominant feature in the stratigraphy of the Isle of
Man is, in the words of G. W. Lamplough,[1] "the central ridge of
slate and greywacke, which seems to have constituted an insulated
tract at as early a date as the beginning of the Carboniferous period.
This prototype of the present island appears afterwards to have been
enfolded and obliterated by the sediments of later times; but with the
progress of denudation the old ridge has once more emerged from
beneath this mantle." This mass of ancient rocks, the Manx Slate
Series, has been divided locally into the Barrule slates, the Agneesh
and other grit beds; and the Lonan and Niarbyl Flags. The whole series
strikes N.E.-S.W., while structurally the strata form part of a
synclinorium, the higher beds being on the N.W. and S.E. sides of the
islands, the lower beds in the interior; although the subordinate dips
appear to indicate an anticlinal structure. These rocks have been
greatly crumpled; and in places, notably in Sully Glen, thrusting has
developed a well-marked crush-breccia. So much has this folding and
compression toughened the soft argillaceous rocks that the Barrule
Slate, for example, is almost everywhere found occupying the highest
points while the hard but more joined grits and flags occupy the lower
ground on the mountain flanks. The Manx Series is penetrated and
altered by large masses of granite at Dhoon, Foxdale and one or two
other spots; and dykes, more or less directly associated with these
masses, are numerous. No satisfactory fossils have yet been obtained
from these rocks, but they are regarded, provisionally, as of Upper
Cambrian age. Carboniferous rocks, including a basal conglomerate,
white limestone with abundant fossils, and the black "Posidonomya
Beds" (some of which are polished as a black marble) occur about
Castletown, Poolvash Bay and Langness; and the basement beds appear
again on the west coast at Peel. The cliffs and foreshore at Scarlet
Point exhibit contemporaneous Carboniferous tuffs, agglomerates and
basalts, as well as later dolerite dykes, in a most striking manner.
Here too may be seen some curious effects of thrusting in the
limestones. At the northern end of the island the Manx Slates end
abruptly in an ancient sea-cliff which crosses between Ramsey and
Ballaugh. The low-lying country beyond is formed of a thick mass of
glacial sands, gravels and boulder clay. In the Bride Hills are to be
seen glacial mounds rising 150 ft. above the level of the plain. The
depressions known as the Curragh, now drained but still peaty in
places, probably represent the sites of late glacial lakes. Glacial
deposits are found also in all parts of the island. Beneath the thick
drift of the plain, Carboniferous, Permian and Trassic rocks have been
proved to lie at some depth below the present sea-level. On the coast
near the Point of Ayr is a raised beach. Silver-bearing lead ore, zinc
and copper are the principal minerals found in the Isle of Man; the
most important mining centres being at Foxdale and Laxey.
_Climate._--The island is liable to heavy gales from the south-west.
Of this the trend of the branches of the trees to the north-east is a
striking testimony. But it is equally subject to the influence of the
warm drift from the Atlantic, so that its winters are mild, and,
influenced by the less changeable temperature of the sea, its summers
cool. The mean annual temperature is 49°.0 F., the temperature of the
coldest month (January) being 41°.5, and the warmest (August) 58°.5,
giving an extreme annual range of temperature of 17°.1 only, while the
average temperature in spring is 46°.0, in summer 57°.2, in autumn
50°.9 and in winter 42°.0. Further evidence of the mildness of the
climate is afforded by the fact that fuchsias, hydrangeas, myrtles and
escallonias grow luxuriantly in the open air. Its rainfall, placed as
it is between mountain districts in England, Ireland, Scotland and
Wales, is naturally rather wet than dry. Statistics, however, reveal
remarkable divergencies in the amounts of rain in the different parts
of the island, varying from 61 in. at Snaefell to 25 in. at the Calf
of Man. In the more populous districts it varies from 46 in. at
Ramsey, and 45 in. at Douglas, to 38 in. at Peel and 34 in. at
Castletown. Of sunshine the Isle of Man has a larger share than any
portion of the United Kingdom except the south and south-east coasts
and the Channel Islands. Briefly, then, the climate of the island may
be pronounced to be equable and sunny, and, though humid, decidedly
invigorating; its rainfall, though it varies greatly, is excessive in
the populous districts; and its winds are strong and frequent, and
usually mild and damp.
_Fauna._--Like Ireland, the Isle of Man is exempt from snakes and
toads, a circumstance traditionally attributed to the agency of St
Patrick, the patron saint of both islands. Frogs, however, have been
introduced from Ireland, and both the sand lizard and the common
lizard are found. Badgers, moles, squirrels and voles are absent and
foxes are extinct. Fossil bones of the Irish elk are frequently found,
and a complete skeleton of this animal is to be seen at Castle Rushen.
The red deer, which is referred to in the ancient laws and pictured on
the runic crosses, became extinct by the beginning of the 18th
century. Hares are less plentiful than formerly, and rabbits are not
very numerous. Snipe are fairly common, and there are a few partridges
and grouse. The latter, which had become extinct, were reintroduced in
1880. Woodcock, wild geese, wild ducks, plover, widgeon, teal, heron,
bittern, kingfishers and the Manx shearwater (_Puffinus anglorum_)
visit the island, but do not breed there. The puffin (_Fratercula
artica_) is still numerous on the Calf islet in the summer time. The
peregrine falcon, which breeds on the rocky coast, and the chough have
become very scarce. The legal protection of sea-birds (local act of
1867) has led to an enormous increase in the number of gulls. A
variety of the domestic cat, remarkable for the absence or stunted
condition of the tail, is peculiar to the island.
_Flora._--Like the fauna, the flora is chiefly remarkable for its
meagreness. It contains at most 450 species as compared with 690 in
Jersey. Alpine forms are absent. But what it lacks in variety it makes
up in beauty and quantity. For the profusion of the gorse-bloom and
the abundance of spring flowers, especially of primroses, and of
ferns, the Isle of Man is probably unrivalled.
_People._--The Manx people of the present day are mainly of
Scandio-Celtic origin, with some slight traces of earlier races. They
have large and broad heads, usually broader than those of their brother
Celts (_Goidels_) in Ireland and Scotland, with very broad, but not
specially prominent cheek-bones. Their faces are usually either
scutiform, like those of the Northmen, or oval, which is the usual
Celtic type, and their noses are almost always of good length, and
straighter than is general among Celtic races. Light eyes and fair
complexion, with rather dark hair, are the more usual combinations. They
are usually rather tall and heavily built, their average height (males)
being 5 ft. 7½ in., and average weight (naked) 155 lb. The tendency of
the population to increase is balanced by emigration. It reached its
maximum in 1891. Since then it has slightly declined. A noticeable
feature is its greater proportionate growth in the towns, especially in
Douglas, than in the country. The country population reached its maximum
in 1851. Since then it has been shrinking rapidly, especially in the
northern district.
+---------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| Sheadings, Parishes | | | | |
| and Towns. | 1726. | 1821. | 1871. | 1901. |
+---------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| Rushen. | | | | |
| Malew (P.) | 890 | 2,649 | 2,466 | 2,113 |
| Castletown (T.) | 785 | 2,036 | 2,318 | 1,963 |
| Arbory (P.) | 661 | 1,455 | 1,350 | 802 |
| Rushen (P.) | 813 | 2,568 | 3,665 | 3,277 |
| Middle. | | | | |
| Santon (P.) | 376 | 800 | 628 | 468 |
| Braddan (P.) | 780 | 1,754 | 2,215 | 2,177 |
| Douglas (T.) | 810 | 6,054 | 13,846 | 19,149 |
| Onchan (P.) | 370 | 1,457 | 1,620 | 3,942 |
| Glenfalca. | | | | |
| Marown (P.) | 499 | 1,201 | 1,121 | 973 |
| German (P.) | 510 | 1,849 | 1,762 | 1,230 |
| Peel (T.) | 475 | 1,909 | 3,496 | 3,306 |
| Patrick (P.) | 745 | 2,031 | 2,888 | 1,925 |
| Garff. | | | | |
| Lonan (P.) | 547 | 1,846 | 3,741 | 2,513 |
| Maughold (P.) | 529 | 1,514 | 1,433 | 887 |
| Ramsey (T.) | 460 | 1,523 | 3,861 | 4,672 |
| Ayre. | | | | |
| Lezayre (P.) | 1,309 | 2,209 | 1,620 | 1,389 |
| Bride (P.) | 612 | 1,001 | 880 | 539 |
| Andreas (P.) | 967 | 2,229 | 1,757 | 1,144 |
| Michael. | | | | |
| Jurby (P.) | 483 | 1,108 | 788 | 504 |
| Ballaugh (P.) | 806 | 1,467 | 1,077 | 712 |
| Michael (P.) | 643 | 1,427 | 1,231 | 928 |
+---------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| Total | 14,070 | 40,087 | 53,763 | 54,613 |
+---------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
_Chief Political Divisions and Towns._--The island is divided into six
sheadings (so named from the Scandinavian _skeða-Þing_, or
ship-district), called Glenfaba, Middle, Rushen, Garff, Ayre and
Michael, each of which has its officer, the coroner, whose functions
are similar to those of a sheriff; and there are seventeen parishes.
For the towns see CASTLETOWN, DOUGLAS, PEEL and RAMSEY. The principal
villages are Ballasalla, Ballaugh, Foxdale, Laxey, Michael, Onchan,
Port Erin and Port St Mary.
_Communications._--There is communication by steamer with Liverpool,
Glasgow, Greenock, Belfast, Silloth, Whitehaven, Belfast and Dublin
throughout the year and, during the summer season, there are also
steamers plying to Androssan, Heysham, Fleetwood and Blackpool. A
daily mail was established in 1879. The internal communications are
excellent. The roads are under the management of a board appointed by
the Tynwald Court, a surveyor-general, and parochial surveyors. They
are maintained by a system of licences on public-houses, carriages,
carts and dogs, and a rate on real property. There are railways
between Douglas, Ramsey, Peel, Castletown, Port Erin and Port St Mary,
the line between Douglas and Ramsey being via St John's and Michael.
Electric tramways run from Douglas to Ramsey via Laxey, from Douglas
to Port Soderick, and from Laxey to the summit of Snaefell.
_Industries. (a) Agriculture._--The position of the Manx farmers,
though they generally pay higher rents than their compeers in those
countries do, is, except in the remote parts of the island, more
favourable than that of the English or Scottish farmers. The best land
is in the north and south. The farms are principally held on lease and
small holdings have almost entirely disappeared. The cultivated area
is about 93,000 acres, or 65% of the whole. The commons and
uncultivated lands on the mountains are also utilized for pasturage.
Oats occupy about three-fourths of the area under corn crops, barley
about one-sixth. The amount of wheat and other corn crops is very
trifling. Neither Manx wheat nor barley is as good on an average as
English; but oats is, on the whole, fully equal to what is grown on
the mainland. Turnips, which are an excellent crop, are largely
exported, and the dry and sandy soil of the north of the island is
very favourable for the growth of potatoes. The white and red clover
and the common grasses grow luxuriantly, and the pasturage is,
generally speaking, good. Some of the low-lying land, especially in
the north, is much in need of systematic drainage. The livestock,
largely in consequence of the premiums given by the insular government
and the local agricultural society to bulls, heavy and light stallions
and cart mares, now approximates very closely in quality to the stock
in the north of England. Dairying, owing to the large number of summer
visitors, is the most profitable department of agricultural industry.
Apples, pears and wall fruit do not succeed very well, but the soil is
favourable for the cultivation of strawberries, raspberries,
gooseberries, currants and vegetables. Both agricultural and
market-garden produce are quite insufficient to supply the demand in
the summer.
_(b) Fishing._--The important place which the fishing industry
anciently held in the social organization of the Isle of Man is
quaintly reflected in the wording of the oath formerly taken by the
deemsters, who promised to execute the laws between the sovereign and
his subjects, and "betwixt party and party, as indifferently as the
herring backbone doth lie in the midst of the fish." The statutes and
records abound in evidence of the great extent to which both the
people and their rulers were dependent on the produce of the sea. The
most numerous fish are herrings, cod, mackerel, ling, haddock, plaice,
sole, fluke, turbot and brett. The industry is, however, in a decaying
condition, especially the herring fishery, which, for reasons which
have not been satisfactorily ascertained, fails periodically. The
amount of fish caught, except herrings, is not sufficient to supply
the local demand in the summer, though some of the fish named are
exported during the rest of the year. About 250 vessels, aggregating
4260 tons, with crews numbering 4250, are employed in this industry. A
fish hatchery has been established at Port Erin by the insular
government.
(c) _Mining._--There is no doubt that, in proportion to its area, the
metalliferous wealth of the Isle of Man has been very considerable.
Two of its mines, Laxey and Foxdale, have stood for a long series of
years in the first rank in the British Islands for productiveness of
zinc and silver lead respectively. These metals have constituted its
principal riches, but copper pyrites and hematite iron have also been
raised in marketable quantities, while only very small amounts of the
ores of nickel and antimony have been found. The mines are rented from
the Crown as lord of the manor. The value of the ore produced is about
£40,000 annually. Other economic products are clay, granite,
limestone, sandstone, slate (of an inferior quality) and salt, which
has been discovered near the Point of Ayre.
(d) _Textiles, &c._--Since labour has become scarcer and dearer
textile industries have been declining, being unable to compete with
larger and more completely organized manufactories elsewhere. The
principal manufactured articles are woollen cloths and blankets, hemp
ropes and cotton, and herring nets. A few fishing vessels are built,
and brewing is a prosperous industry. But, apart from agriculture, the
most important industry (for so it may be called) is that of the
provision for summer visitors, nearly half a million of whom come to
the island annually.
_Commerce._--The chief exports are lead, zinc, turnips, ropes, cotton
nets and salt. The imports consist chiefly of timber, provisions,
livestock, poultry, flour, fruit, vegetables and eggs. In 1906 the
tonnage of vessels (other than fishing or wind-bound vessels) cleared
for traffic was 720,790. The number of vessels (other than fishing
vessels) registered as belonging to the island in 1906 was 79.
_Government._--The government of the island is vested in a
lieutenant-governor, appointed by the Crown; in a Council, which is the
upper branch of the legislature; in the House of Keys, which is the
lower branch; and in the Tynwald Court. The Council and Keys sit
separately as legislative bodies, but they sit in the Tynwald Court as
distinct bodies with co-ordinate powers to transact executive business
and to sign Bills. The Tynwald Court controls the surplus revenue, after
the payment of the cost of government and of a fixed contribution of
£10,000 to the imperial exchequer, subject to the supervision of the
Treasury and the veto of the lieutenant-governor, and it appoints boards
to manage the harbours, highways, education, local government, and
lunatic and poor asylums. The Imperial government, after intimating its
intention to Tynwald, fixes the rates of the customs duties, but Tynwald
can by resolution "impose, abolish or vary" the customs duties subject
to the approval of parliament or the Treasury, such change to take
effect immediately and to continue for six months, and, if parliament be
then sitting, to the end of the session, provided that the same be not
in the meantime annulled by the passing of an act of parliament, or a
Treasury minute. The approval of the sovereign of the United Kingdom in
Council is essential to every legislative enactment. Acts of the
imperial parliament do not affect the island except it be specially
named in them. The lieutenant-governor, who is the representative of the
sovereign, presides in the Council, in the Tynwald Court, in the High
Court of Justice (Staff of Government division) and in the Court of
General Gaol Delivery. He is the supreme executive authority, and he
shares the control of the legislative and administrative functions,
including the management of the revenue and the control of its surplus,
with the Tynwald Court; he has also the power of veto as regards the
disposal of surplus revenue and the nature of proposed harbour works,
and his signature is necessary to the validity of all acts. It has been
the practice for him to act as chancellor of the exchequer and to
initiate all questions concerning the raising or expenditure of public
funds. The Council consists of the lieutenant-governor, the lord-bishop
of the diocese, the clerk of the rolls, the two deemsters, the
attorney-general, the archdeacon (all of whom are appointed by the
Crown) and the vicar-general, who is appointed by the bishop. No act of
the governor and Council is valid unless it is the act of the governor
and at least two members of the Council. The House of Keys (for origin
of the name see KEY) is one of the most ancient legislative assemblies
in the world. It consists of twenty-four members, elected by male and
female owners or occupiers of property. Each of the six sheadings
elects three members; the towns of Castletown, Peel and Ramsey one each,
and Douglas five. There is no property qualification required of the
members, and the house sits for five years unless previously dissolved
by the lieutenant-governor.
_Law._--The High Court of Justice, of which the lieutenant-governor is
president, contains three divisions: viz. the Chancery Division, in
which the clerk of the rolls sits as judge, the Common Law Division,
of which the deemsters are the judges, the Staff of Government
Division, in which the governor and three judges sit together. The
jurisdiction of the Chancery and Common Law Division is in the main
similar to that of the corresponding divisions in the English Courts.
The Staff of Government exercises appellate jurisdiction, similar to
that of the Appeal Courts in England. The Common Law Courts for the
southern division of the island are held at Douglas and Castletown
alternately and those for the northern division at Ramsey, once in
three months. Actions in these courts are heard by a deemster and a
special or common jury. The Chancery Court sits once a fortnight at
Douglas. The deemsters also have summary jurisdiction in matters of
debt, actions for liquidated damages under £50, suits for possession
of real or personal property, petitions for probate, &c. These courts,
called Deemsters' Courts, are held weekly, alternately at Douglas and
Castletown, by the deemster for the southern division of the island,
and at Ramsey and Peel by the deemster for the northern division.
Criminal cases are heard by the magistrates or a high-bailiff and are
(with the exception of minor cases which may be dealt with summarily)
sent on by them for trial by a deemster and a jury of six, who hear
the evidence and determine whether there is sufficient ground for
sending the case for trial before the Court of General Gaol Delivery,
thus discharging the functions of the Grand Jury in England. The Court
of General Gaol Delivery is the Supreme Criminal Court and is presided
over by the lieutenant-governor, who is assisted by the clerk of the
rolls and the two deemsters. The high-bailiffs hold weekly courts in
the four towns for the recovery of debts under forty shillings and for
the trial of cases usually brought before a stipendiary magistrate in
England. The magistrates (J.P.'s) also hold regular courts in the
towns for the trial of breaches of the peace and minor offences. There
is a coroner in each of the six sheadings. These officers are
appointed annually by the lieutenant-governor and perform duties
similar to those of a sheriff's officer in England. Inquests of death
are held by a high-bailiff and jury. The Manx Bar is distinct from
that of England. Its members, called "Advocates," combine the
functions of barrister and solicitor. The laws relating to real
property still retain much of their ancient peculiarity, but other
branches of law have of late years by various acts of Tynwald been
made practically identical with English law.
As regards real property the general tenure is a customary freehold
devolving from each possessor to his next heir-at-law. The descent of
land follows the same rules as the descent of the crown of England.
The right of primogeniture extends to females in default of males in
the direct line. The interest of a widow or widower, being the first
wife or husband of a person deceased, is a life estate in one-half of
the lands which have descended hereditarily, and is forfeited by a
second marriage; a second husband or second wife is only entitled to a
life interest in one-fourth, if there be issue of the first marriage.
Of the land purchased by the husband the wife surviving him is
entitled to a life interest in one moiety. By a statute of the year
1777 proprietors of land are empowered to grant leases for any term
not exceeding twenty-one years in possession without the consent of
the wife.
_Church._--It is not known by whom Christianity was introduced into
Man, but from the large proportion of names of Irish ecclesiastics
surviving in the appellations of the old Manx _keeills_, or cells,
which are of similar type to the Irish oratories of the 6th and 7th
centuries, and in the dedications of the parish churches, which are
usually on ancient sites, it may be reasonably conjectured that
Manxmen were, for the most part, Christianized by Irish missionaries.
During the incursions of the pagan Vikings Christianity was almost
certainly extirpated and it was probably not reintroduced before the
beginning of the 11th century. The two most important events in the
history of the medieval Manx Church were the formation of the diocese
of _Sodor_ (q.v.) and the foundation of the abbey of Rushen, a branch
of the Cistercian abbey of Furness, in 1134. This latter event was
important because the Cistercians were exempted from all episcopal
visitation and control, by charter granted by the pope, and were,
therefore, only subject to his rule and that of the abbots of their
own order. From this time till the Reformation we find that there was
an almost continuous struggle between the laity and the spiritual
barons and monks, who had obtained great power and much property in
the island. In 1458 the diocese was placed under York. The dissolution
of the religious houses in Man was not brought about by the English
Act of 1539, which did not apply to the island, but by the arbitrary
action of Henry VIII. From such evidence as is available it would seem
that the Reformation was a very slow process. When Isaac Barrow (uncle
of his well-known namesake) became bishop in 1663 the condition of the
Church was deplorable, but under him and his able and saintly
successors, Thomas Wilson (1698-1755) and Mark Hildesley (1755-1773).
it attained to a very much higher level than the English Church during
the same period. After Hildesley's time it was again neglected, and
successful missions by John Wesley and others resulted in the
establishment and rapid increase of Nonconformity. It was not till the
second decade of the 19th century that the condition of the Church
began to improve again, and this improvement has steadily continued.
In 1878 a Sodor and Man theological school was established for the
training of candidates for holy orders. This school has been
affiliated to Durham University. In 1880 four rural deaneries were
established, and commissioners were constituted as trustees of
endowments for Church purposes. In 1895 a cathedral chapter, with four
canons, was constituted under the name of the "Dean and Chapter of
Man," the bishop being the dean of the cathedral church. A Church
Sustentation Fund was established by Bishop Straton in 1894, with a
view to supplementing the incomes of the clergy, which had been
greatly reduced on account of the low price of corn. There have been
several acts giving Nonconformists equal rights with Churchmen. Among
these are the Burials Acts of 1881 and 1895, which permit burials to
take place in churchyards without the rites of the Church of England,
and allow any burial service, provided it be Christian, in mortuary
chapels. At the present day Nonconformists, chiefly Wesleyan
Methodists, probably outnumber Churchmen, and there is a small number
of Roman Catholics and Presbyterians. The bishop, who has a seat, but
not a vote, in the House of Lords, is assisted by an archdeacon, a
vicar-general, a registrar and a sumner-general. The jurisdiction of
the only remaining ecclesiastical court, which is presided over by the
vicar-general, as representing the bishop, is mainly in connexion with
affiliation questions, the swearing-in of churchwardens and the
granting of faculties. The power of the Manx Convocation to make
canons, though not exercised since 1704, has never been abrogated, and
so far affords a token that the Manx Church is a separate national
Church governed by its own laws, which, however, must be approved by
the insular Legislature.
_Education._--It was not till 1872, when the insular Legislature
passed the Public Elementary Education Act, that the Manx State
undertook any direct responsibility for education. This act differed
from the English Act of 1870 in three important particulars: (1) it at
once constituted every town and parish a school district under a
school board; (2) the attendance of children was made compulsory; and
(3) every elementary school, those in connexion with the Church of
Rome excepted, was obliged to provide for non-sectarian instruction in
religious subjects, and for the reading of the Bible accompanied by
suitable explanation. Since the date of this act education has made
extraordinary strides. It became free in 1892, and a higher-grade
school was established in Douglas in 1894. The public elementary
schools, which are nearly all managed by School Boards, are subject to
the control of a local "Council of Education" appointed by the Tynwald
Court; but, as the Manx Act of 1872 requires that, in order to obtain
a government grant, the schools shall fulfil the conditions contained
in the minutes of the education department at Whitehall, they are
examined by English inspectors and compelled to attain the same
standard of efficiency as the English and Welsh schools. In 1907 an
act establishing a system of secondary education was passed by the
Legislature. The total number of public elementary schools in 1906 was
47, 42 being board and 5 denominational. Besides King William's
College, opened in 1833, which provided a similar education to that
obtainable at the English public schools, there are grammar schools in
Douglas, Ramsey and Castletown.
The Manx language (see CELT: _Language_) still lingers, the census of
1901 showing that there were about 4400 people who understood
something of it. There is now no one who does not speak English.
_Economics._--Municipal government was established in 1860, and in
1876 vaccination was made compulsory, as also was the registration of
births, marriages and deaths in 1878. It was not till 1884 that the
sanitation of the towns was seriously taken in hand; but ten years
more elapsed before the sanitary condition of the island was dealt
with by the passing of an act which constituted parish and village
districts, with commissioners elected by the people, who had, in
conjunction with a board elected by the Tynwald Court and an inspector
appointed by it, to attend to all questions relating to sanitation and
infectious diseases. As a result of these measures the death-rate has
been greatly reduced. In 1888 a permissive poor law was established;
it has been adopted by all the towns except Peel and by seven of the
seventeen country parishes. Before this date the poor had been
dependent on voluntary relief, which broke down owing to the growth of
a temporarily employed class occupied in administering to the wants of
the summer visitors. The total number of persons in receipt of poor
relief averages about 920, and that of lunatics about 212. The average
number of births during the five years 1902-1906 was 21.6, of
marriages 6.1, and of deaths 17.6 per thousand. The rateable annual
value of the parishes, towns and villages is about £400,000. The
revenue for the year ending the 31st of March 1907 was £86,365, and
the expenditure £75,728. The largest revenue raised was £91,193 in
1901, and the debt reached its maximum amount, £219,531, in 1894.
_History._--The history of the Isle of Man falls naturally into three
periods. In the first of these the island was inhabited by a Celtic
people. The next is marked by the Viking invasions and the establishment
of Scandinavian rule. The third period is that of the English dominion.
The secular history of the Isle of Man during the Celtic period is an
absolute blank, there being no trustworthy record of any event whatever
before the incursions of the Northmen, since the exploits attributed to
Baetan MacCairill, king of Ulster, at the end of the 6th century, which
were formally supposed to have been performed in the Isle of Man, really
occurred in the country between the Firths of Clyde and Forth. And it is
clear that, even if the supposed conquest of the Menavian islands--Man
and Anglesey--by Edwin of Northumbria, in 616, did take place, it could
not have led to any permanent results; for, when the English were driven
from the coasts of Cumberland and Lancashire soon afterwards, they could
not well have retained their hold on the island to the west of these
coasts. It is, however, possible that in 684, when Ecfrid laid Ireland
waste from Dublin to Drogheda, he temporarily occupied Man. During the
period of Scandinavian domination there are two main epochs--one before
the conquest of Man by Godred Crovan in 1079, and the other after it.
The earlier epoch is characterized by warfare and unsettled rule, the
later is comparatively peaceful. Between about A.D. 800 and 815 the
Vikings came to Man chiefly for plunder; between about 850 and 990, when
they settled in it, the island fell under the rule of the Scandinavian
kings of Dublin; and between 990 and 1079, it was subject to the
powerful earls of Orkney. The conqueror Godred Crovan was evidently a
remarkable man, though little information about him is attainable.
According to the _Chronicon Manniae_ he "subdued Dublin, and a great
part of Leinster, and held the Scots in such subjection that no one who
built a vessel dared to insert more than three bolts." The memory of
such a ruler would be likely to survive in tradition, and it seems
probable therefore that he is the person commemorated in Manx legend
under the name of King Gorse or Orry. The islands which were under his
rule were called the _Suðr-eyjar_ (Sudreys or the south isles), in
contradistinction to the _norðr-eyjar_, or the north isles, i.e. the
Orkneys and Shetlands, and they consisted of the Hebrides, and of all
the smaller western islands of Scotland, with Man. At a later date his
successors took the title of _Rex Manniae el Insularum_. Olaf, Godred's
son, was a powerful monarch, who, according to the Chronicle, maintained
"such close alliance with the kings of Ireland and Scotland that no one
ventured to disturb the Isles during his time" (1113-1152). His son,
Godred, who for a short period ruled over Dublin also, as a result of a
quarrel with Somerled, the ruler of Argyll, in 1156, lost the smaller
islands off the coast of Argyll. An independent sovereignty was thus
interposed between the two divisions of his kingdom. Early in the 13th
century, when Reginald of Man did homage to King John, we hear for the
first time of English intervention in the affairs of Man. But it was
into the hands of Scotland that the islands were ultimately to fall.
During the whole of the Scandinavian period the isles were nominally
under the suzerainty of the kings of Norway, but they only occasionally
asserted it with any vigour. The first to do so was Harold Haarfager
about 885, then came Magnus Barfod about 1100, both of whom conquered
the isles. From the middle of the 12th century till 1217 the suzerainty,
owing to the fact that Norway was a prey to civil dissensions, had been
of a very shadowy character. But after that date it became a reality and
Norway consequently came into collision with the growing power of
Scotland. Finally, in 1261, Alexander III. of Scotland sent envoys to
Norway to negotiate for the cession of the isles, but their efforts led
to no result. He therefore initiated hostilities which terminated in the
complete defeat of the Norwegian fleet at Largs in 1263. Magnus, king of
Man and the Isles, who had fought on the Norwegian side, was compelled
to surrender all the islands over which he had ruled, except Man, for
which he did homage. Two years later Magnus died and in 1266 the king of
Norway, in consideration of the sum of 4000 marks, ceded the islands,
including Man, to Scotland. But Scotland's rule over Man was not firmly
established till 1275, when the Manx were defeated in a decisive battle
at Ronaldsway, near Castletown. In 1290 we find Edward I. of England in
possession of Man, and it remained in English hands till 1313, when it
was taken by Robert Bruce after besieging Castle Rushen for five weeks.
Then, till 1346, when the battle of Neville's Cross decided the long
struggle between England and Scotland in England's favour, there
followed a confused period when Man was sometimes under English and
sometimes under Scottish rule. About 1333 it had been granted by King
Edward III. to William de Montacute, 1st earl of Salisbury, as his
absolute possession, without reserving any service to be rendered to
him. In 1392 his son sold the island "with the crowne" to Sir William Le
Scroope. In 1399 Henry IV. caused Le Scroope, who had taken Richard's
side, to be beheaded. The island then came into the possession of the
crown and was granted to Henry de Percy, earl of Northumberland, but, he
having been attainted, Henry IV., in 1406, made a grant of it, with the
patronage of the bishopric, to Sir John Stanley, his heirs and assigns,
on the service of rendering two falcons on paying homage and two falcons
to all future kings of England on their coronation.
With the accession of the Stanleys to the throne there begins a better
epoch in Manx history. Though the island's new rulers rarely visited its
shores, they placed it under responsible governors, who, in the main,
seem to have treated it with justice. Of the thirteen members of the
family who ruled in Man, the second Sir John Stanley (1414-1432), James,
the 7th earl (1627-1651), and the 10th earl of the same name (1702-1736)
had the most important influence on it. The first curbed the power of
the spiritual barons, introduced trial by jury, instead of trial by
battle, and ordered the laws to be written. The second, known as the
Great Stanley, and his wife, Charlotte de la Tremoille (or Tremouille),
are probably the most striking figures in Manx history. In 1643 Charles
I. ordered him to go to Man, where the people, who were no doubt
influenced by what was taking place in England, threatened to revolt.
But his arrival, with English soldiers, soon put a stop to anything of
this kind. He conciliated the people by his affability, brought in
Englishmen to teach various handicrafts and tried to help the farmers by
improving the breed of Manx horses, and, at the same time, he restricted
the exactions of the Church. But the Manx people never had less liberty
than under his rule. They were heavily taxed; troops were quartered upon
them; and they also had the more lasting grievance of being compelled to
accept leases for three lives instead of holding their land by the
"straw" tenure which they considered to be equivalent to a customary
inheritance. Six months after the death of the king Stanley received a
summons from General Ireton to surrender the island, which he haughtily
declined. In August 1651 he went to England with some of his troops,
among whom were 300 Manxmen, to join King Charles II., and he and they
shared in the decisive defeat of the Royalists at Worcester. He was
captured and confined in Chester Castle, and, after being tried by court
martial, was executed at Wigan. Soon after his death the Manx Militia,
under the command of William Christian, rose against the Countess and
captured all the insular forts except Rushen and Peel. They were then
joined by a parliamentary force under Colonel Duckenfield, to whom the
Countess surrendered after a brief resistance. Fairfax had been
appointed "Lord of Man and the Isles" in September, so that Man
continued under a monarchical government and remained in the same
relation to England as before. The restoration of Stanley government in
1660 therefore caused as little friction and alteration as its temporary
cessation had. One of the first acts of the new lord, Charles (the 8th
earl), was to order Christian to be tried. He was found guilty and
executed. Of the other persons implicated in the rebellion only three
were excepted from the general amnesty. But by order in Council they
were pardoned, and the judges responsible for the sentence on Christian
were punished. His next act was to dispute the permanency of the
tenants' holdings, which they had not at first regarded as being
affected by the acceptance of leases, a proceeding which led to an
almost open rebellion against his authority and to the neglect of
agriculture. In lieu of it the people devoted themselves to the
fisheries and to contraband trade. The agrarian question was not settled
till 1704, when James, Charles's brother and successor, largely through
the influence of Bishop Wilson, entered into a compact with his tenants,
which was embodied in an act, called the "Act of Settlement." Their
compact secured the tenants in the possession of their estates in
perpetuity on condition of a fixed rent, and a small fine on succession
or alienation. From the great importance of this act to the Manx people
it has been called their _Magna Carta_. As time went on, and the value
of the estates increased, the rent payable to the lord became so small
in proportion as to be almost nominal. James died in 1736 and the
sovereignty of the isle passed to James Murray, 2nd duke of Atholl. In
1764 he was succeeded by his only surviving child Charlotte, Baroness
Strange, and her husband, John Murray, who, in right of his wife, became
Lord of Man. About 1720 the contraband trade greatly increased. In 1726
it was, for a time, somewhat checked by the interposition of parliament,
but during the last ten years of the Atholl régime (1756-1765) it
assumed such proportions that, in the interests of the imperial revenue,
it became necessary to suppress it. With a view to so doing an Act of
Parliament, called the "Revesting Act," was passed in 1765, under which
the sovereign rights of the Atholls and the customs revenues of the
island were purchased for the sum of £70,000, and an annuity of £2000
was granted to the duke and duchess. The Atholls still retained their
manorial rights, the patronage of the See, and certain other
perquisites, which were finally purchased for the excessive sum of
£417,144 in 1828. Up to the time of the Revestment the Tynwald Court
passed laws concerning the government of the island in all respects and
had control over its finances, subject to the approval of the lord.
After the Revestment, or rather after the passage of the "Mischief Act"
in the same year, Imperial Parliament legislated with respect to
customs, harbours and merchant shipping, and, in measures of a general
character, it occasionally inserted clauses by which penalties in
contravention of the acts of which they formed part might be enforced in
the island. It also assumed the control of the insular customs duties.
Such were the changes which, rather than the transference of the
sovereignty from the lord to the king of Great Britain and Ireland,
modified the Constitution of the Isle of Man. Its ancient laws and
tenures were not interfered with, but in many ways the Revestment
adversely affected it. The hereditary lords were far from being model
rulers, but most of them had taken some personal share in its
government, and had interested themselves in the well-being of its
inhabitants. But now the whole direction of its affairs was handed over
to officials, who regarded the island as a pestilent nest of smugglers,
from which it was their duty to extract as much revenue as possible.
Some alleviation of this state of things was experienced between 1793
and 1826 when the 4th duke of Atholl was appointed governor, since,
though he quarrelled with the Keys and was unduly solicitous for his
pecuniary interests, he did occasionally exert himself to promote the
welfare of the island. After his departure the English officials resumed
their sway. But they were more considerate than before. Moreover, since
smuggling, which had only been checked, not suppressed, by the Revesting
Act, had by that time almost disappeared, and the Manx revenue was
producing a large and increasing surplus, the Isle of Man came to be
regarded more favourably, and, thanks to this fact and to the
representations of the Manx people to English ministers in 1837, 1844
and 1853, it obtained a somewhat less stringent customs tariff and an
occasional dole towards erecting its much neglected public works. Since
1866, when the Isle of Man obtained a measure of at least nominal "Home
Rule," the Manx people have made remarkable progress, and at the present
day form a prosperous community.
_Monuments._--The prehistoric monuments in Man are numerous. There are
earth entrenchments, seemingly of the earliest period; fragments of
stone circles and alignments; burial cairns with stone cists of several
successive periods; urn mounds and _crannoges_ or lake dwellings. The
monuments belonging to the historic period begin with the round tower on
Peel islet, the humble Celtic _keeills_ and the sculptured crosses in
which the island is especially rich. Of these crosses about one-fourth
have inscriptions in the old Norse language. The origin and history of
the early buildings remaining on the island are obscure. The castles of
Rushen and Peel are the only important buildings of a military character
which survive, but the remains of ecclesiastical buildings are numerous
and interesting, though, with the exception of St German's Cathedral on
Peel islet, now in ruins, they are only small and simple structures.
_Arms._--There has been much controversy about the origin of the arms of
the island--the "three-legs" found on a beautiful pillar cross near
Maughhold churchyard belonging to the latter part of the 14th century.
It was probably originally a sun symbol and was brought from Sicily by
the Vikings. The motto _quocunque jeceris slabit_ is of comparatively
recent origin.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--History and Law: _The Manx Society's publications_,
vols. i.-xxxii., notably the _Chronicon Manniae_ (vols. xxii. and
xxiii., edited by Munch); Sir Spencer Walpole, K.C.B., _The Land of
Home Rule_, an essay on the history and constitution of the Isle of
Man (London, Longmans, Green & Co., 1893); A. W. Moore, M.A., C.V.O.,
_The Diocese of Sodor and Man_, S.P.C.K.'s series of Diocesan
Histories (1893); and _A History of the Isle of Man_, (2 vols.,
London, T. Fisher Unwin, 1900); _The Statutes of the Isle of Man from
1817 to 1895_, Gill's edition, 6 vols. (vol. i. 1883 to vol. vi. 1897,
London, Eyre & Spottiswoode); Richard Sherward (Deemster), _Manx Law
Tenures_, a short treatise on the law relating to real estate in the
Isle of Man (Douglas Robinson Bros., 1899). Archaeology and Folklore:
P. M. C. Kermode, F. S. A. Scot., _Manx Crosses_ (London, Bemrose &
Sons, 1907); E. Alfred Jones, _The Old Church Plate of the Isle of
Man_ (Bemrose & Sons, 1907); A. W. Moore, C.V.O., M.A., _The Folklore
of the Isle of Man_ (London, D. Nutt, 1891). Language and Philology:
_A Dictionary of the Manx Language_ (Manx-English), by Archibald
Cregeen (1835); _A Practical Grammar of the Antient Gaelic, or
Language of the Isle of Man, usually called Manks_, by Rev. John
Kelly, LL.D.; _Manx Society's publications_, vol. ii. (1859, reprint
of edition of 1804); _The Manx Dictionary in two ports_ (Manx-English,
English-Manx), by Rev. John Kelly, William Gill and John Clarke; _Manx
Society's publications_, vol. xiii. (1866); _The Book of Common Prayer
in Manx Gaelic_, being translations made by Bishop Phillips in 1610
and by the Manx clergy in 1765, edited by A. W. Moore, C.V.O., M.A.,
and John Rhys, M.A., LL.D.; _Outlines of the Phonology of Manx
Gaelic_, by John Rhys (Oxford University Press, 2 vols., 1893-1894);
_First Lessons in Manx_, by Edmund Goodwin (Dublin, Celtic
Association, 1901); _Manx National Songs_, with English words, from
the MS. collection of the Deemster Gill, Dr J. Clague and W. H. Gill,
and arranged by W. H. Gill (London, Boosey & Co., 1896); _Manx Ballads
and Music_, edited by A. W. Moore (Douglas, G. and R. Johnson, 1896);
A. W. Moore's _The Surnames and Place Names of the Isle of Man_
(London, Elliot Stock, 1906, 3rd ed.). Natural History: P. G. Ralfe,
_The Birds of the Isle of Man_ (Edinburgh, David Douglas, 1905).
Hall Caine's novels, _The Deemster_, _The Manxman_, &c., have no doubt
tended to popularize the island. The most truthful description of the
social life of the people is to be found in a novel entitled _The
Captain of the Parish_, by John Quine. _Bibliotheca Monensis_ (_Manx
Society_, vol. xxiv.) contains a good list of MSS. and books relating
to the island up to 1876, and A. W. Moore's _History of the Isle of
Man_ has a list of the most important MSS. and books up to 1900.
(A. W. M.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] G. W. Lamplough, _The Geology of the Isle of Man_, Mem. Geol.
Survey (1903).
MANAAR, GULF OF, a portion of the Indian Ocean lying between the coast
of Madras and Ceylon. Its northern limit is the line of rocks and
islands called Adam's Bridge. Its extreme width from Cape Comorin to
Point de Galle is about 200 miles.
MANACOR, a town of Spain in the island of Majorca, 40 m. by rail E. of
Palma. Pop. (1900), 12,408. Manacor has a small trade in grain, fruit,
wine, oil and live stock. In the neighbourhood are the cave of Drach,
containing several underground lakes, and the caves of Artá, one of the
largest and finest groups of stalactite caverns in western Europe.
MANAGE, to control, direct, or be in a position or have the capacity to
do anything (from Ital. _maneggiare_, to train horses, literally to
handle; Lat. _manus_, hand). The word was first used of the "management"
of a horse. Its meanings have been much influenced by the French
_ménager_, to direct a household or _ménage_ (from late Lat. _mansio_,
house); hence to economize, to husband resources, &c. The French
_ménage_, act of guiding or leading, from _mener_, to lead, seems also
to have influenced the meaning.
MANAGUA, the capital of Nicaragua, and of the department of Managua; on
the southern shore of Lake Managua, and on the railway from Diriamba to
El Viejo, 65 m. by rail S.E. of the Pacific port of Corinto. Pop.
(1905), about 30,000. Managua is a modern city, with many flourishing
industries and a rapidly growing population. Its chief buildings are
those erected after 1855, when it was chosen as the capital to put an
end to the rivalry between the then more important cities of Leon and
Granada. They include the Palacio Nacional or government buildings,
Corinthian in style, the national library and museum, an ornate
Renaissance structure, the barracks and the general post office. Owing
to its position on the lake, and its excellent communications by rail
and steamer, Managua obtained after 1855 an important export trade in
coffee, sugar, cocoa and cotton, although in 1876 it was temporarily
ruined by a great inundation.
MANAKIN, from the Dutch word _Manneken_, applied to certain small birds,
a name apparently introduced into English by G. Edwards (_Nat. Hist.
Birds_, i. 21) in or about 1743, since which time it has been accepted
generally, and is now used for those which form the family _Pipridae_.
The manakins are peculiar to the Neotropical Region and have many of the
habits of the titmouse family (_Paridae_), living in deep forests,
associating in small bands, and keeping continually in motion, but
feeding almost wholly on the large soft berries of the different kinds
of _Melastoma_. The _Pipridae_, however, have no close affinity with the
_Paridae_,[1] but belong to another great division of the order
_Passeres_, the _Clamatores_ group of the _Anisomyodae_. The manakins
are nearly all birds of gay appearance, generally exhibiting rich tints
of blue, crimson, scarlet, orange or yellow in combination with
chestnut, deep black, black and white, or olive green; and among their
most obvious characteristics are their short bill and feeble feet, of
which the outer toe is united to the middle toe for a good part of its
length. The tail, in most species very short, has in others the middle
feathers much elongated, and in one of the outer rectrices are
attenuated and produced into threads. They have been divided (Brit. Mus.
_Cat. Birds_, vol. xiv.) into nineteen genera with about seventy
species, of which eighteen are included under _Pipra_ itself. _P.
leucilla_, one of the best known, has a wide distribution from the
isthmus of Panama to Guiana and the valley of the Amazon; but it is one
of the most plainly coloured of the family, being black with a white
head. The genus _Machaeropterus_, consisting of four species, is very
remarkable for the extraordinary form of some of the secondary
wing-feathers in the males, in which the shaft is thickened and the webs
changed in shape, as described and illustrated by P. L. Sclater (_Proc.
Zool. Society_, 1860, p. 90; Ibis, 1862, p. 175[2]) in the case of the
beautiful _M. deliciosus_, and it has been observed that the wing-bones
of these birds are also much thickened, no doubt in correlation with
this abnormal structure. A like deviation from the ordinary character is
found in the allied genus _Chiromachaeris_, comprehending seven species,
and Sclater is of the opinion that it enables them to make the singular
noise for which they have long been noted, described by O. Salvin
(_Ibis_, 1860, p. 37) in the case of one of them, _M. candaei_, as
beginning "with a sharp note not unlike the crack of a whip," which is
"followed by a rattling sound not unlike the call of a landrail"; and it
is a similar habit that has obtained for another species, _M. edwardsi_,
the name in Cayenne, according to Buffon (_Hist. Nat. Oiseaux_, iv.
413), of _Cassenoisette_. (A. N.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Though Edwards called the species he figured (_ut supra_) a
titmouse, he properly remarked that there was no genus of European
birds to which he could liken it.
[2] The figures are repeated by Darwin (_Descent of Man_, &c., ii.
66).
MANAOAG, a town in the north central part of the province of Pangasinán,
Luzon, Philippine Islands, on the Angalacan river, 21 m. N.E. of
Lingayen. Pop. (1903), 16,793. The inhabitants devote themselves
especially to rice-culture, though tobacco, Indian corn, sugar-cane,
fruit and vegetables are also raised. A statue of the Virgin Mary here
is visited annually (especially during May) by thousands from Pangasinán
and adjoining provinces. The inhabitants are mostly Ilocanos. Manaoag
includes the town proper and eighteen barrios.
MANÁOS, a city and port of Brazil and capital of the state of Amazonas,
on the left bank of the Rio Negro 12 m. above its junction with the
Solimões, or Amazon, and 908 m. (Wappäus) above the mouth of the latter,
in lat. 3° 8´ 4´´ S., long. 60° W. Pop. (1908), about 40,000, including
a large percentage of Indians, negroes and mixed-bloods; the city is
growing rapidly. Manáos stands on a slight eminence overlooking the
river, 106 ft. above sea-level, traversed by several "igarapés" (canoe
paths) or side channels, and beautified by the luxuriant vegetation of
the Amazon valley. The climate is agreeable and healthful, the average
temperature for the year (1902) being 84°, the number of rainy days 130,
and the total rainfall 66.4 in. Up to the beginning of the 20th century
the only noteworthy public edifices were the church of N.S. da
Conceição, the St Sebastião asylum and, possibly, a Misericordia
hospital; but a government building, a custom-house, a municipal hall,
courts of justice, a marketplace and a handsome theatre were
subsequently erected, and a modern water-supply system, electric light
and electric tramways were provided. The "igarapés" are spanned by a
number of bridges. Higher education is provided by a lyceum or high
school, besides which there is a noteworthy school (bearing the name of
Benjamin Constant) for poor orphan girls. Manáos has a famous botanical
garden, an interesting museum, a public library, and a meteorological
observatory. The port of Manáos, which is the commercial centre of the
whole upper Amazon region, was nothing but a river anchorage before
1902. In that year a foreign corporation began improvements, which
include a stone river-wall or quay, storehouses for merchandise, and
floating wharves or landing stages connected with the quay by floating
bridges or roadways. The floating wharves and bridges are made necessary
by the rise and fall of the river, the difference between the maximum
and minimum levels being about 33 ft.
The principal exports are rubber, nuts, cacao, dried fish, hides and
piassava fibre. The markets of Manáos receive their supplies of beef
from the national stock ranges on the Rio Branco, and it is from this
region that hides and horns are received for export. The shipping
movement of the port has become large and important, the total arrivals
in 1907, including small trading boats, being 1589, of which 133 were
ocean-going steamers from Europe and the United States, 75 from south
Brazilian ports, and 227 river steamers from Pará. This rapid growth in
its direct trade is due to a provincial law of 1878 which authorized an
abatement of 3% in the export duties on direct shipments, and a state
law of 1900 which made it compulsory to land and ship all products of
the state from the Manáos custom-house.
The first European settlement on the site of Manáos was made in 1660,
when a small fort was built here by Francisco da Motta Falcão, and was
named São José de Rio Negro. The mission and village which followed was
called Villa de Barra, or Barra do Rio Negro (the name "Barra" being
derived from the "bar" in the current of the river, occasioned by the
setback caused by its encounter with the Amazon). It succeeded Barcellos
as the capital of the old _capitania_ of Rio Negro in 1809, and became
the capital of Amazonas when that province was created in 1850, its name
being then changed to Manáos, the name of the principal tribe of Indians
living on the Rio Negro at the time of its discovery. In 1892 Manáos
became the see of the new bishopric of Amazonas.
MANASSAS, a district of Prince William county, Virginia, and a town of
the district, about 30 m. W.S.W. of Washington, D.C. Pop. (1910) of the
district, 3381; of the town, 1217. The village of Manassas (in the
town), known also as Manassas Junction, is served by the Chesapeake &
Ohio and the Southern railways. North of the junction is Bull Run, a
small stream which empties into the Occoquan, an arm of the Potomac. In
this neighbourhood two important battles of the American Civil War, the
first and second battles of Bull Run, were fought on the 21st of July
1861 and on the 29th-30th of August 1862 respectively; by Southern
historians these battles are called the battles of Manassas. At Manassas
is the Manassas Industrial School for Coloured Youth (non-sectarian;
privately supported), which was founded in 1892 and opened in 1894; in
1908-1909 it had nine teachers (all negroes) and 121 pupils, all in
elementary grades.
MANASSEH (7th cent. B.C.), son of Hezekiah, and king of Judah (2 Kings
xxi. 1-18). His reign of fifty-five years was marked by a reaction
against the reforming policy of his father, and his persistent idolatry
and bloodshed were subsequently regarded as the cause of the destruction
of Jerusalem and of the dispersion of the people (2 Kings xxiii. 26
seq.; Jer. xv. 4). As a vassal of Assyria he was contemporary with
Sennacherib, Esar-haddon (681-668 B.C.) and Assur-bani-pal (668-626
B.C.), and his name (_Me-na-si-e_) appears among the tributaries of the
two latter. Little is known of his history. The chronicler, however,
relates that the Assyrian army took him in chains to Babylon, and that
after his repentance he returned, and distinguished himself by his
piety, by building operations in Jerusalem and by military organization
(2 Chron. xxxiii. 10 sqq.). The story of his penitence referred to in
xxxiii. 22, is untrustworthy, but the historical foundation may have
been some share in the revolt of the Babylonian Samas-sum-ukin (648
B.C.), on which occasion he may have been summoned before Assur-bani-pal
with other rebels and subsequently reinstated. See further Driver, in
Hogarth, _Authority and Archaeology_, pp. 114 sqq. Manasseh was
succeeded by his son Amon, who after a brief reign of two years perished
in a conspiracy, his place being taken by Amon's son (or brother) Josiah
(q.v.). A lament formerly ascribed to Manasseh (cf. 2 Chron. xxxiii. 18)
is preserved in the Apocrypha (see MANASSES, PRAYER OF; and APOCRYPHAL
LITERATURE). On Judg. xviii. 30 (marg.), see JONATHAN.
MANASSEH (apparently Hebrew for "he who causes to forget," but see H. W.
Hogg, _Encyc. Bib._, s.v.); in the Bible, a tribe of Israel, the elder
but less important of the "sons" of Joseph. Its seat lay to the north of
Ephraim, but its boundaries can scarcely be defined. It merged itself
with its "brother" in the south, and with Issachar, Zebulun and other
tribes in the north (Josh. xvii. 7 sqq.). From the latter it was
separated for a time by a line of Canaanite cities extending from Dor to
Bethshean, which apparently were not all subdued till the days of David
or Solomon (Judg. i. 27; 1 Sam. xxxi. 10; 1 Kings ix. 15). Besides its
western settlement in the fertile glades of northern Samaria, running
out into the great plain, there were territories east of the Jordan
reckoned to Manasseh. Gilead and Bashan were said to have been taken by
Machir, and a number of places of uncertain identification were occupied
by Nobah and Jair (Num. xxxii. 41; Judg. x. 3-5). It seems most natural
to suppose that these districts were held before the Israelites crossed
over to the west (cf. the tradition Num. xxi., Deut. iii.). On the other
hand, in Judg. v. 14, Machir may conceivably belong to the west, and it
is possible that, according to another tradition, these movements were
the result of the complaint of the Joseph tribes that their original
territory was too restricted.[1] In the genealogical lists, Machir,
perhaps originally an independent branch, is the eldest son of Manasseh
(Josh. xvii. 1 _b_, 2); but according to later schemes he is Manasseh's
only son (Num. xxvi. 28-34). Intermixture with Arameans is indicated in
the view that he was the son of Manasseh and an Aramean concubine (1
Chron. vii. 14), and this is supported by the statement that the
Arameans of Geshur and Maacah (cf. 2 Sam. x. 6; Gen. xxii. 24) dwelt
among the Israelites of eastern Jordan (Josh. xiii. 13). Subsequently,
at an unknown period of history, sixty cities were lost (1 Chron. ii.
23). The story of the daughters of the Manassite Zelophehad is of
interest for the Hebrew law of inheritance (Num. xxvii. 1-11, xxxvi.).
Some details of the history of this twofold branch of the Israelites
are contained in the stories of Gideon (W. Manasseh) and Jephthah (E.
Manasseh). The relations between Saul and Jabesh-Gilead point to the
close bond uniting the two districts, but the details have been
variously interpreted: Winckler, for example, suggesting that Saul
himself was originally from E. Manasseh and that he followed in the
steps of Jephthah (_Keilinschr. u. d. alte Test._, pp. 216 seq. 227).
Generally speaking, its position in the west made it share the
fortunes of Ephraim, whilst on the east the proximity of Ammonites and
Moabites controlled its history; see also the articles on its southern
neighbours, GAD and REUBEN, and the articles GENEALOGY (Biblical); and
JEWS: _History_. (S. A. C.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] So Budde (_Richter u. Samuel_), who recovers certain old
fragments and arranges Josh. xvii. 14-18 (v. 18 read "hill-country of
Gilead"); Num. xxxii. 39, 41 seq.; Josh. xiii. 13.
MANASSES, CONSTANTINE, Byzantine chronicler, flourished in the 12th
century during the reign of Manuel I. (Comnenus) (1143-1180). He was the
author of a _Chronicle_ or historical synopsis of events from the
creation of the world to the end of the reign of Nicephorus Botaniates
(1081), written by direction of Irene, the emperor's sister-in-law. It
consists of about 7000 lines in the so-called "political" metre.[1]
There is little to be said of it, except that it is rather more poetical
than the iambic chronicle of Ephraim (about 150 years later). It
obtained great popularity and appeared in a free prose translation; it
was also translated into Slavonic. The poetical romance of the _Loves of
Aristander and Callithea_, also in "political" verse, is only known from
the fragments preserved in the [Greek: Rhodônia] (rose-garden) of
Macarius Chrysocephalus (14th century). Manasses also wrote a short
biography of Oppian, and some descriptive pieces (all except one
unpublished) on artistic and other subjects.
EDITIONS.--_Chronicle_ in Bonn, _Corpus scriptorum hist. Byz._, 1st
ed. Bekker (1837) and in J. P. Migne, _Patrologia graeca_, cxxvii.;
_Aristander and Callithea_ in R. Hercher's _Scriptores erotici
graeci_, ii. (1859); "Life of Oppian" in A. Westermann, _Vitarum
scriptores graeci minores_ (1845). A long didactic poem in "political"
verse (edited by E. Miller in _Annuaire de l'assoc. pour
l'encouragement des études grecques en France_, ix. 1875) is
attributed to Manasses or one of his imitators. See also F. Hirsch,
_Byzantinische Studien_ (1876); C. Krumbacher, _Geschichte der
byzantinischen Litteratur_ (1897).
FOOTNOTE:
[1] "Political" verse or metre is the name given to a kind of verse
found as early as the 6th century in proverbs, and characteristic of
Byzantine and modern Greek poetry. It takes no account of the
quantity of syllables; the scansion depends on accent, and there is
always an accent on the last syllable but one. It is specially used
of an iambic verse with fifteen syllables, i.e. seven feet and an
unaccented syllable over. Byron compares "A captain bold of Halifax
who lived in country quarters." Such facile metres are called
"political," in the sense of "commonplace," "of the city." Cf.
Gibbon's _Decline and Fall_ (ed. Bury, 1898), vi. 108; Du Cange,
_Gloss. med. et infin. lat._ (vi. 395), who has an interesting
quotation from Leo Allatius. Leo explains "political" as implying
that the verses are "scorta et meretrices, quod omnibus sunt
obsequiosae et peculiares, et servitutem publicam serviunt."
MANASSES, PRAYER OF, an apocryphal book of the Old Testament. This
writing, which since the Council of Trent has been relegated by the
Church of Rome to the position of an appendix to the Vulgate, was placed
by Luther and the translators of the English Bible among the apocryphal
books. In some MSS. of the Septuagint it is the eighth among the
canticles appended to the Psalter, though in many Greek psalters, which
include the canticles, it is not found at all. In Swete's Old Testament
in Greek, iii. 802 sqq., A is printed with the variants of T
(_Psalterium turicense_).[1] From the statements in 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12,
13, 18, 19, it follows that the Old Testament chronicler found a prayer
attributed to Manasseh in his Hebrew sources, _The History of the Kings
of Israel_ and _The History of the Seers_. Naturally the question arose,
had the existing Prayer of Manasses any direct connexion with the prayer
referred to by the chronicler? Ewald was of opinion that the Greek was
an actual translation of the lost Hebrew; but Ball more wisely takes it
as a free rendering of a lost Haggadic narrative founded on the older
document from which the chronicler drew his information. This view he
supports by showing that there was once a considerable literature in
circulation regarding Manasseh's later history. On the other hand most
scholars take the Prayer to have been written in Greek, e.g. Fritzsche,
Schürer and Ryssel (Kautzsch, _Apok. u. Pseud._ i. 165-168).
This fine penitential prayer seems to have been modelled after the
penitential psalms. It exhibits considerable unity of thought, and the
style is, in the main, dignified and simple.
As regards the date, Fritzsche, Ball and Ryssel agree in assigning this
psalm to the Maccabean period. Its eschatology and doctrine of "divine
forgiveness" may point to an earlier date.
The best short account of the book is given by Ball (_Speaker's
Apocrypha_, ii. 361-371); see also Porter in Hastings's _Dict. Bible_,
iii. 232-233. (R. H. C.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Nestle (_Septuaginta Studien III._) contends that the text of A
and T is derived from the Apost. Const. ii. 22, or from its original,
and not from a MS. of the Septuagint.
MANATI (often anglicized as "manatee"), the name, adapted from the Carib
_manattouï_, given by the Spanish colonists of the West Indies to the
American representative of a small group of herbivorous aquatic mammals,
constituting, with their allies the dugong and the now extinct
_Rhytina_, the order Sirenia. The name, though possibly of Mandingo
origin (see MANDINGO), was latinized as _manatus_, furnished with hands,
thus referring the etymology to the somewhat hand-like form, or
hand-like use, of the fore-flippers, which alone serve these creatures
for limbs. Manatis, as shown in the illustration in the article SIRENIA,
are somewhat whale-like in shape, having a similar horizontally expanded
tail-fin; but here the resemblance to the Cetacea ceases, the whole
organization of these animals being constructed on entirely different
lines. The American manati, _Manatus_ (or, as some would have it,
_Trichechus latirostris_), inhabits the rivers of Florida, Mexico,
Central America and the West Indies, and measures from 9 to 13 feet in
length. The body is somewhat fish-like, but depressed and ending
posteriorly in a broad, flat, shovel-like horizontal tail, with rounded
edges. The head is of moderate size, oblong, with a blunt, truncated
muzzle, and divided from the body by a slight constriction or neck. The
fore limbs are flattened oval paddles, placed rather low on the sides of
the body, and showing externally no signs of division into fingers, but
with three diminutive flat nails near their extremities. No traces of
hind limbs are discernible either externally or internally; and there is
no dorsal fin. The mouth is peculiar, the tumid upper lip being cleft in
the middle line into two lobes, each of which is separately movable. The
nostrils are two semilunar valve-like slits at the apex of the muzzle.
The eyes are very minute, placed at the sides of the head, and with a
nearly circular aperture with wrinkled margins; and external ears are
wanting. The skin generally is of a dark greyish colour, not smooth or
glistening like that of whale or dolphin, but finely wrinkled. At a
little distance it appears naked, but close inspection, at all events in
young animals, shows a scanty covering of delicate hairs, and both upper
and under lips are supplied with short, stiff bristles.
[Illustration: (From Murie.)
Front view of head of American Manati, showing the eyes, nostrils, and
mouth. A, with the lobes of the upper lip divaricated; B, with the lip
contracted.]
Manatis have a number--as many as 20 pairs in each jaw--of two-ridged
teeth, of which, however, but comparatively few are in use at once. They
lack the large tusks of the male dugong, and the fore part of the skull
is not so much bent down as in that animal. In life the palate has a
horny plate, with a similar one in the lower jaw. The skeleton is
described under SIRENIA.
Manatis pass their life in the water, inhabiting bays, lagoons,
estuaries and large rivers, but the open sea is unsuited to their
peculiar mode of life. As a rule they prefer shallow water, in which,
when not feeding, they lie near the bottom. In deeper water they often
float, with the body much arched, the rounded back close to the
surface, and the head, limbs and tail hanging downwards. The air in the
lungs assists them to maintain this position. Their food consists
exclusively of aquatic plants, on which they feed beneath the water.
They are slow in their movements, and perfectly harmless, but are
subject to persecution for the sake of their oil, skin and flesh.
Frequent attempts have been made to keep specimens alive in captivity,
and sometimes with considerable success, one having lived in the
Brighton Aquarium for upwards of sixteen months. From such captive
specimens certain observations on the mode of life of these animals have
been made. We learn, for instance, that from the shoulder-joint the
flippers can be moved in all directions, and the elbow and wrist permit
of free extension and flexion. In feeding, manatis push the food towards
their mouths by means of one of the hands, or both used simultaneously,
and any one who has seen these members thus employed can believe the
stories of their carrying their young under their arms. Still more
interesting is the action of the peculiar lateral pads formed by the
divided upper lip, thus described by Professor A. Garrod: "These pads
have the power of transversely approaching towards and receding from one
another simultaneously (see fig.). When the animal is on the point of
seizing (say) a leaf of lettuce, the pads are diverged transversely in
such a way as to make a median gap of considerable breadth. Directly the
leaf is within grasp the lip-pads are approximated, the leaf is firmly
seized between their contiguous bristly surfaces, and then drawn inwards
by a backward movement of the lower margin of the lip as a whole." The
animal is thus enabled by the unaided means of the upper lip to
introduce food placed before it without the assistance of the
comparatively insignificant lower lip, the action recalling that of the
mouth of the silkworm and other caterpillars in which the mandibles
diverge and converge laterally during mastication. All trustworthy
observations indicate that the manati has not the power of voluntarily
leaving the water. None of the specimens in confinement has been
observed to emit any sound.
The Amazonian manati (_M. inunguis_) is a much smaller species, not
exceeding 7 or 8 ft. in length, and without nails to the flippers. It
ascends most of the tributaries of the Amazon until stopped by rapids.
From a specimen which lived a short time in London it appears that the
lip-pads are less developed than in the northern species. The third
species is the West African _M. senegalensis_, which extends a distance
of about ten degrees south and sixteen north of the equator, and ranges
into the heart of the continent as far as Lake Tchad. From 8 to 10 ft.
appears to be the normal length; the weight of a specimen was 590 lb.
The colour is bluish black, with a tinge of olive-green above and yellow
below. (R. L.*)
MANBHUM, a district of British India, in the Chota Nagpur division of
Bengal. The administrative headquarters are at Purulia. Area, 4147 sq.
m.; pop. (1901), 1,301,364, showing an increase of 9.1% since 1891.
Manbhum district forms the first step of a gradual descent from the
table-land of Chota Nagpur to the delta of lower Bengal. In the northern
and eastern portions the country is open, and consists of a series of
rolling downs dotted here and there with isolated conical hills. In the
western and southern tracts the country is more broken and the scenery
much more picturesque. The principal hills are Dalma (3407 ft.), the
crowning peak of a range of the same name; Gangabari or Gajboro (2220
ft.), the highest peak of the Baghmundi range, about 20 m. south-west of
Purulia; and Panchkot or Panchet (1600 ft.), on which stands the old
fort of the rajas of Panchet. The hills are covered with dense jungle.
The chief river is the Kasai, which flows through the district from
north-west to south-east into Midnapore, and on which a considerable
floating trade in _sal_ timber is carried on. The most numerous
aboriginal tribe are the Sontals; but the Bhumij Kols are the
characteristic race. In Manbhum they inhabit the country lying on both
sides of the Subanrekha. They are pure Mundas, but their compatriots to
the east have dropped the title of Munda and the use of their
distinctive language, have adopted Hindu customs, and are fast becoming
Hindus in religion. The Bhumij Kols of the Jungle Mahals were once the
terror of the surrounding districts; they are now more peaceful.
Three principal crops of rice are grown, one sown broadcast early in
May on table-lands and the tops of ridges, an autumn crop, and a
winter crop, the last forming the chief harvest of the district. Other
crops are wheat, barley, Indian corn, pulses, oilseeds, linseeds,
jute, hemp, sugar-cane, indigo, pan and tobacco. Owing to the
completeness of the natural drainage, floods are unknown, but the
country is liable to droughts caused by deficient rainfall. The
principal articles of export are oilseeds, pulses, _ghi_, lac, indigo,
tussur silk (manufactured near Raghunathpur), timber, resin, coal, and
(in good seasons) rice. The chief imports are salt, piece goods, brass
utensils and unwrought iron. Cotton hand-loom weaving is carried on
all over the district. Manbhum contains the Jherria coalfield, in the
Damodar valley, where a large number of mines have been opened since
1894. The United Free Church of Scotland has a mission at Pakheria,
with a printing press that issues a monthly journal in Sonthali; and a
German Lutheran mission has been established since 1864. The district
is traversed by the Bengal-Nagpur railway, while two branches of the
East Indian railway serve the coalfield.
MANCHA, LA (Arabic, _Al Mansha_, "the dry land" or "wilderness"), a name
which when employed in its widest sense denotes the bare and monotonous
elevated plateau of central Spain that stretches between the mountains
of Toledo and the western spurs of the hills of Cuenca, being bounded on
the S. by the Sierra Morena and on the N. by the Alcarria region. It
thus comprises portions of the modern provinces of Toledo, Albacete and
Cuenca, and the greater part of Ciudad Real. Down to the 16th century
the eastern portion was known as La Mancha de Montearagon or de Aragon,
and the western simply as La Mancha; afterwards the north-eastern and
south-western sections respectively were distinguished by the epithets
_Alta_ and _Baja_ (upper and lower). La Mancha is famous as the scene of
Cervantes' novel _Don Quixote_; in appearance, with its multitude of
windmills and vast tracts of arid land, it remains almost exactly as
Cervantes described it. Many villages, such as El Toboso and Argamasilla
de Alba, both near Alcázar de San Juan, are connected by tradition with
episodes in _Don Quixote_.
MANCHE, a department of north-western France, made up chiefly of the
Cotentin and the Avranchin districts of Normandy, and bounded W., N. and
N.E. by the English Channel (Fr. _La Manche_), from which it derives its
name, E. by the department of Calvados, S.E. by Orne, S. by Mayenne and
Ille-et-Vilaine. Pop. (1906), 487,443. Area, 2475 sq. m.
The department is traversed from south to north by a range of hills, in
many parts picturesque, and connected in the south with those of Maine
and Brittany. In the country round Mortain, which has been called the
Switzerland of Normandy, they rise to a height of 1200 ft. The
coast-line, running northward along the bay of the Seine from the rocks
of Grand Camp to Cape Barfleur, thence westward to Cape la Hague, and
finally southward to the Bay of Mont St Michel, has a length of 200
miles. The Vire and the Taute (which near the small port of Carentan
receives the Ouve as a tributary on the left) fall into the sea at the
Calvados border, and are united by a canal some miles above their
mouths. From the mouth of the Taute a low beach runs to the port of St
Vaast-la-Hougue, where the coast becomes rocky, with sandbanks. Off St
Vaast lies the fortified island of Tatihow, with the laboratory of
marine zoology of the Natural History Museum of Paris. Between Cape
Barfleur and Cape la Hague lie the roads of Cherbourg, protected by the
famous breakwater. The whole western coast is inhospitable; its small
havens, lying behind formidable barriers and reefs, are almost dry at
low tide. Great cliffs, such as the points of Jobourg (420 ft. high) and
Flamanville, alternate with long strands, such as that which extends for
30 m. from Cape Carteret to Granville. Between this coast and the
Channel Islands the tide, pent up between numerous sandbanks, flows with
a terrific force that has given these passages such ill-omened names as
_Passage de la Déroute_ and the like. The only important harbours are
Granville and the haven of refuge of Diélette between Granville and
Cherbourg. Carteret carries on a passenger traffic with the Channel
Islands. The chief stream is the Sienne, with its tributary the Soulle
flowing by Coutances. South of Granville the sands of St Pair are the
commencement of the great bay of Mont Saint Michel, whose area of
60,000 acres was covered with forest till the terrible tide of the year
709. The equinoctial tides reach a vertical height of nearly 50 ft. In
the bay the picturesque walls of the abbey rise from the summit of a
rock 400 ft. high. The Sée, which waters Avranches, and the Couesnon
(separating Manche from Ille-et-Vilaine) disembogue in the bay.
The climate of Manche is mild and humid, from its propinquity to the
sea. Frosts are never severe; myrtles and fuchsias flourish in the open
air. Excessive heat is also unusual; the predominant winds are
south-west.
The characteristic industry of the department is the rearing of horses
and cattle, carried on especially in the rich meadow of the eastern
Cotentin; sheep are raised in the western arrondissement of Coutances.
Wheat, buckwheat, barley and oats are the chief cereals cultivated.
Manche is one of the foremost departments for the production of
cider-apples and pears; plums and figs are also largely grown. Butter is
an important source of profit, as also are poultry and eggs. Flourishing
market-gardens are found in the west. The department contains valuable
granite quarries in the Cherbourg arrondissement and the Chausey
islands; building and other stone is quarried.
Villedieu manufactures copper-ware and Sourdeval iron and other
metal-ware; and there are wool-spinning mills, paper-works and
leather-works, but the department as a whole is industrially
unimportant. There are oyster-beds on the coast (St Vaast, &c.), and the
maritime population, besides fishing for herring, mackerel, lobsters or
sole, collect seaweed for agricultural use. Coutances is the seat of a
bishopric of the province of Rouen. The department forms part of the
region of the X. army corps and of the circumscriptions of the académie
(educational division) and appeal-court of Caen. Cherbourg (q.v.), with
its important port, arsenal and shipbuilding yards, is the chief centre
of population. St Lô (q.v.) is the capital; there are six
arrondissements (St Lô, Avranches, Cherbourg, Coutances, Mortain,
Valognes), with 48 cantons and 647 communes. Avranches, Mortain,
Coutances, Granville and Mont Saint Michel receive separate treatment.
At Lessay and St Sauveur-le-Vicomte there are the remains of ancient
Benedictine abbeys, and Torigni-sur-Vire and Tourlaville (close to
Cherbourg) have interesting châteaux of the 16th century. Valognes,
which in the 17th and 18th centuries posed as a provincial centre of
culture, has a church (15th, 16th and 17th centuries) remarkable for its
dome, the only one of Gothic architecture in France.
MANCHESTER, EARLS AND DUKES OF. The Manchester title, in the English
peerage, belongs to a branch of the family of Montagu (q.v.). The first
earl was SIR HENRY MONTAGU (c. 1563-1642), grandson of Sir Edward
Montagu, chief justice of the king's bench 1539-1545, who was named by
King Henry VIII. one of the executors of his will, and governor to his
son, Edward VI. Sir Henry Montagu, who was born at Boughton,
Northamptonshire, about 1563, was educated at Christ's College,
Cambridge, and, having been called to the bar, was elected recorder of
London in 1603, and in 1616 was made chief justice of the king's bench,
in which office it fell to him to pass sentence on Sir Walter Raleigh in
October 1618. In 1620 he was appointed lord high treasurer, being raised
to the peerage as Baron Montagu of Kimbolton, Huntingdonshire, and
Viscount Mandeville. He became president of the council in 1621, in
which office he was continued by Charles I., who created him earl of
Manchester[1] in 1626. In 1628 he became lord privy seal, and in 1635 a
commissioner of the treasury. Although from the beginning of his public
life in 1601, when he first entered parliament, Manchester had inclined
to the popular side in politics, he managed to retain to the end the
favour of the king. He was a judge of the Star Chamber, and one of the
most trusted councillors of Charles I. His loyalty, ability and honesty
were warmly praised by Clarendon. In conjunction with Coventry, the lord
keeper, he pronounced an opinion in favour of the legality of ship-money
in 1634. He died on the 7th of November 1642. Manchester was married
three times. One of his sons by his third wife was father of Charles
Montagu, created earl of Halifax in 1699.
EDWARD MONTAGU, 2nd earl of Manchester (1602-1671), eldest son of the
1st earl by his first wife, Catherine Spencer, granddaughter of Sir John
Spencer of Althorpe, was born in 1602, and was educated at Sidney Sussex
College, Cambridge. He was member of parliament for Huntingdonshire
1623-1626, and in the latter year was raised to the peerage in his
father's lifetime as Baron Montagu of Kimbolton, but was known generally
by his courtesy title of Viscount Mandeville. His first wife, who was
related to the duke of Buckingham, having died in 1625 after two years
of marriage, Mandeville married in 1626 Anne, daughter of the 2nd earl
of Warwick. The influence of his father-in-law, who was afterwards
admiral on the side of the parliament, drew Mandeville to the popular
side in the questions in dispute with the crown, and at the beginning of
the Long Parliament he was one of the recognized leaders of the popular
party in the upper House, his name being joined with those of the five
members of the House of Commons impeached by the king in 1642. At the
outbreak of the Civil War, having succeeded his father in the earldom in
November 1642, Manchester commanded a regiment in the army of the earl
of Essex, and in August 1643 he was appointed major-general of the
parliamentary forces in the eastern counties, with Cromwell as his
second in command. Having become a member of the "committee of both
kingdoms" in 1644, he was in supreme command at Marston Moor (July 1,
1644); but in the subsequent operations his lack of energy brought him
into disagreement with Cromwell, and in November 1644 he strongly
expressed his disapproval of continuing the war (see CROMWELL, OLIVER).
Cromwell brought the shortcomings of Manchester before parliament in the
autumn of 1644; and early in the following year, anticipating the
self-denying ordinance, Manchester resigned his command. He took a
leading part in the frequent negotiations for an arrangement with
Charles, was custodian with Lenthall of the great seal 1646-1648, and
frequently presided in the House of Lords. He opposed the trial of the
king, and retired from public life during the Commonwealth; but after
the Restoration, which he actively assisted, he was loaded with honours
by Charles II. In 1667 he was made a general, and he died on the 5th of
May 1671. Manchester was made a K.G. in 1661, and became F.R.S. in 1667.
Men of such divergent sympathies as Baxter, Burnet and Clarendon agreed
in describing Manchester as a lovable and virtuous man, who loved peace
and moderation both in politics and religion. He was five times married,
leaving children by two of his wives, and was succeeded in the title by
his eldest son, Robert, 3rd earl of Manchester (1634-1683).
See Lord Clarendon, _History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in
England_ (7 vols., Oxford, 1839) and _Life of Clarendon_ (Oxford,
1827); S. R. Gardiner, _History of the Great Civil War_, 1642-1649. (4
vols., London, 1886-1891); _The Quarrel between Manchester and
Cromwell_, Camden Soc., N.S. 12 (London, 1875); Sir Philip Warwick,
_Memoirs of the Reign of Charles I._ (London, 1701).
CHARLES MONTAGU, 1st duke of Manchester (c. 1656-1722), son of Robert,
3rd earl of Manchester, was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and
succeeded to his father's earldom in 1683. Warmly sympathizing with the
Whig revolution of 1688, he attended William and Mary at their
coronation, fought under William at the Boyne, became a privy councillor
in 1698, and held various important diplomatic posts between that date
and 1714, when he received an appointment in the household of George I.,
by whom on the 28th of April 1719 he was created duke of Manchester. He
died on the 20th of January 1722, and was succeeded successively in the
dukedom by his two sons, William 2nd duke of Manchester (1700-1739), and
Robert 3rd duke (c. 1710-1762), who was vice-chamberlain to Queen
Caroline, wife of George II.
GEORGE MONTAGU, 4th duke of Manchester (1737-1788), was the son of
Robert, the 3rd duke. He was a supporter of Lord Rockingham, and an
active opponent in the House of Lords of Lord North's American policy.
In the Rockingham ministry of 1782 Manchester became lord chamberlain.
He died in September 1788.
WILLIAM MONTAGU, 5th duke of Manchester (1768-1843), second son of the
preceding, was educated at Harrow, and having become a colonel in the
army in 1794, was appointed governor of Jamaica in 1808. Here he
remained, except for a visit to England (1811-1813) till 1827,
administering the colony with ability in a period of considerable
difficulty, and doing much to prepare the way for emancipation of the
slaves. From 1827 to 1830 he was postmaster-general in the cabinet of
the duke of Wellington, and died in Rome on the 18th of March 1843. His
wife was Susan, daughter of the 4th duke of Gordon. He was succeeded by
his son George, 6th duke (1799-1855), a captain in the navy; whose son
William Drogo, 7th duke (1823-1890), married Louise, daughter of the
Comte d'Alten of Hanover, who after his death married Spencer Cavendish,
8th duke of Devonshire. William was succeeded by his son George Victor
Drogo, 8th duke of Manchester (1853-1892), on whose death the title
devolved on his son, William Angus Drogo, 9th duke of Manchester (b.
1877). (R. J. M.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The title was derived, not from Manchester in Lancashire, but
from Manchester (or Godmanchester) in Huntingdonshire, where the
Montagu family estates were.
MANCHESTER, a township of Hartford county, Connecticut, U.S.A., about 9
m. E. of Hartford. Pop.(1890), 8222; (1900), 10,601, of whom 3771 were
foreign-born; (1910 census) 13,641. Manchester is served by the New
York, New Haven & Hartford railway and by electric line connecting with
Hartford, Rockville and Stafford Springs. The township covers an area of
about 28 sq. m., and includes the villages of Manchester, South
Manchester, Buckland, Manchester Green and Highland Park. The Hockanum
River provides a good water power, and Manchester has various
manufactures. At South Manchester, an attractive industrial village, a
silk mill was built in 1838; the silk mills of one firm (Cheney
Brothers) here cover about 12 acres; the company has done much for its
employees, whose homes are almost all detached cottages in attractive
grounds. Manchester was originally a part of the township of Hartford,
and later a part of the township of East Hartford. The first settlement
within its present limits was made about 1672; the land was bought from
the Indians in 1676; and the township was separated from East Hartford
and incorporated in 1823.
See also Meakin's _Model Factories and Villages_ (1905).
MANCHESTER, a city and county of a city, municipal, county and
parliamentary borough of Lancashire, England, 189 m. N.W. by N. of
London, and 31 m. E. by N. of Liverpool. It stands for the most part on
a level plain, the rising ground being chiefly on the north side. The
rivers are the Irwell, the Medlock, the Irk, and the Tib, the last
entirely overarched and covered by streets and warehouses. The Irwell,
which separates Manchester from Salford, is crossed by a series of
bridges and discharges itself into the Mersey, which is about 10 m.
distant. The chief part of the district, before it was covered with the
superficial drift of sand, gravel and clay, consisted of upper New Red
Sandstone with slight portions of lower New Red Sandstone, magnesian
marls and upper red marls, hard sandstone and limestone rock, and cold
clays and shales of contiguous coal-fields. The city, as its thousands
of brick-built houses show, has been for the most part dug out of its
own clay-fields. The parliamentary and municipal boroughs of Manchester
are not conterminous. The city boundaries, which in 1841 enclosed 4293
acres, have been successively enlarged and now enclose 19,914 acres.
There are four large stations for the Lancashire & Yorkshire, London &
North-Western, the Midland, Cheshire lines, Great Northern, and Great
Central railways, and many subsidiary stations for local traffic.
Tramways, as well as railways, run from Manchester to Oldham, Ashton,
Eccles, Stockport, &c., with which places the city is connected by
continuous lines of street. The length of the streets in the city of
Manchester is 758 m. (exclusive of those in the district of Withington,
which joined the city in 1905). The tramway lines within the city
boundaries extend to 111 m., and in addition there are 58 m. leased to
the corporation by adjacent local authorities. As a matter of fact, the
whole of south-east Lancashire and some portions of Cheshire are linked
to Manchester by railways and tramways so as to form one great urban
area, and the traveller passes from one town to another by lines of
street which, for the most part, are continuous. Facility of
communication is essential to the commercial prosperity of Manchester,
and its need was recognized by the duke of Bridgewater, whose canal,
constructed in 1761, has now been absorbed by the Manchester Ship Canal
(q.v.). The making of this early waterway was an event only less
important than the opening of the Manchester & Liverpool railway in
1830.
The township of Manchester, which forms the nucleus of the city, is
comparatively small, and outlying hamlets having been added, its size
has increased without regularity of plan. Roughly speaking, the city
forms a square, with Market Street as its central thoroughfare. The
tendency of recent development is to reduce the irregularities so that
the other main streets may either run parallel to or intersect Market
Street. Deansgate, which formerly ended in a narrow tangle of buildings,
is now a broad road with many handsome buildings, and the same process
of widening, enlarging and rebuilding is going on, more or less, all
over Manchester. Market Street, which has not been widened since 1820,
has been termed, and with some reason, "the most congested street in
Europe"; but relief is anticipated from some of the other street
improvements. The centre of the city is occupied by business premises;
the factories and workshops are mainly on the eastern side. The most
important of the public buildings are in the centre and the south. The
latter is also the most favoured residential district, and at its
extremity is semi-rural in character. Large masses of the population
live beyond the city boundary and come to their daily avocations by
train and tram. Such a population is rarely homogeneous and Manchester
attracts citizens from every part of the globe; there are considerable
numbers of German, Armenian and Jewish residents. The houses are for the
most part of brick, the public buildings of stone, which is speedily
blackened by the smoky atmosphere. Many of the warehouses are of
considerable architectural merit, and in recent years the use of
terra-cotta has become more common. It is only in the suburbs that
gardens are possible; the air is laden with black dust, and the rivers,
in spite of all efforts, are in the central part of the city mere dirty
ditches. It is impossible to describe Manchester in general terms, for
within the city boundaries the conditions vary from the most squalid of
slums to suburban and almost rural beauty.
_Churches._--Manchester is the seat of an Anglican bishopric, and the
chief ecclesiastical building is the cathedral, which, however, was
built simply as a parish church, and, although a fine specimen of the
Perpendicular period, is by no means what might be expected as the
cathedral of an important and wealthy diocese. In the course of
restoration a piece of Saxon sculpture came to light. This "Angel stone"
represents a winged figure with a scroll inscribed _In manus tuas
Domine_ in characters of the 8th century. The bulk of the building
belongs to the early part of the 15th century. The first warden was John
Huntington, rector of Ashton, who built the choir. The building, which
was noticed for its hard stone by Leland when he visited the town, did
not stand time and weather well, and by 1845 some portions of it were
rapidly decaying. This led to its restoration by James P. Holden. By
1868 the tower was almost completely renovated in a more durable stone.
Further restoration was carried out by J. S. Crowther, and the addition
of a porch and vestries was executed by Basil Champneys. The total
length is 220 ft. and the breadth 112 ft. There are several
stained-glass windows, including one to the memory of "Chinese Gordon."
The recumbent statues of Bishop James Fraser and of Hugh Birley, M.P.,
should also be named. In the Ely chapel is the altar tomb of Bishop
James Stanley. In the stalls there are some curious _miserere_ carvings.
The tower is 139 ft. high, and contains a peal of ten bells, chiefly
from the foundry of the Rudhalls. There are two organs, one by Father
Smith, and a modern one in an oak case designed by Sir G. Scott. The
parish church was made collegiate in 1422, and when in 1847 the
bishopric of Manchester was created the warden and fellows became dean
and canons and the parish church became the cathedral. The first bishop
was James Prince Lee, who died in 1869; the second was James Fraser, who
died in 1885; the third was James Moorhouse, who resigned in 1903 and
was succeeded by Edmund Arbuthnott Knox. The church endowments are
considerable and have been the subject of a special act of parliament,
known as the Manchester Rectory Division Act of 1845, which provides
£1500 per annum for the dean and £600 to each of the four canons, and
divides the residue among the incumbents of the new churches formed out
of the old parish.
[Illustration: Map of Manchester and Environs.]
Of the Roman Catholic churches that of the Holy Name, which belongs to
the Jesuits, is remarkable for its costly decoration. The Greek Church
and most of the Nonconformist bodies have places of worship. There are
twelve Jewish synagogues. The meeting-house of the Society of Friends is
said to be the largest of the kind in the kingdom and will seat 1200
persons.
_Public Buildings._--The Royal Infirmary, founded in 1752, having become
inadequate for its purposes, a new building has been erected on the
south side of the city near the university, from designs by Edwin T.
Hall and John Brooke; it was opened in 1909 by king Edward VII. The
central site in Piccadilly thus became available for other purposes, and
the corporation gave instructions for plans to be made for a new library
and art gallery. The art gallery already existing in 1909 was founded as
the Royal Institution, but in 1882 passed under the control of the city
council. The building was designed by Sir Charles Barry. The collection
contains some fine paintings by Etty, Millais, Leighton and other
artists. The sculpture includes casts of the Elgin marbles and a statue
of Dr John Dalton by Chantrey. The most striking of the public buildings
is the town hall, probably the largest municipal building in the
country, but no longer entirely adequate to the increasing business of
the city council. It was completed in 1877 from designs by Alfred
Waterhouse, who selected as the style of architecture a form of Gothic,
but treated it very freely as purposes of utility required. The edifice
covers 8000 sq. yds., and includes more than two hundred and fifty
rooms. The building consists of continuous lines of corridors
surrounding a central courtyard and connected by bridges. The principal
tower is 286 ft. high to the top of the ball, and affords a view which
extends over a large part of south Lancashire and Cheshire and is
bounded only by the hills of Derbyshire. The tower contains a remarkable
peal of bells by Taylor of Loughborough, forming an almost perfect
chromatic scale of twenty-one bells; each bell has on it a line from
canto 105 of Tennyson's _In Memoriam_. The great hall is 100 ft. long
and 50 ft. wide, and contains a magnificent organ built by Cavaillé-Coll
of Paris. The twelve panels of this room are filled with paintings by
Ford Madox Brown, illustrating the history and progress of the city. The
royal exchange is a fine specimen of Italian architecture and was
erected in 1869; the great meeting-hall is one of the largest rooms in
England, the ceiling having a clear area, without supports, of 120 ft.
in width. The exchange is seen at its best on market days (Tuesday and
Friday). The assize courts were built in 1864 from designs by
Waterhouse. The style is a mixture of Early English and Decorative, and
a large amount of decorative art has been expended on the building. The
branch Bank of England is a Doric building designed by C. R. Cockerell.
There are separate town-halls for the townships of Ardwick, Chorlton,
Hulme, Cheetham, Broughton and Pendleton. The Free Trade hall is a fine
structure in the Lombardo-Venetian style, and its great hall will
accommodate about five thousand people. It is used for public meetings,
concerts, &c., and was built by Edward Walters. The Athenaeum, designed
by Barry, was founded by Richard Cobden and others associated with him
for "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge." The institution has,
perhaps, not developed exactly on the lines contemplated by its
promoters, but it has been very useful. The advantages enjoyed by
members of social clubs, with the addition of facilities for educational
classes and the use of an excellent news-room and a well-selected
library, are offered in return for a payment which does not amount to a
penny a day. The mechanics' institution has developed into the school of
Technology, which now forms a part of the university. The Portico is a
good specimen of the older proprietary libraries and newsrooms. It dates
from 1806, and has a library. The Memorial Hall was built to commemorate
the memory of the ejected ministers of 1662; it is used for meetings,
scientific, educational, musical and religious. The Whitworth Institute
is governed by a corporate body originating from the liberal bequests of
Sir Joseph Whitworth. The Institute contains a valuable collection of
works of art and stands in the centre of a woodland park. In the park,
which has been transferred to the corporation, is a sculpture group of
"Christ and the Children," executed by George Tinworth from the designs
of R. D. Darbishire, by whom it was presented. The assize courts, built
from designs by Waterhouse (1864), the post office (1887), and the
police courts (1871) should also be named. Many fine structures suffer
from being hemmed in by streets which prevent the proportions from being
seen to advantage.
_Monuments._--In Piccadilly are bronze statues of Wellington, Watt,
Dalton, Peel and Queen Victoria. Another statue of the Queen, by the
Princess Louise, is placed on the new porch of the cathedral. A bronze
statue of Cobden occupies a prominent position in St Ann's Square. There
also is the South African War Memorial of the Manchester Regiment. The
marble statue of the Prince Consort, covered by a Gothic canopy of
stone, is in front of the town hall, which dwarfs what would otherwise
be a striking monument. In Albert Square there are also statues of
Bishop Fraser, John Bright, Oliver Heywood and W. E. Gladstone. A statue
of J. P. Joule is in the town hall, which also contains memorials of
other worthies. The Queen's Park has a statue of Benjamin Brierley, a
well-known writer in the Lancashire dialect. The most picturesque is
Matthew Noble's bronze statue of Cromwell, placed on a huge block of
rough granite as pedestal. It stands at the junction of Deansgate and
Victoria Street, near the cathedral, and was presented to the town by
Mrs E. S. Heywood.
_Education._--There are many educational facilities. The oldest
institution is the grammar school, which was founded in 1519 by Hugh
Oldham, bishop of Exeter, a native of the town. The master and usher
appointed by the bishop were to teach freely every child and scholar
coming to the school, "without any money or reward taken"; and the
bishop forbade the appointment of any member of the religious orders as
head master. Some corn mills were devised for the maintenance of the
school, which was further endowed at both the universities by Sarah,
duchess of Somerset, in 1692. The school has now two hundred and fifty
free scholars, whilst other pupils are received on payment of fees.
Among those educated at the grammar school were Thomas De Quincey,
Harrison Ainsworth and Samuel Bamford the Radical. After the grammar
school the oldest educational foundation is that of Humphrey Chetham,
whose bluecoat school, founded in 1653, is housed in the building
formerly occupied by the college of clergy. This also contains the
public library founded by Chetham, and is the most interesting relic of
antiquity in the city. The educational charity of William Hulme
(1631-1691) is administered under a scheme drawn up in 1881. Its income
is nearly £10,000 a year, and it supports a grammar school and aids
education in other ways. There are three high schools for girls. The
Nicholls hospital was founded in 1881 for the education of orphan boys.
Manchester was one of the first places to adopt the powers given by
Forster's Act of 1870, and on the abolition of school boards the
educational supervision was transferred to a committee of the
corporation strengthened by co-opted members. In addition to the
elementary schools, the municipality provides a large and well-equipped
school of technology, and a school of art to which is attached an arts
and crafts museum. There are a pupil teachers' college, a school of
domestic economy, special schools for feeble-minded children, and a
Royal College of Music. The schools for the deaf and dumb are situated
at Old Trafford, in a contiguous building of the same Gothic design as
the blind asylum, to which Thomas Henshaw left a bequest of £20,000.
There is also an adult deaf and dumb institution, containing a
news-room, lecture hall, chapel, &c., for the use of deaf mutes.
The Victoria University of Manchester has developed from the college
founded by John Owens, who in 1846 bequeathed nearly £100,000 to
trustees for an institution in which should be taught "such branches of
learning and science as were then or might be hereafter usually taught
in English universities." It was opened in 1851 in a house which had
formerly been the residence of Cobden. In 1872 a new college building
was erected on the south side of the town from designs by Waterhouse. In
1880 a university charter was granted, excluding the faculties of
theology and medicine, and providing for the incorporation of University
College, Liverpool, and the College of Science, Leeds. The federal
institution thus created lasted until 1903, when the desire of Liverpool
for a separate university of its own led to a reconstruction. Manchester
University consists of one college--Owens College--in its greatly
enlarged form. The buildings include the Whitworth Hall (the gift of the
legatees of Sir Joseph Whitworth), the Manchester Museum and the
Christie Library, which is a building for the university library given
by R. C. Christie, who also bequeathed his own collection. Dr Lee, the
first bishop of Manchester, left his library to Owens College, and the
legatees of Sir Joseph Whitworth bought and presented E. A. Freeman's
books. The library has received other important special collections. The
benefactions to the university of Thomas Ashton are estimated at
£80,000. There are in Manchester a number of denominational colleges,
Wesleyan, Primitive Methodist, Unitarian, Baptist, &c., and many of the
students preparing for the ministry receive their arts training at the
university, the theological degrees of which are open to students
irrespective of creed.
_Libraries, Museums and Societies._--Manchester is well provided with
libraries. The Chetham library, already named, contains some rare
manuscripts, the gem of the collection being a copy of the historical
compilation of Matthew Paris, with corrections in the author's
handwriting. There is a large collection of matter relating to the
history and archaeology of Lancashire and Cheshire, including the
transcripts of Lancashire MSS. bequeathed by Canon F. R. Raines. The
collections of broadsides formed by Mr J. O. Halliwell-Phillipps, and
the library of John Byrom, rich in mystics and shorthand writers,
should also be named. The Manchester Free Libraries were founded by
Sir John Potter in 1852. There is now a reference library containing
about 170,000 volumes, including an extensive series of English
historical works, a remarkable collection of books of political
economy and trade, and special collections relating to local history,
Dr Thomas Fuller, shorthand and the gipsies. The Henry Watson Music
Library, and the Thomas Greenwood Library for librarians were
presented to the reference library, and the Foreign Library was
purchased. Affiliated to the reference library there are nineteen
libraries, each of which includes a lending department and reading
rooms. The municipal libraries contain in the aggregate over 366,000
vols. There are also libraries in connexion with the Athenaeum, the
School of Technology, the Portico, and many other institutions. The
most remarkable of the Manchester libraries is that founded by Mrs
Enriqueta Rylands, and named the John Rylands Library in memory of her
husband. The beautiful building was designed by Basil Champneys; the
library includes the famous Althorp collection, which was bought from
Earl Spencer. Mrs Rylands died in 1908, and by her will increased the
endowment of the library so that it has an income of £13,000 yearly.
She also bequeathed her own library.
Manchester possesses numerous literary and scientific associations.
The oldest of these, the Literary and Philosophical Society, founded
in 1781, has a high reputation, and has numbered among its working
members John Dalton, Eaton Hodgkinson, William Fairbairn, J. P. Joule,
H. E. Roscoe and many other famous men of science. It has published a
series of memoirs and proceedings. The Manchester Statistical Society
was the first society of the kind established in the kingdom, and has
issued _Transactions_ containing many important papers. The Field
Naturalists' and Archaeologists' Society, the Microscopical Society,
the Botanists' Association, and the Geological Society may also be
named. Manchester is the headquarters of the Lancashire and Cheshire
Antiquarian Society and of several printing clubs, the Chetham, the
Record, the Lancashire Parish Registers societies. Seven daily papers
are published, and various weekly and other periodicals. The
journalism of Manchester takes high rank, the _Manchester Guardian_
(Liberal) being one of the best newspapers in the country, while the
_Manchester Courier_ (Unionist) has an important local influence. The
_Manchester Quarterly_ is issued by the Manchester Literary Club,
which was founded in 1862. The success of the Art Treasures Exhibition
in 1857 was repeated in the Jubilee Exhibition of 1887. The Manchester
Academy of Fine Arts is a society of artists, and holds an annual
exhibition in the city art gallery.
_Parks and Open Spaces._--There are fifty-three parks and open spaces.
The Queen's Park, at Harpurhey, is pleasantly situated, though
surrounded by cottages and manufactories. Philips Park is also
attractive, in spite of its close proximity to some of the most
densely populated portions of the town. The Alexandra Park has very
good ornamental grounds and a fine cactus house with a remarkable
collection presented by Charles Darrah. Some of the open spaces are
small; Boggart Hole Clough, where great efforts have been made to
preserve the natural features, is 76 acres in extent, and was the
largest until 1902, when Heaton Park, containing 692 acres, was
purchased. It was formerly the seat of the earls of Wilton, and
includes Heaton House, one of Wyatt's structures. In the Queen's Park
there is a museum, and periodical exhibitions of works of art are
held. The total area of the city parks is 1146 acres. The corporation
are also responsible for four cemeteries, having a total area of 228
acres.
_Recreation._--There are nine theatres, mostly large, and eight music
halls. The Theatre Royal was established as a patent theatre. When the
bill for it was before the House of Lords in 1775 it was advocated as
an antidote to Methodism. The Bellevue Zoological Gardens is a
favourite holiday place for working people. The Ancoats Recreation
Committee have since 1882 had Sunday lectures, and occasional
exhibitions of pictures, window gardening, &c. The Ancoats Art Museum
was founded to carry out the educational influences of art and culture
generally. In addition to works of art, there are concerts, lectures,
reading circles, &c. The museum is worked in connexion with a
university settlement. The German element in the population has
largely influenced the taste for music by which Manchester is
distinguished, and the orchestral concerts (notably under Charles
Hallé) are famous.
_Population._--From a census taken in 1773 it appears that there were
then in the township of Manchester and its out-townships 36,267 persons.
The first decennial census, 1801, showed the population to be 75,275; in
1851 it was 303,382; in 1901, 606,824. It is not easy to make an exact
comparison between different periods, because there have been successive
enlargements of the boundaries. The population has overflowed into the
surrounding districts, and if all that belongs to the urban area, of
which it is the centre, were included, greater Manchester would probably
rival London in the number of its inhabitants.
_Manufactures and Commerce._--Manchester is the centre of the English
cotton industry (for details see COTTON and COTTON MANUFACTURE), but
owing to the enhanced value of land many mills and workshops have been
removed to the outskirts and to neighbouring villages and towns, so that
the centre of Manchester and an ever-widening circle around are now
chiefly devoted not so much to production as to the various offices of
distribution. It would be a mistake, however, to regard Manchester as
solely dependent upon the industries connected with cotton. There are
other important manufactures which in another community would be
described as gigantic. Wool and silk are manufactured on a considerable
scale, though the latter industry has for some years been on the
decline. The miscellaneous articles grouped under the designation of
small-wares occupy many hands. Machinery and tools are made in vast
quantities; the chemical industries of the city are also on a large
scale. In short, there are but few important manufactures that are
wholly unrepresented. The proximity of Manchester to the rich
coal-fields of Lancashire has had a marked influence upon its
prosperity; but for this, indeed, the rapid expansion of its industries
would have been impossible.
The Manchester Bankers' Clearing House returns show an almost unbroken
yearly increase. The amount in 1872 was £72,805,510; in 1907 it was
£320,296,332; by the severe depression of 1908 it was reduced to
£288,555,307. Another test of prosperity is the increase in rateable
value. In 1839 it was £669,994; in 1871, £1,703,627; in 1881,
£2,301,225; in 1891, £2,798,005; in 1901, £3,394,879; in 1907,
£4,191,039; in 1909, £4,234,129.
The commercial institutions of Manchester are too numerous for detailed
description; its chamber of commerce has for more than sixty years
exercised much influence on the trade of the district and of the nation.
Manchester is the headquarters of the Co-operative Wholesale Society,
and indeed of the cooperative movement generally.
The most important event in the modern history of the district is the
creation of the Manchester Ship Canal (q.v.), by which Manchester and
Salford have a direct communication with the sea at Eastham, near
Liverpool. The canal was opened for traffic in January 1894. The
official opening ceremony was on the 21st of May 1894, when Queen
Victoria visited Manchester. The total expenditure on capital account
has been £16,567,881. The original share capital of £8,000,000 and
£1,812,000, raised by debentures, having been exhausted, the corporation
of Manchester advanced on loan a further sum of £5,000,000.
_Municipality._--Manchester received a municipal charter in 1838,
received the title of city in 1853, and became a county borough in 1889.
The city is divided into 30 wards, and the corporation consists of 31
aldermen and 93 councillors. The mayor received the title of lord mayor
in 1893. Unlike some of the municipalities, that of Manchester makes no
pecuniary allowance to its lord mayor, and the office is a costly one.
The water supply is controlled by the corporation. The works at
Longdendale, begun in 1848, were completed, with extensions in 1884, at
a cost of £3,147,893. The area supplied by Manchester waterworks was
about 85 square miles, inhabited by a million people. The increase of
trade and population led to the obtaining of a further supply from Lake
Thirlmere, at the foot of Helvellyn and 96 miles from Manchester. The
watershed is about 11,000 acres. The daily consumption is over 38
million gallons. Manchester supplies in bulk to many local authorities
in the district between Thirlmere and the city. The corporation have
also established works for the supply of hydraulic and electric power.
The gas lighting of Manchester has been in the hands of the corporation
for many years, as also the supply of electricity both for lighting and
energy. When the works are complete the electricity committee will
supply an area of 45 sq. m.
_Sanitary Condition._--Dr John Tatham constructed a Manchester
life-table based on the vital statistics of the decennium 1881-1890,
from which it appeared that, while in England and Wales of 1000 men
aged 25 nearly 800 survived to be 45 and of 1000 aged 45, 569 survived
to be 65, in Manchester the survivors were only 732 and 414
respectively. The expectation of life, at 25, was, for England and
Wales 36.12 years, and for Manchester 30.69 years. But the death-rate
has since rapidly decreased; in 1891 it was 26.0 per thousand living;
in 1901 it was 21.6; in 1906 it was 19.0; in 1907 it was 17.9. The
deaths of infants under one year old amounted to 169 per 1000. The
reports of the medical officer show that whilst the density of the
population, the impurity of the atmosphere, and the pollution of the
streams are difficult elements in the sanitary problem, great efforts
have been made towards improving the health of the people. The
birth-rate in 1907 was 28.4, but the population is augmented by
immigration as well as by natural increase. The number of persons to
the acre is 33.
_Administration of Justice._--The city has a stipendiary magistrate
who, in conjunction with lay magistrates, tries cases of summary
jurisdiction in the police courts. There are also quarter sessions,
presided over by a recorder. Separate sessions are held for the
Salford hundred. Certain sittings of the Court of Chancery for the
duchy of Lancaster are held in Manchester. In addition to the county
court, there is an ancient civil court known as the Salford Hundred
Court of Record. Assizes have been held since 1866.
_Parliamentary Representation._--By the first Reform Bill Manchester
received in 1832 two representatives. In 1868 this was increased to
three, but each voter had only two votes. In 1885 the city was divided
into six divisions, each returning one member. Owing to the extension
of the city boundaries there are Manchester voters in the Stretford,
Prestwich and Gorton parliamentary divisions.
_History._--Very little is known with certainty of the early history of
Manchester.[1] A Roman station of some importance existed at
Castlefield, and a fragment of the wall still exists. Another, perhaps
earlier, was at Hunt's Bank. In the 18th century considerable evidences
of Roman occupation were still visible; and from time to time, in the
course of excavation (especially during the making of the Bridgewater
Canal), Roman remains have been found. The coins were chiefly those of
Vespasian, Antoninus Pius, Trajan, Hadrian, Nero, Domitian, Vitellius
and Constantine. Investigations by the Lancashire and Cheshire
Antiquarian Society and the Classical Association have brought to light
many relics, chiefly of pottery. The period succeeding the Roman
occupation is for some time legendary. As late as the 17th century there
was a tradition that Tarquin, an enemy of King Arthur, kept the castle
of Manchester, and was killed by Lancelot of the Lake. The references to
the town in authentic annals are very few. It was probably one of the
scenes of the missionary preaching of Paulinus; and it is said (though
by a chronicler of comparatively late date) to have been the residence
of Ina, king of Wessex, and his queen Ethelberga, after he had defeated
Ivor, somewhere about the year 689. Almost the only point of certainty
in its history before the Conquest is that it suffered greatly from the
devastations of the Danes, and that in 923 Edward, who was then at
Thelwall, near Warrington, sent a number of his Mercian troops to repair
and garrison it. In Domesday Book Manchester, Salford, Rochdale and
Radcliffe are the only places named in south-east Lancashire, a district
now covered by populous towns. Large portions of it were then forest,
wood and waste lands. Twenty-one thanes held the manor or hundred of
Salford among them. The church of St Mary and the church of St Michael
in Manchester are both named in Domesday, and some difficulty has arisen
as to their proper identification. Some antiquaries consider that the
passage refers to the town only, whilst others think it relates to the
parish, and that, while St Mary's is the present cathedral, St Michael's
would be the present parish church of Ashton-under-Lyne. In 1301
Manchester received a charter of manorial liberties and privileges from
its baron, Thomas Gresley, a descendant of one to whom the manor had
been given by Roger of Poictou, who was created by William the Conqueror
lord of all the land between the rivers Mersey and Ribble. The Gresleys
were succeeded by the De la Warrs, the last of whom was educated for the
priesthood, and became rector of the town. To avoid the evil of a
non-resident clergy, he made considerable additions to the lands of the
church, in order that it might be endowed as a collegiate institution. A
college of clergy was thus formed, whose fellows were bound to perform
the necessary services at the parish church, and to whom the old
baronial hall was granted as a place of residence. The manorial rights
passed to Sir Reginald West, a descendant of Joan Gresley, who was
summoned to parliament as Baron de la Warre. The West family, in 1579,
sold the manorial rights for £3000 to John Lacy, who, in 1596, resold
them to Sir Nicholas Mosley, whose descendants enjoyed the emoluments
derived from them until 1845, when they were purchased by the
municipality of Manchester for a sum of £200,000. The lord of the manor
had the right to tax and toll all articles brought for sale into the
market of the town. But, though the inhabitants were thus to a large
extent taxed for the benefit of one individual, they had a far greater
amount of local self-government than might have been supposed, and the
court leet, which was then the governing body of the town, had, though
in a rudimentary form, nearly all the powers now possessed by municipal
corporations. This court had not only control over the watching and
warding of the town, the regulation of the water supply, and the
cleaning of the streets, but also had power, which at times was used
freely, of interfering with the private liberty of their
fellow-citizens. Thus, no single woman was allowed to be a householder;
no person might employ other than the town musicians; and the amount to
be spent at wedding feasts and other festivities was carefully settled.
Under the protection of the barons the town appears to have steadily
increased in prosperity, and it early became an important seat of the
textile manufactures. Fulling mills were at work in the district in the
13th century; and documentary evidence exists to show that woollen
manufactures were carried on in Ancoats at that period. In 1538 Leland
described it as "the fairest, best-builded, quickest, and most populous
town in Lancashire." The right of sanctuary granted to the town in 1540
was found so detrimental to its industrial pursuits that after very
brief experience the privilege was taken away. The college of Manchester
was dissolved in 1547, but was refounded in Mary's reign. Under her
successor the town became the headquarters of the commission for
establishing the Reformed religion. In 1641 we hear of the Manchester
people purchasing linen yarn from the Irish, weaving it, and returning
it for sale in a finished state. They also brought cotton wool from
Smyrna to work into fustians and dimities. An act passed in the reign of
Edward VI. regulates the length of cottons called Manchester, Lancashire
and Cheshire cottons. These, notwithstanding their name, were probably
all woollen textures. It is thought that some of the Flemish weavers who
were introduced into England by Queen Philippa of Hainault were settled
at Manchester; and Fuller has given an exceedingly quaint and
picturesque description of the manner in which these artisans were
welcomed by the inhabitants of the country they were about to enrich
with a new industry. The Flemish weavers were in all probability
reinforced by religious refugees from the Low Countries.
In the civil wars, the town was besieged by the Royalists under Lord
Strange (better known as earl of Derby--"the great Stanley"); but was
successfully defended by the inhabitants under the command of a German
soldier of fortune, Colonel Rosworm, who complained with some bitterness
of their ingratitude to him. An earlier affray between the Puritans and
some of Lord Strange's followers is said to have occasioned the shedding
of the first blood in the struggle between the king and parliament. The
year 1694 witnessed the trial of those concerned in the so-called
Lancashire plot, which ended in the triumphant acquittal of the supposed
Jacobites. That the district really contained many ardent sympathizers
with the Stuarts was, however, shown in the rising of 1715, when the
clergy ranged themselves to a large extent on the side of the Pretender;
and was still more clearly shown in the rebellion of 1745, when the town
was occupied by Prince Charles Edward Stuart, and a regiment, known
afterwards as the Manchester regiment, was formed and placed under the
command of Colonel Francis Townley. In the fatal retreat of the Stuart
troops the Manchester contingent was left to garrison Carlisle, and
surrendered to the duke of Cumberland. The officers were taken to
London, where they were tried for high treason and beheaded on
Kennington Common.
The variations of political action in Manchester had been exceedingly
marked. In the 16th century, although it produced both Roman Catholic
and Protestant martyrs, it was earnestly in favour of the Reformed
faith, and in the succeeding century it became indeed a stronghold of
Puritanism. Yet the successors of the Roundheads who defeated the army
of Charles I. were Jacobite in their sympathies, and by the latter half
of the 18th century had become imbued with the aggressive form of
patriotic sentiment known as anti-Jacobinism, which showed itself
chiefly in dislike of reform and reformers of every description. A
change, however, was imminent. The distress caused by war and taxation,
towards the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, led
to bitter discontent, and the anomalies existing in the parliamentary
system of representation afforded only too fair an object of attack.
While single individuals in some portions of the country had the power
to return members of parliament for their pocket boroughs, great towns
like Manchester were entirely without representation. The popular
discontent was met by a policy of repression, culminating in the affair
of Peterloo, which may be regarded as the starting-point of the modern
reform agitation. This was in 1819, when an immense crowd assembled on
St Peter's Fields (now covered by the Free Trade Hall and warehouses) to
petition parliament for a redress of their grievances. The Riot Act was
read by a clerical magistrate; but in such a manner as to be quite
unheard by the mass of the people; and drunken yeomanry cavalry were
then turned loose upon the unresisting mass of spectators. The yeomanry
appear to have used their sabres freely; several people killed and many
more injured; and, although the magistrates received the thanks of the
prince regent and the ministry, their conduct excited the deepest
indignation throughout the entire country. Those who had organized the
meeting, including "Orator" Hunt with Samuel Bamford and other working
men, were imprisoned.
Naturally enough, the Manchester politicians took an important part in
the Reform agitation; when the Act of 1832 was passed, the town sent as
its representatives the Right Hon. C. P. Thomson, vice-president of the
board of trade, and Mark Philips. With one notable exception, this was
the first time that Manchester had been represented in parliament since
its barons had seats in the House of Peers in the earlier centuries. In
1654 Charles Worsley and R. Radcliffe were nominated to represent it in
Cromwell's parliament. Worsley was a man of great ability, and has a
place in history as the man who carried out the injunction of the
Protector to "remove that bauble," the mace of the House of Commons. The
agitation for the repeal of the corn laws had its headquarters at
Manchester, and the success which attended it, not less than the active
interest taken by its inhabitants in public questions, has made the city
the home of other projects of reform. The "United Kingdom Alliance for
the Suppression of the Liquor Traffic" was founded there in 1853, and
during the continuance of the American War the adherents both of the
North and of the South deemed it desirable to have organizations in
Manchester to influence public opinion in favour of their respective
causes. A charter of incorporation was granted in 1838; a bishop was
appointed in 1847; and the town became a city in 1853. The Lancashire
cotton famine, caused by the Civil War in America, produced much
distress in the Manchester district, and led to a national movement to
help the starving operatives. The more recent annals of Manchester are a
record of industrial and commercial developments, and of increase in
educational opportunities of all kinds. Politically Manchester was
Liberal, of one or other shade, under the first Reform Act; a
Conservative member was first elected in 1868, and in 1874 two. Under
household suffrage in 1885 that party secured five out of six members;
in 1886 and 1892, three out of six. In 1895 and 1900 five Unionists were
elected, but in 1906 six Liberals were returned, one of whom (Mr Winston
Churchill) was defeated at a by-election in 1908. In 1910 three
Liberals, two Labour members and one Conservative were elected.
AUTHORITIES.--Although several excellent books have been written on
subjects connected with the town, there is no adequate modern history.
The _History of Manchester_, by the Rev. John Whitaker, appeared in
1771; it is a mere fragment, and, though containing much important
matter, requires to be very discreetly used. The following may be
recommended: John Reilly, _History of Manchester_, (1861); R. W.
Procter, _Manchester in Holiday Dress_ (1866), _Memorials of
Manchester Streets_ (1874), _Memorials of Byegone Manchester_ (1880);
Richard Buxton, _Botanical Guide to Manchester, &c._ (2nd ed., 1859);
Leo Grindon, _Manchester Flora_ (1859); Edward Baines, _History of
Lancashire_, edited by Croston (1886-1893), 5 vols.; W. A. Shaw,
_Manchester, Old and New_ (1894); W. E. A. Axon, _Annals of
Manchester_ (1885), _Cobden as a Citizen_ (1906); Harry Rawson,
_Historical Record of some Recent Enterprises of the Corporation of
Manchester_ (1894); _Official Manual of Manchester and Salford_
(1909); J. P. Earwaker, _Court Leet Records of Manchester, 1552-1686,
1731-1846_ (1884-1890), 12 vols.; _Constable's Accounts, 1612-1647,
1743-1776_ (1891-1892), 3 vols.; _Manchester Municipal Code_
(1894-1899), 5 vols.; George Saintsbury, _Manchester_ (1887); Thomas
Swindells, _Manchester Streets and Manchester Men_ (1906-1907), 3
vols.; James Tait, _Medieval Manchester_ (1904); Charles Roeder,
_Roman Manchester_ (1900); Sir Bosdin Leech, _History of the
Manchester Ship Canal_ (1907), 2 vols. (W. E. A. A.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] In the _Antonine Itinerary_ the name Mancunium (q.v.) or Mamucium
is given. This is the origin of the modern name, and has supplied the
adjective "Mancunian" (cf. "Old Mancunians" applied to old boys of
Manchester Grammar School).
MANCHESTER (popularly Manchester-by-the-Sea), a township of Essex
county, Massachusetts, U.S.A., about 25 m. N.E. of Boston, on
Massachusetts Bay. Pop. (1900), 2522; (1905, state census), 2618;
(1910), 2673. Area, 7.64 sq. m. It is served by the Boston & Maine
railroad, and is connected with neighbouring towns and cities by
electric lines. The township, heavily wooded in parts, and with
picturesque shores alternating between rocky headlands and sandy
beaches, stretches for several miles along the coast between Beverly on
the west and Gloucester on the east. It is one of the most beautiful
watering-places in America, and is the favourite summer residence of
many of the foreign diplomats at Washington. The "singing beach" is a
stretch of white sand, which, when trodden upon, emits a curious musical
sound. Manchester, originally a part of Salem, was settled about 1630
and was at first known as Jeffrey's Creek. It was incorporated
separately under its present name in 1645.
See _Manchester Town Records_ (2 vols., Salem, 1889-1891), and D. F.
Lamson, _History of the Town of Manchester, 1645-1895_ (Manchester,
1895).
MANCHESTER, the largest city of New Hampshire, U.S.A., and one of the
county-seats of Hillsboro county, on the Merrimac river, at the mouth of
the Piscataquog river, (by rail) 18 m. S. of Concord and 57 m. N.N.W. of
Boston. Pop. (1890), 44,126; (1900), 56,987; (1910 U.S. census) 70,063.
Of the total population in 1900, 24,257 were foreign-born, including
13,429 French-Canadians; and 37,530 were of foreign parentage (both
parents foreign-born), including 18,839 of French-Canadian parentage.
Manchester is served by the Southern, the Western, the White Mountains,
and the Worcester Nashua & Portland divisions of the Boston & Maine
railroad, and by inter-urban electric lines. It is situated on a plain
about 90 ft. above the Merrimac river (which is spanned here by three
bridges), commands extensive views of the beautiful Merrimac valley, and
covers a land area of about 33 sq. m. On the east side of the city are
two connected lakes known as Lake Massabesic (30 m. in circumference).
Manchester is known for the attractive appearance of the residence
districts in which the factory operatives live, detached homes and
"corporation boarding-houses," instead of tenement houses, being the
rule. The Institute of Arts and Sciences (incorporated in 1898) provides
lecture courses and classes in science, art and music. Among the other
public buildings and institutions are the United States Government
building, the city-hall, the county-court-house, the city library (1854;
the outgrowth of the Manchester Athenaeum, established in 1844), St
Anselm's College (R.C.), a Roman Catholic cathedral, four Roman Catholic
convents, the Elliot hospital, the Sacred Heart hospital and the
hospital of Notre Dame de Lourdes, the State industrial school, the
State house of correction, the Gale home for aged women, an old ladies'
home (R.C.), St Martha's home for working girls, the Manchester
children's home and four orphan asylums. In the largest of five public
squares is a soldiers' monument, consisting of a granite column 50 ft.
high, surmounted by a statue of Victory. The city has two parks, and in
one of them, overlooking the Merrimac, is a monument to the memory of
General John Stark, who was born and was buried here. The water-supply
is obtained from Lake Massabesic. Amoskeag Falls in the Merrimac are 55
ft. in height, and by means of hydraulic canals Manchester is provided
with a fine water-power. Steam power is also used, and the city is by
far the most important manufacturing centre in the state. It is
extensively engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods, boots and shoes,
worsted goods, hosiery and other knit goods, and locomotives; among the
other manufactures are linen goods, steam fire-engines, paper, edge
tools, soap, leather, carriages and beer. The value of the city's
factory products increased from $24,628,345 in 1900 to $30,696,926 in
1905, or 24.6%. In 1905 Manchester produced 24.8% of the total factory
product of the state. Manchester ranks fifth among the cities of the
United States in cotton manufacturing, and ninth among the cities of the
country in the manufacture of boots and shoes.
On account of the abundance of fish in the river here, Amoskeag Falls
and vicinity were a favourite resort of the Penacook Indians, and it is
said that John Eliot, the "Apostle to the Indians," preached to them
here in the summer of 1651. The first white settlement within the
present limits of Manchester was made in 1722 by Scottish-Irish
immigrants at Goffe's Falls, 5 m. below Amoskeag Falls. In 1723 a cabin
was built by some of these immigrants at the greater falls, and
gradually a small settlement grew up there. In 1735 Massachusetts
granted to a body of men known as "Tyng's Snow-Shoe Scouts" and their
descendants a tract of land 3 m. wide along the east bank of the
Merrimac, designated as "Tyng's Township." The Scottish-Irish claimed
this tract as part of their grant from New Hampshire, and there arose
between the rival claimants a bitter controversy which lasted until May
1741, when the courts decided against the Massachusetts claimants. In
1751 the territory formerly known as "Tyng's Township," and sometimes
called "Harrytown," with portions of Chester and Londonderry, was
incorporated as a township under the name Derryfield; in 1810 the name
was changed to Manchester, the change having been suggested by the
town's manufacturing possibilities; and in 1846 Manchester was chartered
as a city. The first sawmill was erected as early as 1736, and during
the years from 1794 to 1807 a canal was constructed around the Amoskeag
Falls through which to carry lumber. As late as 1830 the town had a
population of only 877, but in 1831 the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company
was incorporated, the construction of hydraulic canals and the erection
of cotton mills followed, the villages of Piscataquog and Amoskeag were
annexed in 1853, and the population increased to 3235 in 1840, to 8841
in 1860, and to 33,592 in 1880.
Consult M. D. Clarke, _Manchester, A Brief Record of its Past and a
Picture of its Present_ (Manchester, 1875).
MANCHESTER, a former city of Chesterfield county, Virginia, U.S.A., (on
the S. side of the James river), since 1910 a part of Richmond. Pop.
(1900), 9715, of whom 3338 were negroes; (1906 estimate), 9997. It is
served by the Atlantic Coast Line, the Seaboard Air Line, and the
Southern railways, by electric lines to Richmond and Petersburg, and by
numerous river boats. It is finely situated in a bend of the river, with
about 2 m. of water front; on the heights above is Forest Hill park, a
pleasure resort, and adjacent to it Woodland Heights, a beautiful
residential district. From the surrounding country come much
agricultural produce, coal, lumber, bricks and granite. There is a good
harbour and excellent water power. Among the manufactures are paper,
flour, cotton goods, leather, brick, railway supplies, &c. The value of
the city's factory products increased from $1,621,358 in 1900 to
$3,226,268 in 1905, or 99%.
MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL. The advantage of a waterway for the conveyance of
goods between eastern Lancashire and the sea is so obvious that so far
back as the year 1721 Thomas Steers designed a plan for continuing to
Manchester the barge navigation which then existed between Liverpool and
Warrington. Parliamentary powers were then obtained to improve the
rivers Mersey and Irwell from Warrington to Manchester by means of
locks and weirs. This work was successfully carried out, and proved of
great benefit to the trade of the district. The duke of Bridgewater, who
had made a canal from his collieries at Worsley to Manchester,
afterwards continued the canal to the Mersey at Runcorn; this extension
was opened in 1722 and competed with the Mersey and Irwell navigation,
both routes being navigated by barges carrying about fifty tons of
cargo. The Liverpool & Manchester railway at a later date afforded
further facilities for conveyance of goods, but the high rates of
carriage, added to heavy charges at the Liverpool docks, prejudiced
trade, and the question was mooted of a ship canal to bring cotton,
timber, grain and other goods direct to Manchester without
transshipment. The first plan was made by William Chapman in 1825, and
was followed by one designed by Henry Palmer in 1840, but it was not
until the year 1882 that the movement was originated that culminated in
the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal by Queen Victoria on the 21st
of May 1894.
In determining the plan of the canal the main point which arose was
whether it should be made with locks or whether it should be on the
sea-level throughout, and therefore tidal. The advantage of a still
waterway in navigating large steamers, and the facilities afforded by
one constant water-level for works on the banks and the quick
discharge of goods at the terminal docks at Manchester, secured the
adoption of the plans for a canal with locks as designed by Sir E.
Leader Williams. The fresh-water portion of the canal extended between
Manchester and Runcorn, while from the latter place to Garston it was
proposed to improve the upper Mersey estuary by constructing training
walls and dredging to form a deep central channel. Parliamentary
powers to construct the canal were sought in the session of 1883, when
the bill passed the committee of the House of Commons but was rejected
by the committee of the House of Lords. Brought forward again the next
year, it was passed by the Lords but thrown out by the Commons. The
opposition from Liverpool and the railway companies was very strong;
to meet to some extent that of the former, a continuation of the canal
was proposed from Runcorn to Eastham along the Cheshire side of the
Mersey, instead of a trained channel in the estuary, and in this form
the bill was again introduced in the session of 1885, and,
notwithstanding strong opposition, was passed by both houses of
parliament. The cost of this contest to promoters and opponents
exceeded £400,000, the various committees on the bill having sat over
175 days. Owing to difficulties in raising the capital the works were
not begun until November 1887.
The total length of the canal is 35½ m. and it may be regarded as
divided into three sections. From Eastham to Runcorn it is near or
through the Mersey estuary for 12¾ m., and thence to Latchford near
Warrington, 8¼ m., it is inland; both these sections have the same
water-level, which is raised by high tides. At Latchford the locks
stop tidal action, and the canal is fed by the waters of the rivers
Mersey and Irwell from that point to Manchester, 14½ m. from
Latchford. The canal begins on the Cheshire side of the Mersey at
Eastham, about 6 m. above Liverpool. The entrance is well sheltered
and adjoins a good low-water channel communicating with the Sloyne
deep at Liverpool. Three entrance locks have been provided close to
and parallel with each other, their length and width being 600 by 80,
350 by 50, and 150 by 30 ft. These locks maintain the water-level in
the canal nearly to mean high-water level (14 ft. 2 in. above the
Liverpool datum); when the tide rises above that height the lock gates
are opened and the tide flows up to Latchford, giving on high spring
tides an additional depth of water of about 7 ft. On the ebb tide this
water is returned to the Mersey through large sluices at Randles Creek
and at the junction of the river Weaver with the canal, the level of
the canal thus being reduced to its normal height. The canal
throughout to Manchester has a minimum depth of 28 ft.; the depth
originally was 26 ft., but the lock sills were placed 2 ft. lower to
allow of the channel being dredged to 28 ft. when necessary. The
minimum width at bottom is 120 ft., allowing large vessels to pass
each other at any point on the canal; this width is considerably
increased at the locks and other parts. The slopes are generally about
1½ to 1, but are flatter through some portions; in rock-cutting the
sides are nearly vertical. From Eastham to Runcorn the canal is
alternately inland and on the foreshore of the estuary, on which
embankments were constructed to act as dams and keep out the tide
during the excavation of the canal, and afterwards to maintain the
water-level at low water in the estuary; both sides are faced with
heavy coursed stone. The material for the embankments was principally
clay excavated from the cuttings. In some places, where the foundation
was of a porous nature, sheeting piles of timber had to be used. At
Ellesmere Port, where the embankment is 6200 ft. long on sand, 13,000
whole timber sheeting piles 35 ft. long were driven, to secure the
base of the embankment on each side; water jets under pressure through
1½ in. wrought-iron pipes were used at the foot of each pile to assist
the sinking, which was found most difficult by ordinary means. At the
river Weaver ten Stoney roller sluices are built, each 30 ft. span,
with heavy stone and concrete piers and foundations; at Runcorn,
where the river Mersey is narrow, a concrete sea-wall 4300 ft. long
was substituted for the embankment. At various points under the canal
cast-iron siphon pipes were laid to carry off any land drainage which
was at a lower level than the canal; the largest of these siphons were
constructed to allow the tidal and fresh water of the river Gowy to
pass under the canal at Stanlow Point, between Eastham and Ellesmere
Port. Two 12-ft. siphons are there placed close together, built of
cast-iron segments; they are each 400 ft. long, and were laid on
concrete 4 ft. below the bottom of the canal. From Runcorn to
Latchford the canal is nearly straight, the depth of cutting varying
from 35 to 70 ft., partly in rock, but generally in alluvial deposit.
The whole length of the canal passes through the New Red Sandstone
formation, with its overlying beds of gravel, clay, sand and silt,
which gave much trouble during the progress of the work; retaining
walls of stone and brickwork had to be built in these places to
maintain the sides of the canal from slips and injury from the wash of
steamers.
The canal from Latchford to Manchester is in heavy cutting through the
valleys of the rivers Mersey and Irwell. As these rivers are
circuitous in course, only very small portions could be utilized in
forming the canal; a line as nearly straight as possible was therefore
adopted, and involved many crossings of the river channels. During the
whole progress of the work these had to be kept open for the discharge
of floods and land water, and in some places temporary cuts of
considerable length had to be made for the same object. In November
1890 and December 1891 high winter floods covered the whole of the
river valleys, filling many miles of the unfinished canal and causing
great damage to the slopes. Altogether 23 m. of canal had to be pumped
out to enable the work to be completed. After the cuttings between the
river channels were finished, the end dams were removed, and the
rivers Irwell and Mersey were turned into the new channel now forming
the upper portion of the ship canal. The total rise to the level of
the docks at Manchester from the ordinary level of the water in the
tidal portion of the canal below Latchford locks is 60 ft. 6 in.; this
is obtained by an average rise of about 15 ft. at each of the sets of
locks at Latchford, Irlam (7½ m. nearer Manchester), Barton (2 m.
farther) and Mode Wheel (3½ m. above Barton locks at the entrance to
the Manchester docks). For the greater part of this last length the
canal is widened at bottom from 120 ft., its normal width, to 170 ft.,
to enable vessels to lie at timber and other wharves without
interfering with the passage of large vessels to or from the docks.
The locks are in duplicate, one being 600 ft. long by 65 ft. wide, the
other 350 ft. long by 45 ft. wide, with Stoney's sluices adjacent.
They are filled or emptied in five minutes by large culverts on each
side with side openings into the lock. Concrete with facings of blue
Staffordshire brick is largely used, and the copings, sills, hollow
quoins and fender courses are of Cornish granite. The lock gates are
constructed of greenheart timber. The sluices near the locks take the
place of the weirs used in the old Mersey and Irwell navigation; they
are 30 ft. span each, four being generally used at each set of locks.
In ordinary seasons any water not used for lockage purposes passes
over the tops of the sluices, which are kept closed; in flood times
the sluices are raised to a height which will pass off floods with a
comparatively small rise in the canal. There are eight hydraulic
installations on the canal, each having duplicate steam-engines and
boilers; the mains exceed 7 m. in length, the pressure being 700 lb.
to the inch. They work the cranes, lifts and capstans at the docks,
lock gates and culvert sluices, coal tips, swing bridges and aqueduct.
At Barton, near Manchester, the Bridgewater canal crosses the river
Irwell on the first navigable aqueduct constructed in England. It was
the work of James Brindley, and since it was built at only sufficient
height to allow of barges passing under it, means had to be found to
allow of this important canal being maintained, and yet to permit
steamers to use the ship canal below it. Brindley's canal is on one
level throughout its whole length, and as its water supply is only
sufficient for the flight of locks by which it descends at Runcorn to
the Mersey, locks down to the ship canal would have involved the waste
of a lock of water on each side and caused serious delay to the
traffic. Sir E. Leader Williams surmounted the difficulty by means of
a swing aqueduct for the Bridgewater canal, which when closed enables
the traffic to pass as before, while it is opened to allow of ships
crossing it on the lower level of the ship canal. The water in the
swing portions of the aqueduct when opened is retained by closing
gates at each end, similar gates being shut at the same time across
the fixed portion of the aqueduct. The swing portion is a large steel
trough carried by side girders, 234 ft. long and 33 ft. high in the
centre, tapering 4 ft. to the ends; the waterway is 19 ft. wide and 6
ft. deep. The whole works on a central pier with similar arrangements
to the largest swing bridges on the canal; it has two spans over the
ship canal of 90 ft. each. It is somewhat singular that the first
fixed canal aqueduct in England should, after the lapse of 136 years,
be replaced by the first swing aqueduct ever constructed. The swing
aqueduct is moved by hydraulic power, and has never given any trouble
in working, even in times of severe frost. The weight of the movable
portion, including the water, is 1600 tons.
The manner of dealing with the five lines of railways that were cut
through by the canal was one of importance, both in the interests of
the travelling public and the trade on the canal; they are all lines
with a heavy traffic, including the main line of the London & North
Western railway near Warrington, with its important route to
Scotland. Swing bridges, although in use on some lines to cross
navigations, are dangerous and inconvenient, and high-level deviation
lines were adopted for each railway crossing the canal. No such
alteration of a railway had been previously sanctioned by parliament,
and it was only the importance of a ship canal to Manchester that
secured the requisite powers against the strong opposition of the
railway companies. Embankments were made close to and parallel with
the old lines, beginning about a mile and a quarter from the canal on
each side, the canal itself being crossed by viaducts which give a
clear headway of 75 ft. at ordinary water-level. Vessels with high
masts trading on the canal are provided with telescopic or sliding
top-masts. The gradients on the railways rising up to the viaducts are
1 in 135. The span of the viaducts is so arranged as to maintain the
full width of the canal for navigation; and as the railways generally
cross the canal on the skew, this necessitated girders in some cases
of 300 ft. span. There are nine main roads requiring swing bridges
across the canal; all below Barton have a span giving a clear waterway
of 120 ft. The width of these bridges varies with the importance of
the roads from 20 to 36 ft., and they are constructed of steel, their
weight ranging from 500 to 1000 tons each. They work on a live ring of
conical cast-iron rollers and are moved by hydraulic power supplied by
steam, gas or oil engines. The Trafford Road bridge at the docks at
Manchester is the heaviest swing bridge on the canal; being of extra
width, it weighs 1800 tons.
The canal being virtually one long dock, wharves at various points
have been erected to enable chemical or manufacturing works to be
carried on, widenings being provided where necessary. At Ellesmere
Port coal tips and sheds have been erected, and the canal is in direct
communication with the docks there as well as at Weston Point and
Runcorn, where a large trade is carried on with the Staffordshire
Potteries and the Cheshire salt districts. At Partington branches from
the railways connect the canal with the Yorkshire and Lancashire
coal-fields, and the canal is widened out 65 ft. on each side for six
hydraulic coal tips. At Mode Wheel there are extensive abattoirs and
lairages, erected by the Manchester Corporation; also large petroleum
oil tanks, graving dock and pontoons, cold-air meat stores and other
accommodation for traffic. At Manchester the area of the docks is 104
acres, with 152 acres of quay space, having over 5 m. of frontage to
the docks, which are provided with a number of three-storey transit
sheds, thirteen seven-storey and seven four-storey warehouses, and a
large grain silo. The London & North Western and Lancashire &
Yorkshire railway companies and the Cheshire Lines Committee have made
branch lines to the docks, the railways and sidings at which are over
30 miles in length. Much traffic is also carted, or dealt with by
inland canals in direct communication with the docks. The substitution
of a wide and deep canal, nearly straight, for comparatively shallow
and narrow winding rivers, and the use of large sluices in place of
fixed weirs to carry off the river water, have been of great advantage
to the district in greatly reducing the height of floods.
The total amount of excavation in the canal, docks and subsidiary work
amounted to over 54 million cub. yds., nearly one-fourth of which was
sandstone rock; the excavated material was used in forming the railway
deviation embankments, filling up the old beds of the rivers and
raising low lands near the canal. As many men were employed on the
works as could be obtained, but the number never exceeded 17,000, and
the greater part of the excavation was done by about eighty steam
navvies and land dredgers. For the conveyance of excavation and
materials, 228 miles of temporary railway lines were laid, and 173
locomotives, 6300 wagons and trucks, and 316 fixed and portable
steam-engines and cranes were employed, the total cost of the plant
being nearly £1,000,000. The expenditure on the works, including plant
and equipment, to the 1st of January 1900, was £10,327,666. The
purchase of the Mersey and Irwell and Bridgewater navigations
(£1,786,651), land and compensation (£1,223,809), interest on capital
during constructions (£1,170,733), and parliamentary, superintendence
and general expenses brought up the total amount to £15,248,437.
The traffic on the canal gradually increased from 925,659 tons in 1894
to 2,778,108 tons in 1899 and 5,210,759 tons in 1907. After its
opening considerable reductions were made in the railway rates of
carriage and the charges at the Liverpool docks in order to meet the
lower cost of conveyance by shipping passing up it. The result has
been of great advantage to the trade of Lancashire and the surrounding
districts, and the saving in the cost of carriage, estimated at
£700,000 a year, assists manufacturers to meet the competition of
their foreign opponents who have the advantage of low rates of
carriage on the improved waterways of America, Germany, France and
Belgium. Before the construction of the canal, large manufacturers had
left Manchester to establish their works at ports like Glasgow, where
they could save the cost of inland carriage. Since its opening, new
industries have been started at Manchester and along its banks,
warehouses and mills that were formerly empty are now occupied, while
nearly 10,000 new houses have been built for the accommodation of the
workpeople required to meet the enlarged trade of the city.
For further details see Sir Bosdin Leech, _History of the Manchester
Ship Canal_ (Manchester, 1907). (E. L. W.)
MANCHURIA, the name by which the territory in the east of Asia occupied
by the Manchus is known in Europe. By the Chinese it is called the
country of the Manchus, an epithet meaning "pure," chosen by the founder
of the dynasty which now rules over Manchuria and China as an
appropriate designation for his family. Manchuria lies in a
north-westerly and south-easterly direction between 39° and 53° N. and
between 116° and 134° E., and is wedged in between China and Mongolia on
the west and north-west, and Korea and the Russian territory on the Amur
on the east and north. More definitely, it is bounded N. by the Amur, E.
by the Usuri, S. by the Gulf of Liao-tung, the Yellow Sea and Korea, and
W. by Chih-li and Mongolia. The territory thus defined is about 800 m.
in length and 500 m. in width, and contains about 390,000 sq. m. It is
divided into three provinces, viz. Hei-lung-kiang or Northern Manchuria,
Kirin or Central Manchuria, and Sheng-king or Southern Manchuria.
Physically the country is divided into two regions, the one a series of
mountain ranges occupying the northern and eastern portions of the
kingdom, and the other a plain which stretches southwards from Mukden,
the capital, to the Gulf of Liao-tung.
A system of parallel ranges of mountains, culminating in the Chinese
Ch'ang pai Shan, "the long white mountains," on the Korean frontier,
runs in a north-easterly direction from the shores of the Gulf of
Liao-tung. In its course through Eastern Manchuria it forms the
watershed of the Sungari, Usuri and other rivers, and in the south that
of the Ya-lu and many smaller streams. It also forms the eastern
boundary of the great plain of Liao-tung. The mountains of this system
reach their greatest height on the south-east of Kirin, where their
snow-capped peaks rise to the elevation of 8000 ft. The scenery among
them is justly celebrated, more especially in the neighbourhood of
Haich'eng, Siu-yen and the Korean Gate.
The three principal rivers of Manchuria are the Sungari, Mutan-kiang and
Usuri already mentioned. Of these the Sungari, which is the largest,
rises on the northern slopes of the Ch'ang pai Shan range, and runs in a
north-westerly direction to its junction with the Nonni, from which
point it turns north-east until it empties itself into the Amur. It is
navigable by native junks above Kirin, which city may also be reached by
steamer. In its long course it varies greatly both in depth and width,
in some parts being only a few feet deep and spreading out to a width of
more than a mile, while in other and mountainous portions of its course
its channel is narrowed to 300 or 400 ft., and its depth is increased in
inverse ratio. The Usuri rises in about 44° N. and 131° E., and after
running a north-easterly course for nearly 500 m. it also joins the
Amur. The Mutan-kiang takes its rise, like the Sungari, on the northern
slopes of the Ch'ang pai Shan range, and not far from the sources of
that river. It takes a north-easterly course as far as the city of
Ninguta, at which point it turns northward, and so continues until it
joins the Sungari at San-sing. It is navigable by junks between that
city and Ninguta, though the torrents in its course make the voyage
backwards and forwards one of considerable difficulty. Next in
importance to these rivers are the Liao and Ya-lu, the former of which
rises in Mongolia, and after running in an easterly direction for about
400 m. enters Manchuria in about 43° N., and turning southward empties
itself into the Gulf of Liao-tung. The Ya-lu rises in Korea, and is the
frontier river of that country.
_Provinces and Towns._--Mukden, or as it is called by the Chinese
Sheng-king, the capital city of Manchuria, is situated in the province
of Sheng-king, occupies a fine position on the river Hun-ho, an affluent
of the Liao, and is a city of considerable pretensions. Liao-yang, which
was once the capital of the country, is also in the province of
Sheng-king. The other cities in the province are Kin-chow-fu on the west
of the Gulf of Liao-tung; Kin-chow, on the western extremity of the
Liao-tung peninsula; Kai-ping, on the north-western shore of the same
peninsula; Hai-cheng, on the road from Niu-chwang to Mukden; Ki-yuen, a
populous and prosperous city in the north of the province; and
Sing-king, east of Mukden, the original seat of the founders of the
present dynasty. The most important commercial place, however, is the
treaty port of Niu-chwang, at the head of the Gulf of Liao-tung.
According to the custom-house returns the value of the foreign imports
and exports in the year 1880 was £691,954 and £1,117,790 respectively,
besides a large native trade carried on in junks. In 1904 the value of
foreign imports had risen to £2,757,962, but the exports amounted to
£1,742,859 only, the comparatively low figure being accounted for by the
Russo-Japanese war.
The province of Kirin, or Central Manchuria, is bounded on the N. and
N.W. by the Sungari, on the S. by Sheng-king and Korea, on the W. by
Mongolia, and on the E. by the Usuri and the maritime Russian province.
It contains an area of about 90,000 sq. m., and is entirely mountainous
with the exception of a stretch of plain country in its north-western
corner. This plain produces large quantities of indigo and opium, and is
physically remarkable for the number of isolated conical hills which dot
its surface. These sometimes occur in a direct line at intervals of 15
or 20 m., and elsewhere are scattered about "like dish-covers on a
table." Kirin, the capital of the province, occupies a magnificent
position, being surrounded on the north, west and south by a
semicircular range of mountains with the broad stream of the Sungari
flowing across the front. The local trade is considerable. A-She-ho, on
the Ashe, with a population of 60,000; Petuna (Chinese, Sing-chung), on
the Sungari, population 30,000; San-sing, near the junction of the
Sungari and Mutan-kiang; La-lin, 120 m. to the north of Kirin,
population 20,000; Harbin or Kharbin and Ninguta are the other principal
cities in the province.
Hei-lung-kiang, or Northern Manchuria, which contains about 195,000 sq.
m., is bounded on the N. and N.E. by the Amur, on the S. by the Sungari,
and on the W. by the Nonni and Mongolia. It is traversed by the Great
and Lesser Khingan mountains and their offshoots. This province is
thinly populated, and is cultivated only along the lines of its rivers.
The only towns of any importance are Tsitsihar and Mergen, both situated
on the Nonni and Khailar in the west.
_Climate, Flora, Fauna._--The climate over the greater part of the
country varies between extremes of heat and cold, the thermometer
ranging between 90° F. in the summer and 10° below zero in the winter.
As in the north of China, the rivers are frozen up during the four
winter months. After a short spring the heat of summer succeeds, which
in its turn is followed by an autumn of six weeks' duration. The great
plain in Sheng-king is in many parts swampy, and in the neighbourhood
of the sea, where the soil emits a saline exudation such as is also
common in the north of China, it is perfectly sterile. In other parts
fine crops of millet and various kinds of grain are grown, and on it
trees flourish abundantly. The trees and plants are much the same as
those common in England, and severe as the weather is in winter the
less elevated mountains are covered to their summits with trees. The
wild animals also are those known in Europe, with the addition of
tigers and panthers. Bears, wild boars, hares, wolves, foxes and wild
cats are very common, and in the north sables are found in great
numbers. One of the most noticeable of the birds is the Mongolian lark
(_Melanocorypha mongolica_), which is found in a wild state both in
Manchuria and in the desert of Mongolia. This bird is exported in
large numbers to northern China, where it is much prized on account of
its extraordinary power of imitation. The Manchurian crane is common,
as also are eagles, cuckoos, laughing doves, &c. Insects abound, owing
to the swampy nature of much of the country. The rivers are well
stocked with fish, especially with salmon, which forms a common
article of food. In such immense shoals do these fish appear in some
of the smaller streams that numbers are squeezed out on to the banks
and there perish.
_Products and Industries._--In minerals Manchuria is very rich: coal,
gold, iron (as well as magnetic iron ore), and precious stones are
found in large quantities. Gold mines are worked at several places in
the northern part of Manchuria, of which the principal are on the Muho
river, an affluent of the Amur, and near the Russian frontier. Mines
are also worked at Kwanyin-shan, opposite the Russian frontier town of
Radevska, and at Chia-pi-kou, on an affluent of the upper Sungari.
Indigo and opium are the most lucrative crops. The indigo plant is
grown in large quantities in the plain country to the north of Mukden,
and is transported thence to the coast in carts, each of which carries
rather more than a ton weight of the dye. The poppy is cultivated
wherever it will grow, the crop being far more profitable than that of
any other product. Cotton, tobacco, pulse, millet, wheat and barley
are also grown.
_Population._--The population is estimated as follows for each of the
three divisions:--
Province of Sheng-king (Feng T'ien) 4,000,000
" " Kirin 6,500,000
" " Hei-lung-kiang 2,000,000
----------
Total 12,500,000
_Communications._--Four principal highways traverse Manchuria. The
first runs from Peking to Kirin via Mukden, where it sends off a
branch to Korea. At Kirin it bifurcates, one branch going to San-sing,
the extreme north-eastern town of the province of Kirin, and the other
to Possiet Bay on the coast via Ninguta. The second road runs from the
treaty port of Niu-chwang through Mukden to Petuna in the
north-western corner of the Kirin province, and thence to Tsitsihar,
Mergen and the Amur. The third also starts from Niu-chwang, and
strikes southward to Kin-chow at the extremity of the Liao-tung
peninsula. The fourth connects Niu-chwang with the Gate of Korea.
[Illustration: Map of Manchuria.]
Manchurian Railways.
The original Manchurian railway was constructed under an agreement
made in 1896 between the Chinese government and the Russo-Chinese
bank, an institution founded in 1895 to develop Russian interests in
the East. The Chinese Eastern Railway Company was formed by the bank
under this agreement, to construct and work the line, and surveys were
made in 1897, the town of Harbin being founded as headquarters for the
work. The line, which affords through communication from Europe by way
of the Trans-Siberian system, enters Manchuria near a station of that
name in the north-west corner of the country, passes Khailar, and runs
south-east, near Tsitsihar, to Harbin. Thence the main line continues
in the same general direction to the eastern frontier of Manchuria,
and so to Vladivostok. In 1898 Russia obtained a lease of the
Liao-tung peninsula, and a clause of this contract empowered her to
connect Port Arthur and Dalny (now Tairen) with the main Manchurian
railway by a branch southward from Harbin. In spite of interruption
caused by the Boxer outbreak, through communication was established in
1901. Under the Russo-Japanese treaty of August 1905, after the war,
supplemented by a convention between Japan and China concluded in
December of the same year, Japan took over the line from Port Arthur
as far as Kwang-cheng-tsze, now known as the Southern Manchurian
railway (508 m.). Branches were promoted (a) from Mukden to Antung on
the Ya-lu, to connect with the Korean system, and (b) from
Kwang-cheng-tsze to Kirin. The rest of the original Manchurian system
(1088 miles) remains under Russian control. In the south-west of
Manchuria a line of the imperial railways of Northern China gives
connexion from Peking, and Branches at Kou-pang-tsze to Sin-min-ting
and to Niu-chwang, and the link between Sin-min-ting and Mukden is
also under Chinese control. The lines now under Russian control were
laid down, and remain, on the 5 ft. gauge which is the Russian
standard; but after the Russian control of the southern lines was lost
the gauge was altered from that standard.
_History._--Manchu, as has been said, is not the name of the country but
of the people who inhabit it. The name was adopted by a ruler who rose
to power in the beginning of the 13th century. Before that time the
Manchus were more or less a shifting population, and, being broken up
into a number of tribes, they went mainly under the distinctive name of
those clans which exercised lordship over them. Thus under the Cbow
dynasty (1122-225 B.C.) they were known as Sewshin, and at subsequent
periods as Yih-low, Wuh-keih, Moh-hoh, Pohai, Nüchih and according to
the Chinese historians also as Khitan. Throughout their history they
appear as a rude people, the tribute they brought to the Chinese court
consisting of stone arrow-heads, hawks, gold, and latterly ginseng.
Assuming that, as the Chinese say, the Khitans were Manchus, the first
appearance of the Manchus, as a people, in China dates from the
beginning of the 10th century, when the Khitans, having first conquered
the kingdom of Pohai, crossed the frontier into China and established
the Liao or Iron dynasty in the northern portion of the empire. These
invaders were in their turn overthrown two centuries later by another
invasion from Manchuria. These new conquerors were Nüchihs, and
therefore direct ancestors of the Manchus. On assuming the imperial
yellow in China their chief adopted the title of Kin or "Golden" for his
dynasty. "Iron" (Liao), he said, "rusts, but gold always keeps its
purity and colour, therefore my dynasty shall be called Kin." In a
little more than a century, however, the Kins were driven out of China
by the Mongols under Jenghiz Khan. But before the close of their rule a
miraculous event occurred on the Chang-pai-Shan mountains which is
popularly believed to have laid the seeds of the greatness of the
present rulers of the empire. Three heaven-born maidens, so runs the
legend, were bathing one day in a lake under the Chang-pai-Shan
mountains when a passing magpie dropped a ripe red fruit into the lap of
one of them. The maiden ate the fruit, and in due course a child was
born to her, whom she named Aisin Gioro, or the Golden. When quite a lad
Aisin Gioro was elected chief over three contending clans, and
established his capital at Otoli near the Chang-pai-Shan mountains. His
reign, however, was brief, for his subjects rose and murdered him, with
all his sons except the youngest, Fancha, who, like the infant Haitu in
Mongolian history, was miraculously saved. Nothing is recorded of the
facts of Aisin Gioro's reign except that he named the people over whom
he reigned Manchu, or "Pure." His descendants, through the rescued
Fancha, fell into complete obscurity until about the middle of the 16th
century, when one of them, Nurhachu by name, a chieftain of a small
tribe, rose to power. Nurhachu played with skill and daring the rôle
which had been played by Jenghiz Khan more than three centuries before
in Mongolia. With even greater success than his Mongolian counterpart,
Nurhachu drew tribe after tribe under his sway, and after numerous wars
with Korea and Mongolia he established his rule over the whole of
Manchuria. Being thus the sovereign of an empire, he, again like Jenghiz
Khan, adopted for himself the title of Ying-ming, "Brave and
Illustrious," and took for his reign the title of T'ien-ming. Thirteen
years later, in 1617, after numerous border fights with the Chinese,
Nurhachu drew up a list of "seven hates," or indictments, against his
southern neighbours, and, not getting the satisfaction he demanded,
declared war against them. The progress of this war, the peace hastily
patched up, the equally hasty alliance and its consequences, being
matters of Chinese history, are treated in the article CHINA.
Manchuria was claimed by Russia as her particular sphere of interest
towards the close of the 19th century, and in the course of the
disturbances of 1900 Russian troops occupied various parts of the
country. Eventually a Manchurian convention was arranged between China
and Russia, by which Russia was to evacuate the province; but no actual
ratification of this convention was made by Russia. The Anglo-German
agreement of October 1900, to which Japan also became a party, and by
which it was agreed to "maintain undiminished the territorial condition
of the Chinese empire," was considered by Great Britain and Japan not to
exclude Manchuria; but Germany, on the other hand, declared that
Manchuria was of no interest to her. The Anglo-Japanese treaty of 1902,
however, was ostensibly directed towards the preservation of Manchuria
in Chinese hands. British capital has been invested in the extension of
the Chinese Northern railway to Niu-chwang, and the fact was officially
recognized by an agreement between Great Britain and Russia in 1899. One
result of the Russo-Japanese War was the evacuation of Manchuria by the
Russians, which, after the conclusion of peace in 1905, was handed over
by Japan to China.
See H. E. M. James, _The Long White Mountain_ (London, 1888); D.
Christie, _Ten Years in Manchuria_ (Paisley, 1895); F. E.
Younghusband, _The Heart of a Continent: a Narrative of Travels in
Manchuria_ (London, 1896); P. H. Kent, _Railway Enterprise in China_
(London, 1907). (R. K. D.)
MANCINI, PASQUALE STANISLAO (1817-1888), Italian jurist and statesman,
was born at Castel Baronia, in the province of Avellino, on the 17th of
March 1817. At Naples, where he studied law and displayed great literary
activity, he rapidly acquired a prominent position, and in 1848 was
instrumental in persuading Ferdinand II. to participate in the war
against Austria. Twice he declined the offer of a portfolio in the
Neapolitan cabinet, and upon the triumph of the reactionary party
undertook the defence of the Liberal political prisoners. Threatened
with imprisonment in his turn, he fled to Piedmont, where he obtained a
university professorship and became preceptor of the crown prince
Humbert. In 1860 he prepared the legislative unification of Italy,
opposed the idea of an alliance between Piedmont and Naples, and, after
the fall of the Bourbons, was sent to Naples as administrator of
justice, in which capacity he suppressed the religious orders, revoked
the Concordat, proclaimed the right of the state to Church property, and
unified civil and commercial jurisprudence. In 1862 he became minister
of public instruction in the Rattazzi cabinet, and induced the Chamber
to abolish capital punishment. Thereafter, for fourteen years, he
devoted himself chiefly to questions of international law and
arbitration, but in 1876, upon the advent of the Left to power, became
minister of justice in the Depretis cabinet. His Liberalism found
expression in the extension of press freedom, the repeal of imprisonment
for debt, and the abolition of ecclesiastical tithes. During the
Conclave of 1878 he succeeded, by negotiations with Cardinal Pecci
(afterwards Leo XIII.), in inducing the Sacred College to remain in
Rome, and, after the election of the new pope, arranged for his
temporary absence from the Vatican for the purpose of settling private
business. Resigning office in March 1878, he resumed the practice of
law, and secured the annulment of Garibaldi's marriage. The fall of
Cairoli led to Mancini's appointment (1881) to the ministry of foreign
affairs in the Depretis administration. The growing desire in Italy for
alliance with Austria and Germany did not at first secure his approval;
nevertheless he accompanied King Humbert to Vienna and conducted the
negotiations which led to the informal acceptance of the Triple
Alliance. His desire to retain French confidence was the chief motive of
his refusal in July 1882 to share in the British expedition to Egypt,
but, finding his efforts fruitless when the existence of the Triple
Alliance came to be known, he veered to the English interest and
obtained assent in London to the Italian expedition to Massawa. An
indiscreet announcement of the limitations of the Triple Alliance
contributed to his fall in June 1885, when he was succeeded by Count di
Robilant. He died in Rome on the 26th of December 1888.
MANCIPLE, the official title of the caterer at a college, an inn of
court, or other institution. Sometimes also the chief cook. The medieval
Latin _manceps_, formed from _mancipium_, acquisition by purchase (see
ROMAN LAW), meant a purchaser of stores, and _mancipium_ became used of
his office. It is from the latter word that the O. Fr. _manciple_ is
taken.
MANCUNIUM, the name often (though perhaps incorrectly) given as the
Romano-British name of Manchester. Here, close to the Medlock, in the
district still called Castlefield near Knott Mill, stood in Roman days a
fort garrisoned by a cohort of Roman auxiliary soldiers. The site is now
obscured by houses, railways and the Rochdale canal, but vestiges of
Roman ramparts can still be seen, and other remains were found in 1907
and previous years. Traces of Romano-British inhabitation have been
noted elsewhere in Manchester, especially near the cathedral. But there
was no town here; we can trace nothing more than a fort guarding the
roads running north through Lancashire and east into Yorkshire, and the
dwellings of women-folk and traders which would naturally spring up
outside such a fort. The ancient name is unknown. Our Roman authorities
give both Mancunium and Mamucium, but it is not clear that either form
is correct.
See W. T. Watkin's _Roman Lancashire_; C. Roeder's _Roman Manchester_,
and the account edited by F. Bruton of the excavations in 1907.
(F. J. H.)
MANDAEANS, also known as Sabians, Nasoraeans, or St John's
Christians,[1] an Oriental sect of great antiquity, interesting to the
theologian as almost the only surviving example of a religion
compounded of Christian, heathen and Jewish elements on a type which is
essentially that of ancient Gnosticism.
The Mandaeans are found in the marshy lands of South Babylonia
(al-bataih), particularly in the neighbourhood of Basra (or Bussorah),
and in Khuzistan (Disful, Shuster).[2] They speak the languages of the
localities in which they are settled (Arabic or Persian), but the
language of their sacred books is an Aramaic dialect, which has its
closest affinities with that of the Babylonian Talmud, written in a
peculiar character suggestive of the old Palmyrene.[3] The existence of
the Mandaeans has been known since the middle of the 17th century, when
the first Christian missionaries, Ignatius a Jesu[4] and Angelus a
Sancto, began to labour among them at Basra; further information was
gathered at a somewhat later date by Pietro della Valle[5] and Jean de
Thévenot[6] (1633-1667), and in the following century by Engelbrecht
Kaempfer (1651-1716), Jean Chardin (1643-1713) and Carsten Niebuhr. In
recent times they have been visited by A. H. Petermann[7] and Albrecht
Socin, and Siouffi[8] published in 1880 a full and accurate account of
their manners and customs, taken from the lips of a converted Mandaean.
For our knowledge of their doctrinal system, however, we still depend
chiefly upon the sacred books already mentioned, consisting of fragments
of very various antiquity derived from an older literature.[9] Of these
the largest and most important is the _Sidra rabba_ ("Great Book"),
known also as _Ginza_ ("Treasure"), consisting of two unequal parts, of
which the larger is called _yamina_ (to the right hand) and the smaller
_s'mala_ (to the left hand), because of the manner in which they are
bound together. The former is intended for the living; the latter
consists chiefly of prayers to be read at the burial of priests. As
regards doctrine, the work is exhaustive; but it is diffuse, obscure,
and occasionally self-contradictory, as might be expected in a work
which consists of a number of unconnected paragraphs of various
authorship and date. The last section of the "right-hand" part (the
"Book of Kings") is one of the older portions, and from its allusion to
"the Persian and Arabian kings" may be dated somewhere between A.D. 700
and 900. Many of the doctrinal portions may in substance well be still
older, and date from the time of the Sassanids. None of the MSS.,
however, is older than the 16th century.[10]
The following sketch represents, as far as can be gathered from these
heterogeneous sources, the principal features of the Mandaean system.
The ground and origin of all things is _Pira_, or more correctly _Pera
rabba_ ("the great abyss," or from [Hebrew: paar], "to split," cf. the
Gnostic [Greek: buthos], or more probably cf. Heb. _peri_, "the great
fruit"), associated with whom, and forming a triad with him, are the
primal aeons _Ayar ziva rabba_, "the great shining aether," and _Mana
rabba d'ekara_, "the great spirit of glory," usually called simply _Mana
rabba_. The last-named, the most prominent of the three, is the king of
light properly so called, from whom the development of all things
begins. From him emanates _Yard^ena rabba_, "the great Jordan," which,
as the higher-world soul, permeates the whole aether, the domain of
Ayar. Alongside of _Mana rabba_ frequent mention is made of _D'mutha_,
his "image," as a female power; the name "image of the father" arises
out of the same conception as that which gives rise to the name of
[Greek: ennoia] among the Greek Gnostics. _Mana rabba_ called into being
the highest of the aeons properly so called, _Hayye Kadmaye_, "Primal
Life," and then withdrew into deepest secrecy, visible indeed to the
highest but not to the lowest aeons (cf. [Greek: Sophia] and [Greek:
Propatôr]), yet manifesting himself also to the souls of the more pious
of the Mandaeans after their separation from the body. Primal Life, who
is properly speaking the Mandaean god, has the same predicates as the
primal spirit, and every prayer, as well as every section of the sacred
books, begins by invoking him.[11] The extremely fantastic delineation
of the world of light by which _Hayye Kadmaye_ is surrounded (see for
example the beginning of _Sidra rabba_) corresponds very closely with
the Manichaean description of the abode of the "king of the paradise of
light." The king of light "sits in the far north in might and glory."
The Primal Light unfolds himself by five great branches, viz. "the
highest purest light, the gentle wind, the harmony of sounds, the voice
of all the aeons, and the beauty of their forms," all these being
treated as abstractions and personified. Out of the further development
and combination of these primary manifestations arise numerous aeons
(_'Uthre_, "splendours," from [Hebrew: atar], "is rich"), of which the
number is often stated to be three hundred and sixty. They are divided
into a number of classes (kings, hypostases, forms, &c.); the proper
names by which they are invoked are many, and for the most part obscure,
borrowed doubtless, to some extent, from the Parsee angelology. From the
First Life proceeds as a principal emanation the "Second Life," _Hayye
Tinyane_, generally called _Yoshamin_. This last name is evidently meant
to be Hebrew, "Yahweh of the heavens," the God of the Jews being of a
secondary rank in the usual Gnostic style. The next emanation after
_Yoshamin_ is "the messenger of life" (_Manda d'hayye_, literally
[Greek: gnôsis tês zôês]), the most important figure in the entire
system, the mediator and redeemer, the [Greek: logos] and the Christ of
the Mandaeans, from whom, as already stated, they take their name. He
belongs to the heathen Gnosis, and is in his essence the same as the
Babylonian Marduk. _Yoshamin_ desired to raise himself above the Primal
Light, but failed in the attempt, and was punished by removal out of the
pure aetherial world into that of inferior light. Manda, on the other
hand, continues with the First Life and _Mana rabba_, and is called his
"beloved son," the "first born," "high priest" and "word of life." The
"Life" calls into existence in the visible world a series of three great
Helpers, Hibil, Shithil and Anosh (late Judaeo-Babylonian
transformations of the well-known names of the book of Genesis), the
guardians of souls. The last son of the Second Life is _Hayye
t'lithaye_, the "Third Life," usually called father of the Uthre (_Aba
d' 'Uthre_, _Abathur_). His usual epithet is "the Ancient" (_'Atiqa_),
and he is also called "the deeply hidden and guarded." He stands on the
borderland between the here and the hereafter, like the mysterious
[Greek: preobutês tritos] or _senex tertius_ of Mani, whose becoming
visible will betoken the end of the world. Abathur sits on the farthest
verge of the world of light that lies towards the lower regions, and
weighs in his balance the deeds of the departed spirits who ascend to
him. Beneath him was originally nothing but a huge void with muddy black
water at the bottom, in which his image was reflected, becoming
ultimately solidified into P'tahil, his son, who now partakes of the
nature of matter. The demiurge of the Mandaeans, and corresponding to
the Ialdabaoth of the Ophites, he at the instance of his father frames
the earth and men--according to some passages in conjunction with the
seven bad planetary spirits. He created Adam and Eve, but was unable to
make them stand upright, whereupon Hibil, Shithil and Anosh were sent by
the First Life to infuse into their forms spirit from _Mana rabba_
himself. Hibil, at the instance of the supreme God, also taught men
about the world of light and the aeons, and especially gave them to know
that not P'tahil but another was their creator and supreme God, who as
"the great king of light, without number, without limit," stands far
above him. At the same time he enjoined the pair to marry and people the
world. P'tahil had now lost his power over men, and was driven by his
father out of the world of light into a place beneath it, whence he
shall at the day of judgment be raised, and after receiving baptism be
made king of the 'Uthre with divine honours.
The underworld is made up of four vestibules and three hells properly so
called. The vestibules have each two rulers, Zartay and Zartanay, Hag
and Mag, Gaf and Gafan, Anatan and Kin. In the highest hell rules alone
the grisly king Sh'dum, "the warrior"; in the storey immediately beneath
is Giv, "the great"; and in the lowest is Krun or Karkum, the oldest and
most powerful of all, commonly called "the great mountain of flesh"
(_Tura rabba d'besra_), but also "the first-born of darkness." In the
vestibules dirty water is still to be met with, but the hells are full
of scorching consuming fire, except Krun's domain, where is nought but
dust, ashes and vacancy. Into these regions descended Hibil the
brilliant, in the power of _Mana rabba_, just as in the Manichaean
mythology the "primal man," armed with the elements of the king of
light, descends to a contest with the primal devil. Hibil lingers,
gradually unfolding his power, in each of the vestibules, and finally
passing from hell to hell reaches Karkum. Hibil allows himself to be
half swallowed by the monster, but is unhurt, and compels his antagonist
to recognize the superiority of _Mana rabba_, the God of light, and to
divulge his profoundest secret, the hidden name of darkness. Armed with
this he returns through the successive hells, compelling the disclosure
of every secret, depriving the rulers of their power, and barring the
doors of the several regions. From the fourth vestibule he brought the
female devil Ruha, daughter of Kin, and set her over the whole four.
This Ruha, the mother of falsehood and lies, of poisoning and
fornication is an anti-Christian parody of the Ruha d'Qudsha (Holy
Spirit) of the Syriac Church. She is the mother of Ur, the personified
fire of hell, who in anger and pride made a violent onset on the world
of light (compare the similar occurrence in the Manichaean mythology),
but was mastered by Hibil and thrown in chains down to the "black
water," and imprisoned within seven iron and seven golden walls. By Ur,
Ruha, while P'tahil was engaged in his work of creation, became mother
of three sets of seven, twelve and five sons respectively; all were
translated by P'tahil to the heavenly firmament (like the Archons of
Mani), the first group forming the planets and the next the signs of the
zodiac, while the third is as yet undetermined. Of the names of the
planets Estera (Ishtar Venus, also called Ruha d'Qudsha, "holy spirit"),
Enba (Nebo, Mercury), Sin (moon), Kewan (Saturn), Bil (Jupiter), and
Nirig (Nirgal, Mars) reveal their Babylonian origin; Il or Il Il, the
sun, is also known as Kadush and Adunay (the Adonai of the Old
Testament); as lord of the planetary spirits his place is in the midst
of them; they are the source of all temptation and evil amongst men. The
houses of the planets, as well as the earth and a second world
immediately to the north of it, rest upon anvils laid by Hibil on the
belly of Ur.
In the Mandaean representation the sky is an ocean of water, pure and
clear, but of more than adamantine solidity, upon which the stars and
planets sail. Its transparency allows us to see even to the pole star,
who is the central sun around whom all the heavenly bodies move. Wearing
a jewelled crown, he stands before Abathur's door at the gate of the
world of light; the Mandaeans accordingly invariably pray with their
faces turned northward. The earth is conceived of as a round disk,
slightly sloping towards the south, surrounded on three sides by the
sea, but on the north by a high mountain of turquoises; behind this is
the abode of the blest, a sort of inferior paradise, inhabited by the
Egyptians who were saved from drowning with Pharaoh in the Red Sea, and
whom the Mandaeans look upon as their ancestors, Pharaoh himself having
been their first high priest and king. The total duration of the earth
they fix at four hundred and eighty thousand years, divided into seven
epochs, in each of which one of the planets rules. The _Sidra Rabba_
knows of three total destructions of the human race by fire and water,
pestilence and sword, a single pair alone surviving in each case. In the
Mandaean view the Old Testament saints are false prophets; such as
Abraham, who arose six thousand years after Nu(Noah) during the reign of
the sun, Misha (Moses), in whose time the true religion was professed by
the Egyptians, and Shlimun (Solomon) bar Davith, the lord of the demons.
Another false prophet and magician was Yishu M'shiha, who was in fact a
manifestation of the planet Mercury. Forty-two years before his day,
under King Pontius Pilate, there had appeared the true prophet Yahya or
John son of Zechariah, an incarnation of Hibil, of whose birth and
childhood fantastic stories are told. Yahya by a mistake gave baptism to
the false Messiah, who had feigned humility; on the completion of his
mission, after undergoing a seeming execution, he returned clothed with
light into the kingdom of light. As a contemporary of Yahya and the
false Messiah Hibil's younger brother Anosh 'Uthra came down from
heaven, caused himself to be baptized by Yahya, wrought miracles of
healing and of raising the dead, and brought about the crucifixion of
the false Messiah. He preached the true religion, destroyed Jerusalem
("Urashlam," i.e. "the devil finished it"), which had been built by
Adunay, dispersed over the world the Jews who had put Yahya to death,
and previous to his return into the worlds of light sent forth three
hundred and sixty prophets for the diffusion of the true religion. All
this speaks of intense hatred alike of Jews and Christians; the fasts,
celibacy and monastic and anchoret life of the latter are peculiarly
objectionable to the Mandaeans. Two hundred and forty years after the
appearing of the false Messiah there came to the world sixty thousand
saints out of Pharaoh's world to take the place of the Mandaeans, who
had been completely extirpated; their high priest had his residence in
Damascus. The last false prophet was M'hammad or Ahmat bar Bisbat
(Mahomet), but Anosh, who remained close beside him and his immediate
successors, prevented hostilities against the true believers, who claim
to have had in Babylonia, under the Abbasids, four hundred places of
worship. Subsequent persecutions compelled their withdrawal to 'Ammara
in the neighbourhood of Wasit, and ultimately to Khuzistan. At the end
of the world the devil Ur will swallow up the earth and the other
intermediate higher worlds, and thereupon will burst and fall into the
abyss of darkness where, along with all the worlds and powers of
darkness, he will ultimately cease to be, so that thenceforward the
universe will consist of but one everlasting world of light.
The chief depositaries of these Mandaean mysteries are the priests,
who enjoy a high degree of power and social regard. The priesthood has
three grades: (1) the _Sh'kanda_ or deacon is generally chosen from
episcopal or priestly families, and must be without bodily blemish.
The candidate for orders must be at least nineteen years old and have
undergone twelve years' preparation; he is then qualified to assist
the priesthood in the ceremonies of religion. (2) The _Tarmida_ (i.e.
"Talmida," "initiated") or priest is ordained by a bishop and two
priests or by four priests after a long and extremely painful period
of preparation. (3) The _Ganzivra_ ("treasurer") or bishop, the
highest dignitary, is chosen from the whole body of the Tarmidas after
a variety of tests, and possesses unlimited authority over the
clergy. A supreme priestly rank, that of _Rish 'amma_, or "head of the
people," is recognized, but only in theory; since the time of Pharaoh
this sovereign pontificate has only once been filled. Women are
admitted to priestly offices as well as men. The priestly dress, which
is all white, consists of drawers, an upper garment, and a girdle with
the so-called _taga_ ("crown"); in all ceremonies the celebrants must
be barefoot. By far the most frequent and important of the religious
ceremonies is that of baptism (_masbutha_), which is called for in a
great variety of cases, not only for children but for adults, where
consecration or purification is required, as for example on all
Sundays and feast days, after contact with a dead body, after return
from abroad, after neglect of any formality on the part of a priest in
the discharge of his functions. In all these cases baptism is
performed by total immersion in running water, but during the five
days' baptismal festival the rite is observed wholesale by mere
sprinkling of large masses of the faithful at once. The Mandaeans
observe also with the elements of bread (_pehta_) and wine (_mambuha_,
lit. "fountain") a sort of eucharist, which has a special sanctifying
efficacy, and is usually dispensed at festivals, but only to baptized
persons of good repute who have never willingly denied the Mandaean
faith. In receiving it the communicant must not touch the host with
his finger; otherwise it loses its virtue. The hosts are made by the
priests from unleavened fine flour. The Mandaean places of worship,
being designed only for the priests and their assistants (the
worshippers remaining in the forecourt), are excessively small, and
very simply furnished; two windows, a door that opens towards the
south so that those who enter have their faces turned towards the pole
star, a few boards in the corner, and a gabled roof complete the whole
structure; there is neither altar nor decoration of any kind. The
neighbourhood of running water (for baptisms) is essential. At the
consecration of a church the sacrifice of a dove (the bird of Ishtar)
has place among the ceremonies. Besides Sundays there are six great
feasts: (1) that of the New Year (_Nauruz rabba_), on the first day of
the first month of winter; (2) _Dehwa h' nina_, the anniversary of the
happy return of _Hibil Ziva_ from the kingdom of darkness into that of
light, lasting five days, beginning with the 18th of the first month
of spring; (3) the _Marwana_, in commemoration of the drowned
Egyptians, on the first day of the second month of spring; (4) the
great five days' baptismal festival (_pantsha_), the chief feast, kept
on the five intercalary days at the end of the second month of
summer--during its continuance every Mandaean, male and female, must
dress in white and bathe thrice daily; (5) _Dehwa d'daimana_, in
honour of one of the three hundred and sixty 'Uthras, on the first day
of the second month of autumn; (6) _Kanshe Zahla_, the preparation
feast, held on the last day of the year. There are also fast days
called m'battal (Arab.), on which it is forbidden to kill any living
thing or eat flesh. These, however, are really "rest-days," as fasting
is forbidden in Mandaeism. The year is solar, and has twelve months of
thirty days each, with five intercalary days between the eighth and
the ninth month. Of the seven days of the week, next to Sunday
(habshaba) Thursday has a special sacredness as the day of _Hibil
Ziva_. As regards secular occupation, the present Mandaeans are
goldsmiths, ironworkers, and house and ship carpenters. The _Sidra
Rabba_ lays great stress upon the duty of procreation, and marriage is
a duty. In the 17th century, according to the old travellers, they
numbered about 20,000 families, but at the present day they hardly
number more than 1200 souls. In external appearance the Mandaean is
distinguished from the Moslem only by a brown coat and a
parti-coloured headcloth with a cord twisted round it. They have some
peculiar deathbed rites: a deacon with some attendants waits upon the
dying, and as death approaches administers a bath first of warm and
afterwards of cold water; a holy dress, consisting of seven pieces
(rasta), is then put on; the feet are directed towards the north and
the head turned to the south, so that the body faces the pole star.
After the burial a funeral feast is held in the house of mourning.
The Mandaeans are strictly reticent about their theological dogmas in
the presence of strangers; and the knowledge they actually possess of
these is extremely small. The foundation of the system is obviously to
be sought in Gnosticism, and more particularly in the older type of
that doctrine (known from the serpent symbol as Ophite or Naassene)
which obtained in Mesopotamia and Further Asia generally. But it is
equally plain that the Ophite nucleus has from time to time received
very numerous and often curiously perverted accretions from Babylonian
Judaism, Oriental Christianity and Parsism, exhibiting a striking
example of religious syncretism. In the Gnostic basis itself it is not
difficult to recognize the general features of the religion of ancient
Babylonia, and thus we are brought nearer a solution of the problem as
to the origin of Gnosticism in general. It is certain that Babylonia,
the seat of the present Mandaeans, must be regarded also as the cradle
in which their system was reared; it is impossible to think of them as
coming from Palestine, or to attribute to their doctrines a Jewish or
Christian origin. They do not spring historically from the disciples
of John the Baptist (Acts xviii. 25; xix. 3 seq.; _Recog. Clem._ i.
54); the tradition in which he and the Jordan figure so largely is not
original, and is therefore worthless; at the same time it is true that
their baptismal praxis and its interpretation place them in the same
religious group with the Hemerobaptists of Eusebius (_H. E._ iv. 22)
and Epiphanius (_Haer._, xvii.), or with the sect of disciples of
John who remained apart from Christianity. Their reverence for John is
of a piece with their whole syncretizing attitude towards the New
Testament. Indeed, as has been seen, they appropriate the entire
personale of the Bible from Adam, Seth, Abel, Enos and Pharaoh to
Jesus and John, a phenomenon which bears witness to the close
relations of the Mandaean doctrine both with Judaism and
Christianity--not the less close because they were relations of
hostility. The history of religion presents other examples of the
degradation of holy to demonic figures on occasion of religious
schism. The use of the word "Jordan," even in the plural, for "sacred
water," is precisely similar to that by the Naassenes described in the
_Philosophumena_ (v. 7); there [Greek: ho megas Iordanês] denotes the
spiritualizing sanctifying fluid which pervades the world of light.
The notions of the Egyptians and the Red Sea, according to the same
work (v. 16), are used by the Peratae much as by the Mandaeans. And
the position assigned by the Sethians ([Greek: Sêthianoi]) to Seth is
precisely similar to that given by the Mandaeans to Abel. Both alike
are merely old Babylonian divinities in a new Biblical garb. The
genesis of Mandaeism and the older gnosis from the old and elaborate
Babylonio-Chaldaean religion is clearly seen also in the fact that the
names of the old pantheon (as for example those of the planetary
divinities) are retained, but their holders degraded to the position
of demons--a conclusion confirmed by the fact that the Mandaeans, like
the allied Ophites, Peratae and Manichaeans, certainly have their
original seat in Mesopotamia and Babylonia. It seems clear that the
trinity of Anu, Bel, and Ea in the old Babylonian religion has its
counterpart in the Mandaean Pira, Ayar, and Mana rabba. The D'mutha of
Mana is the Damkina, the wife of Ea, mentioned by Damascius as [Greek:
Dankê], wife of [Greek: Ahos]. Manda d'hayye and his image Hibil Ziva
with his incarnations clearly correspond to the old Babylonian Marduk,
Merodach, the "first-born" son of Ea, with his incarnations, the chief
divinity of the city of Babylon, the mediator and redeemer in the old
religion. Hibil's contest with darkness has its prototype in Marduk's
battle with chaos, the dragon Tiamat, which (another striking
parallel) partially swallows Marduk, just as is related of Hibil and
the Manichaean primal man. Other features are borrowed by the Mandaean
mythology under this head from the well-known epos of Istar's
_descensus ad inferos_. The sanctity with which water is invested by
the Mandaeans is to be explained by the fact that Ea has his seat "in
the depths of the world sea."
Cf. K. Kessler's article, "Mandäer," in Herzog-Hauck's
_Realencyklopädie_, and the same author's paper, "Ueber Gnosis u.
altbabylonische Religion," in the _Abhandh. d. funften internationalen
Orientalisten-congresses zu Berlin_ (Berlin, 1882); also W. Brandt's
_Mandäische Religion_ (Leipzig, 1889), and M. N. Siouffi's _Études sur
la religion des Soubbas_ (Paris, 1880). (K. K.; G. W. T.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The first of these names (not Mendaeans or Mandaites) is that
given by themselves, and means [Greek: gnostikoi], followers of
Gnosis ([Hebrew: mandaia], from [Hebrew: manda], Hebr. [Hebrew:
madda]). The Gnosis of which they profess themselves adherents is a
_personification_, the æon and mediator "knowledge of life" (see
below). The title Nasoraeans (Nasoraye), according to Petermann, they
give only to those among themselves who are most distinguished for
knowledge and character. Like the Arabic Nasara, it is originally
identical with the name of the half heathen half Jewish-Christian
[Greek: Nazoraioi], and indicates an early connexion with that sect.
The inappropriate designation of St John's Christians arises from the
early and imperfect acquaintance of Christian missionaries, who had
regard merely to the reverence in which the name of the Baptist is
held among them, and their frequent baptisms. In their dealings with
members of other communions the designation they take is Sabians, in
Arabic Sabi'una, from [Hebrew: tzva] = [Hebrew: tzeva], to baptize,
thus claiming the toleration extended by the Koran (Sur, 5,.73; 22,
17; 2, 59) to those of that name.
[2] In 1882 they were said to have shrunk to 200 families, and to be
seeking a new settlement on the Tigris, to escape the persecutions to
which they are exposed.
[3] See T. Nöldeke's admirable _Mandäische Grammatik_ (Halle, 1875).
[4] _Narratio originis, rituum, et errorum Christianorum S. Joannis_
(Rome, 1652).
[5] _Reisebeschreibung_, part iv. (Geneva, 1674).
[6] _Voyage au Levant_ (Paris, 1664).
[7] _Reisen im Orient_, ii. 447 seq.
[8] M. M. Siouffi, _Études sur la religion ... des Soubbas_ (Paris,
1880).
[9] Mandaean MSS. occur in the British Museum, the Bodleian Library,
the Bibliothèque Nationale of France, and also in Rome, Weimar and
Berlin. A number of Mandaean inscriptions relating to popular beliefs
and superstitions have been published by H. Pognon, _Inscriptions
mandaites_ (2 vols., Paris, 1898-1899), also by M. Lidzbarski in his
_Ephemeris_ (Giessen, 1900 seq.).
[10] The first printed edition and translation of the _Sidra rabba_,
by Matth. Norberg (_Codex Nazaraeus, liber Adami appellatus_, 3
vols., Copenhagen, 1815-1816, followed by a lexicon in 1816, and an
onomasticon in 1817), is so defective as to be quite useless; even
the name Book of Adam is unknown to the Mandaeans. Petermann's
_Thesaurus s. Liber magnus, vulgo "Liber Adami" appellatus, opus
Mandaeorum summi panderis_ (2 vols., Berlin and Leipzig, 1867), is an
excellent metallographic reproduction of the Paris MS. A German
translation of about a quarter of this work has been published in W.
Brandt's _Mandäische Schriften_, with notes (Göttingen, 1893). A
critical edition still remains a desideratum. Next in importance to
the _Sidra rabba_ is the _Sidra d'Yahya_, or "Book of John,"
otherwise known as the _D'rasche d'Malke_, "Discourses of the Kings,"
which has not as yet been printed as a whole, although portions nave
been published by Lorsbach and Tychsen (see _Museum f. bibl. u.
orient. Lit._ (1807), and Stäudlin's _Beitr. z. Phil. u. Gesch. d.
Relig. u. Sittenlehre_ 1796 seq.). The _Kolasta_ (Ar. _Khulasa_,
"Quintessence"), or according to its fuller title _'Enyane uderashe
d'masbutha umassektha_ ("Songs and Discourses of Baptism and the
Ascent," viz. of the soul after death), has been admirably
lithographed by Euting (Stuttgart, 1867). It is also known as _Sidra
d'neshmatha_, "Book of Souls," and besides hymns and doctrinal
discourses contains prayers to be offered by the priests at sacrifice
and at meals, as well as other liturgical matter. The Mandaean
marriage service occurs both in Paris and in Oxford as an independent
MS. The _Diwan_, hitherto unpublished, contains the ritual for
atonement. The _Asfar malwashe_, or "Book of the Zodiac," is
astrological. Of smaller pieces many are magical and used as amulets.
[11] The use of the word "life" in a personal sense is usual in
Gnosticism; compare the [Greek: Zôê] of Valentin and _el-hayat
el-muallama_, "the dark life," of Mani in the _Fihirst_.
MANDALAY, formerly the capital of independent Burma, now the
headquarters of the Mandalay division and district, as well as the chief
town in Upper Burma, stands on the left bank of the Irrawaddy, in 21°
59´ N. and 96° 8´ E. Its height above mean sea-level is 315 ft. Mandalay
was built in 1856-1857 by King Mindon. It is now divided into the
municipal area and the cantonment. The town covers an area of 6 m. from
north to south and 3 from east to west, and has well-metalled roads
lined with avenues of trees and regularly lighted and watered. The
cantonment consists of the area inside the old city walls, and is now
called Fort Dufferin. In the centre stands the palace, a group of wooden
buildings, many of them highly carved and gilt, resting on a brick
platform 900 ft. by 500 ft., and 6 ft. high. The greater part of it is
now utilized for military and other offices. The garrison consists of a
brigade belonging to the Burma command of the Indian army. There are
many fine pagodas and monastic buildings in the town. The population in
1901 was 183,816, showing a decrease of 3% in the decade. The population
is very mixed. Besides Burmese there are Zerbadis (the offspring of a
Mahommedan with a Burman wife), Mahommedans, Hindus, Jews, Chinese,
Shans and Manipuris (called Kathe), Kachins and Palaungs. Trains run
from Mandalay to Rangoon, Myit-kyina, and up the Mandalay-Kunlong
railway. The steamers of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company also ply in all
directions. There are twenty bazaars, the chief of which, the Zegyo, was
burnt in 1897, and again in 1906, but rebuilt.
The MANDALAY DISTRICT has an area of 2117 sq. m. and a population (1901)
of 366,507, giving a density of 177 inhabitants to the square mile.
About 600 sq. m. along the Irrawaddy river are flat land, nearly all
cultivated. In the north and east there are some 1500 sq. m. of high
hills and table-lands, forming geographically a portion of the Shan
table-land. Here the fall to the plains averages 3000 to 4000 ft. in a
distance of 10 m. This part of the district is well wooded and watered.
The Maymyo subdivision has very fine plateaus of 3000 to 3600 ft. in
height. The highest peaks are between 4000 and 5000 ft. above sea-level.
The Irrawaddy, the Myit-ngè and the Madaya are the chief rivers. The
last two come from the Shan States, and are navigable for between 20 and
30 m. There are many canals, most of which have fallen greatly into
disrepair, and the Aungbinle, Nanda and Shwepyi lakes also supply water
for cultivation. A systematic irrigation scheme has been undertaken by
the government. The Sagyin hills near Madaya are noted for their
alabaster; rubies are also found in small quantities. There are 335 sq.
m. of forest reserves in the district, but there is little teak. The
climate is dry and healthy. During May and June and till August strong
winds prevail. The thermometer rises to about 107° in the shade in the
hot weather, and the minimum in the month of December is about 55°. The
rainfall is light, the average being under 30 in.
The DIVISION includes the districts of Mandalay, Bhamo, Myit-kyina,
Katha and Ruby Mines, with a total area of 29,373 sq. m., and a
population (1901) of 777,338, giving an average density of 30
inhabitants to the square mile. (J. G. Sc.)
MANDAMUS, WRIT OF, in English law, a high prerogative writ issuing from
the High Court of Justice (named from the first word in the Latin form
of the writ) containing a command in the name of the king, directed to
inferior courts, corporations, or individuals, ordering them to do a
specific act within the duty of their office, or which they are bound by
statute to do, and performance whereof the applicant for the writ has a
specific legal right to enforce. Direct orders from the sovereign to
subjects commanding the performance of particular acts were common in
early times, and to this class of orders _mandamus_ originally belonged.
It became customary for the court of king's bench, in cases where a
legal duty was established but no sufficient means existed for enforcing
it, to order performance by this writ. Under the Judicature Acts and the
_Crown Office Rules_, 1906 (r. 49), the powers of the court of king's
bench as to the grant of the prerogative writ of mandamus are
exercisable only in the king's bench division of the High Court.
The writ though of right is not of course: i.e. the applicant cannot
have it merely for the asking, but must satisfy the High Court that
circumstances exist calling for its issue. The procedure regulating the
grant and enforcement of the writ is determined by the _Crown Office
Rules_, 1906 (rr. 49-68, 125).
_Mandamus_ has always been regarded as an exceptional remedy to
supplement the deficiencies of the common law, or defects of justice.
Where another legal or equitable remedy exists, equally appropriate,
convenient, speedy, beneficial and effectual, the writ will as a rule
be refused. It is occasionally granted even when a remedy by
indictment is available: but is not issued unless the existence of the
duty and refusal to perform it are clearly established, nor where
performance in fact has become impossible. The writ is used to compel
inferior courts to hear and determine according to law cases within
their jurisdiction, e.g. where a county court or justices in petty or
quarter sessions refuse to assume a jurisdiction which they possess to
deal with a matter brought before them. It has in recent years been
employed to compel municipal bodies to discharge their duties as to
providing proper sewerage for their districts and to compel
anti-vaccinationist guardians of the poor to appoint officers for the
execution of the Vaccination Acts; and it is also employed to compel
the promoters of railway and similar undertakings to discharge duties
imposed upon them towards the public by their special acts, e.g. with
reference to highways, &c., affected by their railways or other
undertakings. The courts do not prescribe the specific manner in which
the duty is to be discharged, but do not stay their hands until
substantial compliance is established.
Besides the prerogative common-law writ there are a number of orders,
made by the High Court under statutory authority, and described as or
as being in the nature of mandamus, e.g. mandamus to proceed to the
election of a corporate officer of a municipal corporation (Municipal
Corporations Act 1882, s. 225); orders in the nature of mandamus to
justices to hear and determine a matter within their jurisdiction, or
to state and sign a case under the enactments relating to special
cases.
At common law mandamus lies only for the performance of acts of a
public or official character. The enforcement of merely private
obligations, such as those arising from contracts, is not within its
scope. By s. 68 of the Common Law Procedure Act 1854, the plaintiff in
any action other than replevin and ejectment was empowered to claim a
writ of mandamus to compel the defendant to fulfil any duty in the
fulfilment of which the plaintiff was personally interested. By s. 25
(8) of the Judicature Act 1873 a mandamus may be granted by an
interlocutory order of the High Court in all cases in which it shall
appear to the court just or convenient that such an order should be
made. This enactment does not deal with the prerogative mandamus but
empowers the king's bench and the chancery divisions to grant an
interlocutory mandamus in any pending cause or matter by an order
other than the final judgment and even by an order made after the
judgment. S. 68 of the act of 1854 has been repealed and replaced by
Order LIII. of the _Rules of the Supreme Court_. The remedy thus
created is an attempt to engraft upon the old common law remedy by
damages a right in the nature of specific performance of the duty in
question. It is not limited to cases in which the prerogative writ
would be granted; but mandamus is not granted when the result desired
can be obtained by some remedy equally convenient, beneficial and
effective, or a particular and different remedy is provided by
statute. An action for mandamus does not lie against judicial officers
such as justices. The mandamus issued in the action is no longer a
writ of mandamus, but a judgment or order having effect equivalent to
the writ formerly used.
_Mandatory Injunction._--The High Court has a jurisdiction derived
from the court of chancery to grant injunctions at the suit of the
attorney-general or of private persons. Ordinarily these injunctions
are in the form of prohibition or restraint and not of command. But
occasionally mandatory injunctions are granted in the form of a direct
command by the court.
_Specific Performance._--The jurisdiction of the High Court, derived
from the court of chancery, to decree specific performance of
contracts has some resemblance to mandamus in the domains of public or
quasi-public law.
_Ireland._--The law of Ireland as to mandamus is derived from that of
England, and differs therefrom only in minor details.
_British Possessions._--In a British possession the power to issue the
prerogative writ is usually vested in the Supreme Court by its charter
or by local legislation.
_United States._--The writ has passed into the law of the United
States. "There is in the federal judiciary an employment of the writ
substantially as the old prerogative writ in the king's bench
practice, also as a mode of exercising appellate jurisdiction, also as
a proceeding ancillary to a judgment previously rendered, in exercise
of original jurisdiction, as when a circuit court having rendered a
judgment against a county issues a mandamus requiring its officers to
levy a tax to provide for the payment of the judgment." And in the
various states mandamus is used under varying regulations, mandate
being in some cases substituted as the name of the proceeding.
MANDAN, a tribe of North American Indians of Siouan stock. When first
met they were living on the Missouri at the mouth of the Heart river. At
the beginning of the 19th century they were driven up the Missouri by
the Sioux. In 1845 they joined the Gros Ventres and later the Arikaras,
and settled in their present position at Fort Berthold reservation,
North Dakota. The Mandans have always been agricultural; they are noted
for their ceremonies, and from the tattooing on face and breast were
described in the sign language as "the tattooed people."
MANDARIN, the common name for all public officials in China, the Chinese
name for whom is _kwan_ or _kwun_. The word comes through the Portuguese
from Malay _mantri_, a counsellor or minister of state. The ultimate
origin of this word is the Sanskrit root _man-_, meaning to "think,"
seen in "man," "mind," &c. The term "mandarin" is not, in its western
usage, applied indiscriminately to all civil and military officials, but
only to those who are entitled to wear a "button," which is a spherical
knob, about an inch in diameter, affixed to the top of the official cap
or hat. These officials, civil and military alike, are divided into nine
grades or classes, each grade being distinguished by a button of a
particular colour. The grade to which an official belongs is not
necessarily related to the office he holds. The button which
distinguishes the first grade is a transparent red stone; the second
grade, a red coral button; the third, a sapphire; the fourth, a blue
opaque stone; the fifth, a crystal button; the sixth, an opaque white
shell button; the seventh, a plain gold button; the eighth, a worked
gold button; and the ninth, a worked silver button. The mandarins also
wear certain insignia embroidered on their official robes, and have
girdle clasps of different material. The first grade have, for civilians
an embroidered Manchurian crane on the breast and back, for the military
an embroidered unicorn with a girdle clasp of jade set in rubies. The
second grade, for civilians an embroidered golden pheasant, for the
military a lion with a girdle clasp of gold set in rubies. The third
grade, for civilians a peacock, for the military a leopard with a clasp
of worked gold. The fourth grade, for civilians a wild goose, for the
military a tiger, and a clasp of worked gold with a silver button. The
fifth grade, for civilians a silver pheasant, for the military a bear
and a clasp of plain gold with a silver button. The sixth grade, for
civilians an egret, for the military a tiger-cat with a mother-of-pearl
clasp. The seventh grade, for civilians a mandarin duck, for the
military a mottled bear with a silver clasp. The eighth grade, for
civilians a quail, for the military a seal with a clear horn clasp. The
ninth grade, for civilians a long-tailed jay, for the military a
rhinoceros with a buffalo-horn clasp.
The "mandarin language" is the Chinese, which is spoken in official and
legal circles; it is also spoken over a considerable portion of the
country, particularly the northern and central parts, though not perhaps
with the same purity. Mandarin duck (_anas galericulata_) and Mandarin
orange (_citrus nobilis_) possibly derive their names, by analogy, from
the sense of superiority implied in the title "mandarin."
See _Society in China_, by Sir R. K. Douglas; _L'Empire du milieu_, by
E. and O. Reclus.
MANDASOR, or MANDSAUR, a town of Central India, in the native state of
Gwalior, on the Rajputana railway, 31 m. S. of Neemuch. Pop. (1901),
20,936. It gave its name to the treaty with Holkar, which concluded the
Mahratta-Pindari War in 1818. It is a centre of the Malwa opium trade.
Mandasor and its neighbourhood are full of archaeological interest. An
inscription discovered near the town indicated the erection of a temple
of the sun in 437, and at Sondani are two great monolith pillars
recording a victory of Yasodharma, king of Malwa, in 528. The fort dates
from the 14th and 15th centuries. Hindu and Jain remains are numerous,
though the town is now entirely Mahommedan.
MANDATE (_Mandatum_), a contract in Roman law constituted by one person
(the _mandatarius_) promising to do something gratuitously at the
request of another (the _mandator_), who undertakes to indemnify him
against loss. The jurist distinguished the different cases of mandatum
according as the object of the contract was the benefit of the mandator
or a third person singly, or the mandator and a third person, the
mandator and the mandatarius, or the mandatarius and a third person
together. When the benefit was that of the mandatarius alone, the
obligations of the contract were held not to arise, although the form of
the contract might exist, the commission being held to be merely advice
tendered to the mandatarius, and acted on by him at his own risk.
Mandatum was classified as one of the contracts established by consent
of the parties alone; but, as there was really no obligation of any kind
until the mandatarius had acted on the mandate, it has with more
propriety been referred to the contracts created by the supply of some
fact (_re_). The obligations of the mandatarius under the contract were,
briefly, to do what he had promised according to his instructions,
observing ordinary diligence in taking care of any property entrusted to
him, and handing over to his principal the results of his action,
including the right to sue in his name. On the other hand, the principal
was bound to recoup him his expenses and indemnify him against loss
through obligations he might have incurred.
The essentials and the terminology of the contract are preserved in
most modern systems of law. But in English law mandate, under that
name, can hardly be said to exist as a separate form of contract. To
some extent the law of mandatum corresponds partly to the law of
principal and agent, partly to that of principal and surety. "Mandate"
is retained to signify the contract more generally known as gratuitous
bailment. It is restricted to personal property, and it implies the
delivery of something to the bailee, both of which conditions are
unknown in the mandatum of the civil law (see BAILMENT).
MANDAUE, a town of the province of Cebú, island of Cebú, Philippine
Islands, on the E. coast and E. coast road, about 4 m. N.E. of the town
of Cebú, the capital. Pop. (1903), 11,078; in the same year the town of
Consolación (pop. 5511) was merged with Mandaue. Its climate is very
hot, but healthy. The principal industries are the raising of Indian
corn and sugar-cane and the manufacture of salt from sea-water.
Cebú-Visayan is the language.
MANDELIC ACID (Phenylglycollic Acid), C8H8O3 or C6H5·CH(OH)·COOH, an
isomer of the cresotinic and the oxymethylbenzoic acids. Since the
molecule contains an asymmetric carbon atom, the acid exists in three
forms, one being an inactive "racemic" mixture, and the other two being
optically active forms. The inactive variety is known as _paramandelic
acid_. It may be prepared by the action of hydrochloric acid on the
addition compound of benzaldehyde and hydrocyanic acid:--
C6H5CHO + HCN + HCl + 2H2O = C6H5·CHOH·COOH + NH4Cl,
(F. L. Winckler, _Ann._, 1836, 18, 310), by boiling phenylchlor-acetic
acid with alkalis (A. Spiegel, _Ber._, 1881, 14, 239), by heating
benzoylformaldehyde with alkalis (H. v. Pechmann, _Ber._, 1887, 20,
2905), and by the action of dilute alkalies on [omega]-dibromacetophenone
(C. Engler, _Ber._, 1887, 20, 2202):--
C6H5COCHBr2 + 3KHO = 2KBr + H2O + C6H5·CHOH·CO2K.
It crystallizes from water in large rhombic crystals, which melt at 118°
C. Oxidizing agents convert it into benzaldehyde. When heated with
hydriodic acid and phosphorus it forms phenylacetic acid; whilst
concentrated hydrobromic acid and hydrochloric acid at moderate
temperatures convert it into phenylbrom- and phenylchlor-acetic acids.
The inactive mixture may be resolved into its active components by
fractional crystallization of the cinchonine salt, when the salt of the
_dextro_ modification separates first; or the ammonium salt may be
fermented by _Penicillium glaucum_, when the _laevo_ form is destroyed
and the _dextro_ form remains untouched; on the other hand,
_Saccharomyces ellipsoïdeus_ destroys the _dextro_ form, but does not
touch the _laevo_ form. A mixture of the two forms in equivalent
quantities produces the inactive variety, which is also obtained when
either form is heated for some hours to 160° C.
MANDER, CAREL VAN (1548-1606), Dutch painter, poet and biographer, was
born of a noble family at Meulebeke. He studied under Lucas de Heere at
Ghent, and in 1568-1569 under Pieter Vlerick at Kortryck. The next five
years he devoted to the writing of religious plays for which he also
painted the scenery. Then followed three years in Rome (1574-1577),
where he is said to have been the first to discover the catacombs. On
his return journey he passed through Vienna, where, together with the
sculptor Hans Mont, he made the triumphal arch for the entry of the
emperor Rudolph. After many vicissitudes caused by war, loss of fortune
and plague, he settled at Haarlem where, in conjunction with Goltzius
and Cornelisz, he founded a successful academy of painting. His fame is,
however, principally based upon a voluminous biographical work on the
paintings of various epochs--a book that has become for the northern
countries what Vasari's _Lives of the Painters_ became for Italy. It was
completed in 1603 and published in 1604, in which year Van Mander
removed to Amsterdam, where he died in 1606.
MANDEVILLE, BERNARD DE (1670-1733), English philosopher and satirist,
was born at Dordrecht, where his father practised as a physician. On
leaving the Erasmus school at Rotterdam he gave proof of his ability by
an _Oratio scholastica de medicina_ (1685), and at Leiden University in
1689 he maintained a thesis _De brutorum operationibus_, in which he
advocated the Cartesian theory of automatism among animals. In 1691 he
took his medical degree, pronouncing an "inaugural disputation," _De
chylosi vitiata_. Afterwards he came to England "to learn the language,"
and succeeded so remarkably that many refused to believe he was a
foreigner. As a physician he seems to have done little, and lived poorly
on a pension given him by some Dutch merchants and money which he earned
from distillers for advocating the use of spirits. His conversational
abilities won him the friendship of Lord Macclesfield (chief justice
1710-1718) who introduced him to Addison, described by Mandeville as "a
parson in a tye-wig." He died in January (19th or 21st) 1733/4 at
Hackney.
The work by which he is known is the _Fable of the Bees_, published
first in 1705 under the title of _The Grumbling Hive, or Knaves Turn'd
Honest_ (two hundred doggerel couplets). In 1714 it was republished
anonymously with _Remarks_ and _An Enquiry into the Origin of Moral
Virtue_. In 1723 a later edition appeared, including _An Essay on
Charity and Charity Schools_, and _A Search into the Nature of Society_.
The book was primarily written as a political satire on the state of
England in 1705, when the Tories were accusing Marlborough and the
ministry of advocating the French War for personal reasons. The edition
of 1723 was presented as a nuisance by the Grand Jury of Middlesex, was
denounced in the _London Journal_ by "Theophilus Philo-Britannus," and
attacked by many writers, notably by Archibald Campbell (1691-1756) in
his _Aretelogia_ (published as his own by Alexander Innes in 1728;
afterwards by Campbell, under his own name, in 1733, as _Enquiry into
the Original of Moral Virtue_). The _Fable_ was reprinted in 1729, a
ninth edition appeared in 1755, and it has often been reprinted in more
recent times. Berkeley attacked it in the second dialogue of the
_Alciphron_ (1732) and John Brown criticized him in his _Essay upon
Shaftesbury's Characteristics_ (1751).
Mandeville's philosophy gave great offence at the time, and has always
been stigmatized as false, cynical and degrading. His main thesis is
that the actions of men cannot be divided into lower and higher. The
higher life of man is merely a fiction introduced by philosophers and
rulers to simplify government and the relations of society. In fact,
virtue (which he defined as "every performance by which man, contrary to
the impulse of nature, should endeavour the benefit of others, or the
conquest of his own passions, out of a rational ambition of being good")
is actually detrimental to the state in its commercial and intellectual
progress, for it is the vices (i.e. the self-regarding actions of men)
which alone, by means of inventions and the circulation of capital in
connexion with luxurious living, stimulate society into action and
progress. In the _Fable_ he shows a society possessed of all the virtues
"blest with content and honesty," falling into apathy and utterly
paralyzed. The absence of self-love (cf. Hobbes) is the death of
progress. The so-called higher virtues are mere hypocrisy, and arise
from the selfish desire to be superior to the brutes. "The moral virtues
are the political offspring which flattery begot upon pride." Similarly
he arrives at the great paradox that "private vices are public
benefits." But his best work and that in which he approximates most
nearly to modern views is his account of the origin of society. His _a
priori_ theories should be compared with Maine's historical inquiries
(_Ancient Law_, c. V.). He endeavours to show that all social laws are
the crystallized results of selfish aggrandizement and protective
alliances among the weak. Denying any form of moral sense or conscience,
he regards all the social virtues as evolved from the instinct for
self-preservation, the give-and-take arrangements between the partners
in a defensive and offensive alliance, and the feelings of pride and
vanity artificially fed by politicians, as an antidote to dissension and
chaos. Mandeville's ironical paradoxes are interesting mainly as a
criticism of the "amiable" idealism of Shaftesbury, and in comparison
with the serious egoistic systems of Hobbes and Helvetius. It is mere
prejudice to deny that Mandeville had considerable philosophic insight;
at the same time he was mainly negative or critical, and, as he himself
said, he was writing for "the entertainment of people of knowledge and
education." He may be said to have cleared the ground for the coming
utilitarianism.
WORKS.--_Typhon: a Burlesque Poem_ (1704); _Aesop Dress'd, or a
Collection of Fables writ in Familiar Verse_ (1704); _The Planter's
Charity_ (1704); _The Virgin Unmasked_ (1709, 1724, 1731, 1742), a
work in which the coarser side of his nature is prominent; _Treatise
of the Hypochondriack and Hysterick Passions_ (1711, 1715, 1730)
admired by Johnson (Mandeville here protests against merely
speculative therapeutics, and advances fanciful theories of his own
about animal spirits in connexion with "stomachic ferment": he shows a
knowledge of Locke's methods, and an admiration for Sydenham); _Free
Thoughts on Religion_ (1720); _A Conference about Whoring_ (1725); _An
Enquiry into the Causes of the Frequent Executions at Tyburn_ (1725);
_The Origin of Honour and the Usefulness of Christianity in War_
(1732). Other works attributed, wrongly, to him are _A Modest Defence
of Public Stews_ (1724); _The World Unmasked_ (1736) and _Zoologia
medicinalis hibernica_ (1744).
See Hill's _Boswell_, iii. 291-293; L. Stephen's _English Thought in
the Eighteenth Century_, A. Bain's _Moral Science_ (593-598);
Windelband's _History of Ethics_ (Eng. trans. Tufts); J. M. Robertson,
_Pioneer Humanists_ (1907); P. Sakmann, _Bernard de Mandeville und die
Bienenfabel-Controverse_ (Freiburg i/Br., 1897), and compare articles
ETHICS, SHAFTESBURY, HOBBES. (J. M. M.).
MANDEVILLE, GEOFFREY DE (d. 1144), earl of Essex, succeeded his father,
William, as constable of the Tower of London in or shortly before 1130.
Though a great Essex landowner, he played no conspicuous part in history
till 1140, when Stephen created him earl of Essex in reward for his
services against the empress Matilda. After the defeat and capture of
Stephen at Lincoln (1141) the earl deserted to Matilda, but before the
end of the year, learning that Stephen's release was imminent, returned
to his original allegiance. In 1142 he was again intriguing with the
empress; but before he could openly join her cause he was detected and
deprived of his castles by the king. In 1143-1144 Geoffrey maintained
himself as a rebel and a bandit in the fen-country, using the Isle of
Ely and Ramsey Abbey as his headquarters. He was besieged by Stephen in
the fens, and met his death in September 1144 in consequence of a wound
received in a skirmish. His career is interesting for two reasons. The
charters which he extorted from Stephen and Matilda illustrate the
peculiar form taken by the ambitions of English feudatories. The most
important concessions are grants of offices and jurisdictions which had
the effect of making Mandeville a viceroy with full powers in Essex,
Middlesex and London, and Hertfordshire. His career as an outlaw
exemplifies the worst excesses of the anarchy which prevailed in some
parts of England during the civil wars of 1140-1147, and it is probable
that the deeds of Mandeville inspired the rhetorical description, in the
Peterborough Chronicle of this period, when "men said openly that Christ
and his saints were asleep."
See J. H. Round, _Geoffrey de Mandeville, a Study of the Anarchy_
(London, 1892). (H. W. C. D.)
MANDEVILLE, JEHAN DE ("Sir John Mandeville"), the name claimed by the
compiler of a singular book of travels, written in French, and published
between 1357 and 1371. By aid of translations into many other languages
it acquired extraordinary popularity, while a few interpolated words in
a particular edition of an English version gained for Mandeville in
modern times the spurious credit of being "the father of English prose."
In his preface the compiler calls himself a knight, and states that he
was born and bred in England, of the town of St Albans; had crossed the
sea on Michaelmas Day 1322; had travelled by way of Turkey (Asia Minor),
Armenia the little (Cilicia) and the great, Tartary, Persia, Syria,
Arabia, Egypt upper and lower, Libya, great part of Ethiopia, Chaldaea,
Amazonia, India the less, the greater and the middle, and many countries
about India; had often been to Jerusalem, and had written in Romance as
more generally understood than Latin. In the body of the work we hear
that he had been at Paris and Constantinople; had served the sultan of
Egypt a long time in his wars against the Bedawin, had been vainly
offered by him a princely marriage and a great estate on condition of
renouncing Christianity, and had left Egypt under sultan Melech
Madabron, i.e. Muzaffar or Mudhaffar[1] (who reigned in 1346-1347); had
been at Mount Sinai, and had visited the Holy Land with letters under
the great seal of the sultan, which gave him extraordinary facilities;
had been in Russia, Livonia, Cracow, Lithuania, "en roialme daresten" (?
de Daresten or Silistria), and many other parts near Tartary, but not in
Tartary itself; had drunk of the well of youth at Polombe (Quilon on the
Malabar coast), and still seemed to feel the better; had taken
astronomical observations on the way to Lamory (Sumatra), as well as in
Brabant, Germany, Bohemia and still farther north; had been at an isle
called Pathen in the Indian Ocean; had been at Cansay (Hangchow-fu) in
China, and had served the emperor of China fifteen months against the
king of Manzi; had been among rocks of adamant in the Indian Ocean; had
been through a haunted valley, which he places near "Milstorak" (i.e.
Malasgird in Armenia); had been driven home against his will in 1357 by
arthritic gout; and had written his book as a consolation for his
"wretched rest." The paragraph which states that he had had his book
confirmed at Rome by the pope is an interpolation of the English
version.
Part at least of the personal history of Mandeville is mere invention.
Nor is any contemporary corroboration of the existence of such a Jehan
de Mandeville known. Some French MSS., not contemporary, give a Latin
letter of presentation from him to Edward III., but so vague that it
might have been penned by any writer on any subject. It is in fact
beyond reasonable doubt that the travels were in large part compiled by
a Liége physician, known as Johains à le Barbe or Jehan à la Barbe,
otherwise Jehan de Bourgogne.
The evidence of this is in a modernized extract quoted by the Liége
herald, Louis Abry[2] (1643-1720), from the lost fourth book of the
_Myreur des Hystors_ of Johans des Preis, styled d'Oultremouse. In this
"Jean de Bourgogne, dit à la Barbe," is said to have revealed himself on
his deathbed to d'Oultremouse, whom he made his executor, and to have
described himself in his will as "messire Jean de Mandeville, chevalier,
comte de Montfort en Angleterre et seigneur de l'isle de Campdi et du
château Pérouse." It is added that, having had the misfortune to kill an
unnamed count in his own country, he engaged himself to travel through
the three parts of the world, arrived at Liége in 1343, was a great
naturalist, profound philosopher and astrologer, and had a remarkable
knowledge of physic. And the identification is confirmed by the fact
that in the now destroyed church of the Guillelmins was a tombstone of
Mandeville, with a Latin inscription stating that he was otherwise named
"ad Barbam," was a professor of medicine, and died at Liége on the 17th
of November 1372: this inscription is quoted as far back as 1462.
Even before his death the Liége physician seems to have confessed to a
share in the composition of the work. In the common Latin abridged
version of it, at the end of c. vii., the author says that when stopping
in the sultan's court at Cairo he met a venerable and expert physician
of "our" parts, that they rarely came into conversation because their
duties were of a different kind, but that long afterwards at Liége he
composed this treatise at the exhortation and with the help (_hortatu et
adiutorio_) of the same venerable man, as he will narrate at the end of
it. And in the last chapter he says that in 1355, in returning home, he
came to Liége, and being laid up with old age and arthritic gout in the
street called Bassesauenyr, i.e. Basse Savenir, consulted the
physicians. That one came in who was more venerable than the others by
reason of his age and white hairs, was evidently expert in his art, and
was commonly called Magister Iohannes ad Barbam. That a chance remark of
the latter caused the renewal of their old Cairo acquaintance, and that
Ad Barbam, after showing his medical skill on Mandeville, urgently
begged him to write his travels; "and so at length, by his advice and
help, _monitu et adiutorio_, was composed this treatise, of which I had
certainly proposed to write nothing until at least I had reached my own
parts in England." He goes on to speak of himself as being now lodged in
Liége, "which is only two days distant from the sea of England"; and it
is stated in the colophon (and in the MSS.) that the book was first
published in French by Mandeville, its author, in 1355, at Liége, and
soon after in the same city translated into "the said" Latin form.
Moreover, a MS. of the French text extant at Liége about 1860[3]
contained a similar statement, and added that the author lodged at a
hostel called "al hoste Henkin Levo": this MS. gave the physician's name
as "Johains de Bourgogne dit ale barbe," which doubtless conveys its
local form.
There is no contemporary English mention of any English knight named
Jehan de Mandeville, nor are the arms said to have been on the Liége
tomb like any known Mandeville arms. But Dr G. F. Warner has ingeniously
suggested that de Bourgogne may be a certain Johan de Bourgoyne, who was
pardoned by parliament on the 20th of August 1321 for having taken part
in the attack on the Despensers, but whose pardon was revoked in May
1322, the year in which "Mandeville" professes to have left England. And
it should now be added that among the persons similarly pardoned _on the
recommendation of the same nobleman_ was a Joh^an Mangevilayn, whose
name appears closely related to that of "de Mandeville"[4]--which is
merely a later form of "de Magneville."
Mangeuilain occurs in Yorkshire as early as 16 Hen. I. (_Pipe Roll
Soc._, xv. 40), but is very rare, and (failing evidence of any place
named Mangeville) seems to be merely a variant spelling of Magnevillain.
The meaning may be simply "of Magneville," _de_ Magneville; but the
family of a 14th century bishop of Nevers were called both "Mandevilain"
and "de Mandevilain"--where Mandevilain seems a derivative place-name,
meaning the Magneville or Mandeville district. In any case it is clear
that the name "de Mandeville" might be suggested to de Bourgogne by that
of his fellow-culprit Mangevilayn, and it is even possible that the two
fled to England together, were in Egypt together, met again at Liége,
and shared in the compilation of the _Travels_.
Whether after the appearance of the _Travels_ either de Bourgogne or
"Mangevilayn" visited England is very doubtful. St Albans Abbey had a
sapphire ring, and Canterbury a crystal orb, said to have been given by
Mandeville; but these might have been sent from Liége, and it will
appear later that the Liége physician possessed and wrote about precious
stones. St Albans also had a legend that a ruined marble tomb of
Mandeville (represented cross-legged and in armour, with sword and
shield) once stood in the abbey; this may be true of "Mangevilayn" or it
may be a mere myth.
It is a little curious that the name preceding Mangevilayn in the list
of persons pardoned is "Johan le Barber." Did this suggest to de
Bourgogne the _alias_ "à le Barbe," or was that only a Liége nickname?
Note also that the arms on Mandeville's tomb were borne by the Tyrrells
of Hertfordshire (the county in which St Albans lies); for of course the
crescent on the lion's breast is only the "difference" indicating a
second son.
Leaving this question, there remains the equally complex one whether the
book contains any facts and knowledge acquired by actual travels and
residence in the East. Possibly it may, but only as a small portion of
the section which treats of the Holy Land and the ways of getting
thither, of Egypt, and in general of the Levant. The prologue, indeed,
points almost exclusively to the Holy Land as the subject of the work.
The mention of more distant regions comes in only towards the end of
this prologue, and (in a manner) as an afterthought.
By far the greater part of these more distant travels, extending in fact
from Trebizond to Hormuz, India, the Malay Archipelago, and China, and
back again to western Asia, has been appropriated from the narrative of
Friar Odoric (written in 1330). These passages, as served up by
Mandeville, are almost always, indeed, swollen with interpolated
particulars, usually of an extravagant kind, whilst in no few cases the
writer has failed to understand the passages which he adopts from Odoric
and professes to give as his own experiences. Thus (p. 209),[5] where
Odoric has given a most curious and veracious account of the Chinese
custom of employing tame cormorants to catch fish, the cormorants are
converted by Mandeville into "little beasts called _loyres_ (_layre_,
B), which are taught to go into the water" (the word _loyre_ being
apparently used here for "otter," _lutra_, for which the Provençal is
_luria_ or _loiria_).
At a very early date the coincidence of Mandeville's stories with those
of Odoric was recognized, insomuch that a MS. of Odoric which is or was
in the chapter library at Mainz begins with the words: _Incipit
Itinerarius fidelis fratris Odorici socii Militis Mendavil per Indian;
licet hic [read ille] prius el alter posterius peregrinationem suam
descripsit._ At a later day Sir T. Herbert calls Odoric "travelling
companion of our Sir John"; and Purchas, with most perverse injustice,
whilst calling Mandeville, next to Polo, "if next ... the greatest Asian
traveller that ever the world had," insinuates that Odoric's story was
stolen from Mandeville's. Mandeville himself is crafty enough, at least
in one passage, to anticipate criticism by suggesting the probability of
his having travelled with Odoric (see p. 282 and below).
Much, again, of Mandeville's matter, particularly in Asiatic geography
and history, is taken bodily from the _Historiae Orientis_ of Hetoum, an
Armenian of princely family, who became a monk of the Praemonstrant
order, and in 1307 dictated this work on the East, in the French tongue
at Poitiers, out of his own extraordinary acquaintance with Asia and its
history in his own time.
It is curious that no passage in Mandeville can be plausibly traced to
Marco Polo, with one exception. This is (p. 163) where he states that at
Hormuz the people during the great heat lie in water--a circumstance
mentioned by Polo, though not by Odoric. We should suppose it most
likely that this fact had been interpolated in the copy of Odoric used
by Mandeville, for if he had borrowed it direct from Polo he would have
borrowed more.
A good deal about the manners and customs of the Tatars is demonstrably
derived from the famous work of the Franciscan Ioannes de Plano Carpini,
who went as the pope's ambassador to the Tatars in 1245-1247; but Dr
Warner considers that the immediate source for Mandeville was the
_Speculum historiale_ of Vincent de Beauvais. Though the passages in
question are all to be found in Plano Carpini more or less exactly, the
expression is condensed and the order changed. For examples compare
Mandeville, p. 250, on the tasks done by Tatar women, with Plano
Carpini, p. 643;[6] Mandeville, p. 250, on Tatar habits of eating, with
Plano Carpini, pp. 639-640; Mandeville, p. 231, on the titles borne on
the seals of the Great Khan, with Plano Carpini, p. 715, &c.
The account of Prester John is taken from the famous _Epistle_ of that
imaginary potentate, which was so widely diffused in the 13th century,
and created that renown which made it incumbent on every traveller in
Asia to find some new tale to tell of him. Many fabulous stories, again,
of monsters, such as cyclopes, sciapodes, hippopodes, monoscelides,
anthropophagi, and men whose heads did grow beneath their shoulders, of
the phoenix and the weeping crocodile, such as Pliny has collected, are
introduced here and there, derived no doubt from him, Solinus, the
bestiaries, or the _Speculum naturale_ of Vincent de Beauvais. And
interspersed, especially in the chapters about the Levant, are the
stories and legends that were retailed to every pilgrim, such as the
legend of Seth and the grains of paradise from which grew the wood of
the cross, that of the shooting of old Cain by Lamech, that of the
castle of the sparrow-hawk (which appears in the tale of Melusina),
those of the origin of the balsam plants at Matariya, of the dragon of
Cos, of the river Sabbation, &c.
Even in that part of the book which might be supposed to represent some
genuine experience there are the plainest traces that another work has
been made use of, more or less--we might almost say as a framework to
fill up. This is the itinerary of the German knight Wilhelm von
Boldensele, written in 1336 at the desire of Cardinal Talleyrand de
Perigord.[7] A cursory comparison of this with Mandeville leaves no
doubt that the latter has followed its thread, though digressing on
every side, and too often eliminating the singular good sense of the
German traveller. We may indicate as examples Boldensele's account of
Cyprus (Mandeville, p. 28 and p. 10), of Tyre and the coast of Palestine
(Mandeville, 29, 30, 33, 34), of the journey from Gaza to Egypt (34),
passages about Babylon of Egypt (40), about Mecca (42), the general
account of Egypt (45), the pyramids (52), some of the wonders of Cairo,
such as the slave-market, the chicken-hatching stoves, and the apples of
paradise, i.e. plantains (49), the Red Sea (57), the convent on Sinai
(58, 60), the account of the church of the Holy Sepulchre (74-76), &c.
There is, indeed, only a small residuum of the book to which genuine
character, as containing the experiences of the author, can possibly be
attributed. Yet, as has been intimated, the borrowed stories are
frequently claimed as such experiences. In addition to those already
mentioned, he alleges that he had witnessed the curious exhibition of
the garden of transmigrated souls (described by Odoric) at Cansay, i.e.
Hangchow-fu (211). He and his fellows with their valets had remained
fifteen months in service with the emperor of Cathay in his wars against
the king of Manzi--Manzi, or Southern China, having ceased to be a
separate kingdom some seventy years before the time referred to. But the
most notable of these false statements occurs in his adoption from
Odoric of the story of the Valley Perilous (282). This is, in its
original form, apparently founded on real experiences of Odoric viewed
through a haze of excitement and superstition. Mandeville, whilst
swelling the wonders of the tale with a variety of extravagant touches,
appears to safeguard himself from the reader's possible discovery that
it was stolen by the interpolation: "And some of our fellows accorded to
enter, and some not. So there were with us two worthy men, Friars Minor,
that were of Lombardy, who said that if any man would enter they would
go in with us. And when they had said so, upon the gracious trust of God
and of them, we caused mass to be sung, and made every man to be shriven
and houselled; and then we entered, fourteen persons; but at our going
out we were but nine," &c.
In referring to this passage it is only fair to recognize that the
description (though the suggestion of the greatest part exists in
Odoric) displays a good deal of imaginative power; and there is much in
the account of Christian's passage through the Valley of the Shadow of
Death, in Bunyan's famous allegory, which indicates a possibility that
John Bunyan may have read and remembered this episode either in
Mandeville or in Hakluyt's Odoric.
Nor does it follow that the whole work is borrowed or fictitious. Even
the great Moorish traveller Ibn Batuta, accurate and veracious in the
main, seems--in one part at least of his narrative--to invent
experiences; and in such works as those of Jan van Hees and Arnold von
Harff we have examples of pilgrims to the Holy Land whose narratives
begin apparently in sober truth, and gradually pass into flourishes of
fiction and extravagance. So in Mandeville also we find particulars not
yet traced to other writers, and which may therefore be provisionally
assigned either to the writer's own experience or to knowledge acquired
by colloquial intercourse in the East.
It is difficult to decide on the character of his statements as to
recent Egyptian history. In his account of that country (pp. 37, 38)
though the series of the Comanian (i.e. of the Bahri Mameluke) sultans
is borrowed from Hetoum down to the accession of _Melechnasser_, i.e.
Malik al-Nasir (Nasir ud-din Mahommed), who came first to the throne in
1293, Mandeville appears to speak from his own knowledge when he adds
that this "_Melechnasser_ reigned long and governed wisely." In fact,
though twice displaced in the early part of his life, Malik Nasir
reigned till 1341, a duration unparalleled in Mahommedan Egypt, whilst
we are told that during the last thirty years of his reign Egypt rose to
a high pitch of wealth and prosperity. Mandeville, however, then goes on
to say that his eldest son, _Melechemader_, was chosen to succeed; but
this prince was caused privily to be slain by his brother, who took the
kingdom under the name of _Melechmadabron_. "And he was Soldan when I
departed from those countries." Now Malik Nasir Mahommed was followed in
succession by no less than eight of his sons in thirteen years, the
first three of whom reigned in aggregate only a few months. The names
mentioned by Mandeville appear to represent those of the fourth and
sixth of the eight, viz. Salih 'Imad ud-din Isma'il, and Mozaffar (Saif
ud-din Hajji); and these the statements of Mandeville do not fit.
On several occasions Arabic words are given, but are not always
recognizable, owing perhaps to the carelessness of copyists in such
matters. Thus, we find (p. 50) the names (not satisfactorily identified)
of the wood, fruit and sap of the balsam plant; (p. 99) of bitumen,
"alkatran" (_al-Katran_); (p. 168) of the three different kinds of
pepper (long pepper, black pepper and white pepper) as _sorbotin_,
_fulful_ and _bano_ or _bauo_ (_fulful_ is the common Arabic word for
pepper; the others have not been satisfactorily explained). But these,
and the particulars of his narrative for which no literary sources have
yet been found, are too few to constitute a proof of personal
experience.
Mandeville, again, in some passages shows a correct idea of the form of
the earth, and of position in latitude ascertained by observation of the
pole star; he knows that there are antipodes, and that if ships were
sent on voyages of discovery they might sail round the world. And he
tells a curious story, which he had heard in his youth, how a worthy man
did travel ever eastward until he came to his own country again (p.
183). But he repeatedly asserts the old belief that Jerusalem was in the
centre of the world (79, 183), and maintains in proof of this that at
the equinox a spear planted erect in Jerusalem casts no shadow at noon,
which, if true, would equally consist with the sphericity of the earth,
provided that the city were on the equator.
The sources of the book, which include various authors besides those
whom we have specified, have been laboriously investigated by Dr Albert
Bovenschen[8] and Dr G. F. Warner,[9] and to them the reader must be
referred for more detailed information on the subject.
The oldest known MS. of the original--once Barrois's, afterwards the
earl of Ashburnham's, now Nouv. Acq. Franç. 4515 in the Bibliothèque
Nationale, Paris--is dated 1371, but is nevertheless very inaccurate
in proper names. An early printed Latin translation made from the
French has been already quoted, but four others, unprinted, have been
discovered by Dr J. Vogels.[10] They exist in eight MSS., of which
seven are in Great Britain, while the eighth was copied by a monk of
Abingdon; probably, therefore, all these unprinted translations were
executed in this country. From one of them, according to Dr
Vogels,[11] an English version was made which has never been printed
and is now extant only in free abbreviations, contained in two 15th
century MSS. in the Bodleian Library, Oxford--MS. e Museo 116, and MS.
Rawlinson D. 99: the former, which is the better, is in Midland
dialect, and may possibly have belonged to the Augustinian priory of
St Osyth in Essex, while the latter is in Southern dialect.
The first English translation direct from the French was made (at
least as early as the beginning of the 15th century) from a MS. of
which many pages were lost.[12] Writing of the name Califfes
(Khalif), the author says (_Roxburghe Club ed._, p. 18) that it is
_tant a dire come roi(s). Il y soleit auoir v. soudans_--"as much as
to say king. There used to be 5 sultans." In the defective French MS.
a page ended with _Il y so_; then came a gap, and the next page went
on with part of the description of Mount Sinai, _Et est celle vallee
mult froide_ (ibid. p. 32). Consequently the corresponding English
version has "That ys to say amonge hem _Roys Ils_ and this vale ys ful
colde"! All English printed texts before 1725, and Ashton's 1887
edition, follow these defective copies, and in only two known MSS. has
the lacuna been detected and filled up.
One of them is the British Museum MS. Egerton 1982 (Northern dialect,
about 1410-1420?), in which, according to Dr Vogels, the corresponding
portion has been borrowed from that English version which had already
been made from the Latin. The other is in the British Museum MS.
Cotton Titus C. xvi. (Midland dialect, about 1410-1420?), representing
a text completed, and revised throughout, from the French, though not
by a competent hand. The Egerton text, edited by Dr G. F. Warner, has
been printed by the Roxburghe Club, while the Cotton text, first
printed in 1725 and 1727, is in modern reprints the current English
version.
That none of the forms of the English version can be from the same
hand which wrote the original is made patent by their glaring errors
of translation, but the Cotton text asserts in the preface that it was
made by Mandeville himself, and this assertion was till lately taken
on trust by almost all modern historians of English literature. The
words of the original "je eusse cest livret mis en latin ... mais ...
je l'ay mis en romant" were mistranslated as if "je eusse" meant "I
had" instead of "I should have," and then (whether of fraudulent
intent or by the error of a copyist thinking to supply an accidental
omission) the words were added "and translated it agen out of Frensche
into Englyssche." Matzner (_Altenglische Sprachproben_, I., ii.,
154-155) seems to have been the first to show that the current English
text cannot possibly have been made by Mandeville himself. Of the
original French there is no satisfactory edition, but Dr Vogels has
undertaken a critical text, and Dr Warner has added to his Egerton
English text the French of a British Museum MS. with variants from
three others.
It remains to mention certain other works bearing the name of
Mandeville or de Bourgogne.
MS. Add. C. 280 in the Bodleian appends to the "Travels" a short
French life of St Alban of _Germany_, the author of which calls
himself Joh^an Mandivill[e], knight, formerly of the town of St Alban,
and says he writes to correct an impression prevalent among his
countrymen that there was no other saint of the name: this life is
followed by part of a French herbal.
To Mandeville (by whom de Bourgogne is clearly meant)
d'Oultremouse[13] ascribes a Latin "lappidaire selon l'oppinion des
Indois," from which he quotes twelve passages, stating that the author
(whom he calls knight, lord of Montfort, of Castelperouse, and of the
isle of Campdi) had been "baillez en Alexandrie" seven years, and had
been presented by a Saracen friend with some fine jewels which had
passed into d'Oultremouse's own possession: of this _Lapidaire_, a
French version, which seems to have been completed after 1479, has
been several times printed.[14] A MS. of Mandeville's travels offered
for sale in 1862[15] is said to have been divided into five books: (1)
the travels, (2) _de là forme de la terre et comment et par quelle
manière elle fut faite_, (3) _de la forme del ciel_, (4) _des herbes
selon les yndois et les philosophes par de là_, and (5) _ly
lapidaire_--while the cataloguer supposed Mandeville to have been the
author of a concluding piece entitled _La Venianche de nostre Signeur
Ihesu-Crist fayte par Vespasian fil del empereur de Romme et comment
Iozeph daramathye fu deliures de la prizon_. From the treatise on
herbs a passage is quoted asserting it to have been composed in 1357
in honour of the author's natural lord, Edward, king of England. This
date is corroborated by the title of king of Scotland given to Edward,
who had received from Baliol the surrender of the crown and kingly
dignity on the 20th of January 1356, but on the 3rd of October 1357
released King David and made peace with Scotland: unfortunately we are
not told whether the treatise contains the author's name, and, if so,
_what_ name. Tanner (_Bibliotheca_) alleges that Mandeville wrote
several books on medicine, and among the Ashmolean MSS. in the
Bodleian are a medical receipt by John de Magna Villa (No. 1479), an
alchemical receipt by him (No. 1407), and another alchemical receipt
by Johannes de Villa Magna (No. 1441).
Finally, de Bourgogne wrote under his own name a treatise on the
plague,[16] extant in Latin, French and English texts, and in Latin
and English abridgments. Herein he describes himself as Johannes de
Burgundia, otherwise called _cum Barba_, citizen of Liége and
professor of the art of medicine; says that he had practised forty
years and had been in Liége in the plague of 1365; and adds that he
had previously written a treatise on the cause of the plague,
according to the indications of astrology (beginning _Deus deorum_),
and another on distinguishing pestilential diseases (beginning _Cum
nimium propter instans tempus epidimiale_). "Burgundia" is sometimes
corrupted into "Burdegalia," and in English translations of the
abridgment almost always appears as "Burdews" (Bordeaux) or the like.
MS. Rawlinson D. 251 (15th century) in the Bodleian also contains a
large number of English medical receipts, headed "P_r_actica
phisicalia M_agist_ri Joh_ann_is de Burgu_n_dia."
See further Dr G. F. Warner's article in the _Dictionary of National
Biography_ for a comprehensive account, and for bibliographical
references; Ulysse Chevalier's _Répertoire des sources historiques du
moyen age_ for references generally; and the _Zeitschr. f. celt.
Philologie_ II., i. 126, for an edition and translation, by Dr Whitley
Stokes, of Fingin O'Mahony's Irish version of the _Travels_.
(E. W. B. N.; H. Y.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The _on_ in Madabron apparently represents the Arabic nunation,
though its use in such a case is very odd.
[2] Quoted again from him by the contemporary Liége herald, Lefort,
and from Lefort in 1866 by Dr S. Bormans. Dr J. Vogels communicated
it in 1884 to Mr E. W. B. Nicholson, who wrote on it in the _Academy_
of April 12, 1884.
[3] See Dr G. F. Warner's edition (Roxburghe Club), p. 38. In the
_Bull. de l'Institut archéologique Liégeois_, iv. (1860), p. 171, M.
Ferd. Henaux quotes the passage from "MSS. de la Bibliothèque
publique de Liége, à l'Université, no. 360, fol. 118," but the MS. is
not in the 1875 printed catalogue of the University Library, which
has no Old French MS. of Mandeville at present. It was probably lent
out and not returned.
[4] The de Mandevilles, earls of Essex, were originally styled de
Magneville, and Leland, in his _Comm. de Script. Britt._ (CDV), calls
our Mandeville himself "Joannes Magnovillanus, alias Mandeville."
[5] Page indications like this refer to passages in the 1866 reissue
of Halliwell's edition, as being probably the most ready of access.
But all these passages have also been verified as substantially
occurring in Barrois's French MS. Nouv. Acq. Franç. 4515 in the
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, mentioned below (of A.D. 1371), cited
B, and in that numbered xxxix. of the Grenville collection (British
Museum), which dates probably from the early part of the 15th
century, cited G.
[6] Viz. in D'Avezac's ed. in tom. iv. of _Rec. de voyages et de
mémoires_ pub. by the Soc. de Géog., 1839.
[7] It is found in the _Thesaurus_ of Canisius (1604), v. pt. ii. p.
95, and in the ed. of the same by Basnage (1725), iv. 337.
[8] _Die Quellen für die Reisebeschreibung des Johann von Mandeville,
Inaugural-Dissertation ... Leipzig_ (Berlin, 1888). This was revised
and enlarged as "Untersuchungen über Johann von Mandeville und die
Quellen seiner Reisebeschreibung," in the _Zeitschrift der
Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin_, Bd. 23, Heft 3 u. 4 (No. 135,
136).
[9] In his edition (Roxburghe Club).
[10] _Die ungedruckten lateinischen Versionen Mandeville's_ (Crefeld,
1886).
[11] _Handschriftliche Untersuchungen über die englische Version
Mandeville's_ (Crefeld, 1891), p. 46.
[12] Dr Vogels controverts these positions, arguing that the first
English version from the French was the complete Cotton text, and
that the defective English copies were made from a defective English
MS. His supposed evidences of the priority of the Cotton text equally
consist with its being a later revision, and for _Roys Ils_ in the
defective English MSS. he has only offered a laboured and improbable
explanation.
[13] Stanislas Bormans, Introduction to d'Oultremouse's Chronicle,
pp. lxxxix., xc.; see also Warner's edition of the Travels, p. xxxv.
The ascription is on ff. 5 and 6 of _Le Tresorier de philosophie
naturele des pierres precieuses_, an unprinted work by d'Oultremouse
in MS. Fonds français 12326 of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. The
passage about Alexandria is on f. 81.
[14] See L. Pannier, _Les Lapidaires français_, pp. 189-204: not
knowing d'Oultremouse's evidence, he has discredited the attribution
to Mandeville and doubted the existence of a Latin original.
[15] _Description ... d'une collection ... d'anciens manuscrits ...
réunis par les soins de M. J. Techener_, pt. i. (Paris, 1862), p. 159
(referred to by Pannier, pp. 193-194).
[16] Respecting this, see David Murray, _The Black Book of Paisley_,
&c. (1885), and _John de Burdeus_, &c. (1891).
MANDHATA, a village with temples in India, in Nimar district of the
Central Provinces, on the south bank of the Narbada. Pop. (1901), 832.
It is a famous place of Hindu pilgrimage, as containing one of the
twelve great _lingas_ of Siva; and as late as the beginning of the 19th
century it was the scene of the self-immolation of devotees who threw
themselves from the cliffs into the river.
MANDI, a native state of India, within the Punjab. It ranks as the most
important of the hill states to which British influence extended in 1846
after the first Sikh War. The territory lies among the lower ranges of
the Himalaya, between Kangra and Kulu. The country is mountainous, being
intersected by two great parallel ranges, reaching to an average height
of 5000 to 7000 ft. above sea-level. The valleys between the hill ranges
are fertile, and produce all the ordinary grains, besides more valuable
crops of rice, maize, sugar-cane, poppy and tobacco. Iron is found in
places, and also gold in small quantities. Area, 1200 sq. m.; pop.
(1901), 174,045; estimated revenue, £28,000; tribute, £6666. The chief,
whose title is raja, is a Rajput of old family. Considerable sums have
been expended on roads and bridges. An important product of the state is
salt, which is mined in two places.
The town of Mandi is on the Beas, which is here a mountain torrent,
crossed by a fine iron bridge; 2991 ft. above sea-level; 88 m. from
Simla. Pop. (1901), 8144. It was founded in 1527, and contains a palace
of the 17th century and other buildings of interest. It is a mart for
transfrontier trade with Tibet and Yarkand.
See _Mandi State Gazetteer_ (Lahore, 1908).
MANDINGO, the name currently given to a very important division of negro
peoples in West Africa. It is seemingly a corruption of a term applied to
an important section of this group, the Mande-nka or Mande-nga. The
present writer has usually heard this word pronounced by the Mandingo
themselves "Mandiña," or even "Madiña." It seems to be derived from the
racial name _Mande_, coupled with the suffix _nka_ or _nke_, meaning
"people," the people of Mande. Then again this word Mande seems to take
the varying forms of _Male_, _Meli_, _Mane_, _Madi_, and, according to
such authorities as Binger, Delafosse and Desplagnes, it is connected
with a word _Mali_, which means "hippopotamus" or else "manati"--probably
the latter. According to Desplagnes, the word is further divisible into
_ma_, which would have meant "fish," and _nde_, a syllable to which he
ascribes the meaning of "father." In no Mandingo dialect known to the
present writer (or in any other known African language) does the vocable
_ma_ apply to "fish," and in only one very doubtful far eastern Mandingo
dialect is the root _nde_ or any other similar sound applied to "father."
This etymology must be abandoned, probably in favour of _Mani_, _Mali_,
_Madi_, _Mande_, meaning "hippopotamus," and in some cases the other big
water mammal, the manati.[1]
The West African tribes speaking Mandingo languages vary very much in
outward appearance. Some of them may be West African negroes of the
forest type with little or no intermixture with the Caucasian; others,
such as the typical Mandingos or the Susus, obviously contain a
non-negro element in their physique. This last type resembles very
strongly the Swahilis of the Zanzibar littoral or other crosses between
the Arab and the negro; and though nearly always black-skinned, often
has a well-shaped nose and a fairly full beard. The tribes dwelling in
the West African forest, but speaking languages of Mandingo type, do not
perhaps exhibit the very prognathous, short-limbed, "ugly" development
of West African negro, but are of rather a refined type, and some of
them are lighter in skin colour than the more Arab-looking Mandingos of
the north. But in these forest Mandingos the beard is scanty.
Occasionally the Mandingo physical type appears in eastern Liberia and
on the Ivory Coast amongst people speaking Kru languages. In other cases
it is associated with the Senufo speech-family.
Delafosse divides the Mandingo group linguistically into three main
sections: (1) the _Mande-tamu_, (2) the _Mande-fu_, and (3) the
_Mande-tã_, according as they use for the numeral 10 the root _tamu_,
_tã_ or _fu_. Of the first group are the important tribes of the
Soni-nké (called Sarakulle by the Fula, and Sarakolé by the French); the
Swaninki people of Azer, and the oases of Tishitt, Wadan and Walata in
the south-west Sahara; and the Bozo, who are the fishermen along the
banks of the Upper Niger and the Bani from Jenné to Timbuktu. The
Soni-nké are also known as Marka, and they include (according to Binger)
the Samogho and even the Kurtei along the banks of the Niger east of
Timbuktu as far as Say.
The group of Mande-tã would include the Bamana (incorrectly called
Bambara) of the upper Senegal and of Segu on the Upper Niger, the
Toronke, the Mandenga, the Numu of the district west of the Black Volta,
the Vai of south-western Liberia, and the Dyula or Gyula of the region
at the back of the Ivory Coast.
The group of the Mande-fu includes a great many different languages and
dialects, chiefly in the forest region of Sierra Leone and Liberia, and
also the dialects of the celebrated Susu or Soso tribe, and the Mandingo
tribes of Futa Jallon, of the Grand Scarcies River and of the interior
of the Ivory Coast, and of the regions between the eastern affluents of
the Upper Niger and the Black Volta. To this group Delafosse joins the
Boko dialect spoken by people dwelling to the west of the Lower Niger at
Bussa--between Bussa and Borgu. If this hypothesis be correct it gives a
curious eastern extension to the range of the Mandingo family at the
present day; or it may be a vestige left by the Mandingo invasion which,
according to legend, came in prehistoric times from the Hausa countries
across the Niger to Senegambia. It is remarkable that this Boko dialect
as recorded by the missionary Koelle most resembles certain dialects in
central Liberia and in the Ivory Coast hinterland.
The Mandingos, coming from the East and riding on horses (according to
tradition), seem to have invaded western Nigeria about A.D. 1000 (if not
earlier), and to have gradually displaced and absorbed the Songhai or
Fula (in other words, Negroid, "White") rulers of the countries in the
basin of the Upper Niger or along its navigable course as far as the
Bussa Rapids and the forest region. On the ruins of these Songhai,
Berber, or Fula kingdoms rose the empire of Mali (Melle). Considerable
sections of the Mandingo invaders had adopted Mahommedanism, and
extended a great Mahommedan empire of western Nigeria far northwards
into the Sahara Desert. In the 16th century the Songhai regained supreme
power. See _infra_, § _The Melle Empire_.
Although the Mandingos, and especially the Susu section, may have come
as conquerors, they devoted themselves through the succeeding centuries
more and more to commerce. They became to the extreme west of Africa
what the Hausa are in the west-central regions. Some of the Mandingo
invasions, especially in the forest region, left little more than the
imposition of their language; but where there was any element of
Caucasian blood (for the original Mandingo invaders were evidently
dashed with the Caucasian by intermingling with some of the negroid
races of north-central Africa), they imposed a degree of civilization
which excluded cannibalism (still rampant in much of the forest region
of West Africa), introduced working in leather and in metals, and was
everywhere signalized by a passionate love of music, a characteristic of
all true Mandingo tribes at the present day. It is noteworthy that many
of the instruments affected by the Mandingos are found again in the more
civilized regions of Bantu Africa, as well as in the central Sudan. Many
of these types of musical instruments can also be traced originally to
ancient Egypt. The Mandingos also seem to have brought with them in
their westward march the Egyptian type of ox, with the long, erect
horns. It would almost seem as if this breed had been preceded by the
zebu or humped ox; though these two types are evidently of common origin
so far as derivation from one wild species is concerned. The Mandingos
maintain the system of totems or clans, and each section or tribe
identifies itself with a symbol, which is usually an animal or a plant.
The Mandenga are supposed to have either the manati or the hippopotamus
as _tanna_. (Binger states that the manati was the totem of the Mande
group, to which perhaps belonged originally the Susu and the Dyula.) The
Bamana are the people of the crocodile; the Samanke are the people of
the elephant; the Samokho of the snake. Other totems or symbols of
special families or castes are the dog, the calabash or gourd, the lion,
the green monkey, the leopard, the monitor lizard, a certain spice
called bandugu, certain rats, the python, the puff-adder, &c.
AUTHORITIES.--The bibliography dealing with the Mandingo peoples is
very extensive, but only the following works need be cited: Captain L.
G. Binger, _Du Niger au Golfe de Guinée_, &c. (1892); Maurice
Delafosse, _Vocabulaires comparatifs de plus de 60 langues et
dialectes parlés à la Côte d'Ivoire_, &c. (1904); Lieut. Desplagnes,
_Le Plateau central nigérien_ (1907); Lady Lugard, _A Tropical
Dependency_ (1905); Sir Harry Johnston, _Liberia_ (1906). Most of
these works contain extensive bibliographies. (H. H. J.)
_The Melle Empire._--The tradition which ascribes the arrival of the
Mandingo in the western Sudan to the 10th or 11th century is referred to
in the previous section. It is not known by whom the Melle (Mali) state
was founded. Neither is there certainty as to the site of the capital,
also called Melle. Idrisi in the 12th century describes the Wangara (a
Hausa name for the Mandingo) as a powerful people, and El Bakri writes
in similar terms. But the first king whose name is preserved was
Baramindana, believed to have reigned from 1213 to 1235. His territory
lay south of that of Jenné, partly within the bend of the Niger and
partly west of that river. The people were already Moslem, and the
capital was a rendezvous for merchants from all parts of the western
Sudan and the Barbary States. Mari Jatah (or Diara), Baramindana's
successor, about the middle of the 13th century conquered the Susu, then
masters of Ghanata (Ghana). Early in the 14th century Mansa, i.e.
Sultan, Kunkur Musa, extended the empire, known as the Mellistine, to
its greatest limits, making himself master of Timbuktu, Gao and all the
Songhoi dominions. His authority extended northward over the Sahara to
the Tuat oases. Mansa Suleiman was on the throne when in 1352-1353 Melle
was visited by Ibn Batuta. By this monarch the empire was divided into
three great provinces, ruled by viceroys. For a century afterwards Melle
appears to have been the dominant Sudan state west of the Lower Niger,
but it had to meet the hostility of the growing power of the pagan
Mossi, of the Tuareg in the north and of the Songhoi, who under Sunni
Ali (c. 1325) had already regained a measure of independence. Cadamosto
nevertheless describes Melle in 1454 as being still the most powerful of
the negro-land kingdoms and the most important for its traffic in gold
and slaves. The Songhoi sovereign Askia is said to have completed the
conquest of Melle at the beginning of the 16th century. It nevertheless
retained some sort of national existence--though with the advent of the
Moors in the Niger countries (end of the 16th century) native
civilization suffered a blow from which it never recovered. Civil war is
said to have finally wrought the ruin of Melle about the middle of the
17th century.[2] The Portuguese, from their first appearance on the
Senegal and Gambia, entered into friendly relations with the rulers of
Melle. Barros relates (_Da Asia_, Decade I.) that John II. of Portugal
sent embassies to the court of Melle by way of the Gambia (end of the
15th century). At that time the authority of Melle was said to extend
westward to the coast. The king, pressed by the Mossi, the Songhoi and
the Fula, solicited the help of his "friends and allies" the
Portuguese--with what result does not appear; but in 1534 Barros himself
despatched an ambassador to the king of Melle concerning the trade of
the Gambia. By way of that river the Portuguese themselves penetrated as
far as Bambuk, a country conquered by the Mandingo in the 12th century.
By Barros the name of the Melle ruler is given as Mandi Mansa, which may
be the native form for "Sultan of the Mandi" (Mandingo).
See further TIMBUKTU and the authorities there cited; cf. also L.
Marc, _Le Pays Mossi_ (Paris, 1909). Lists of Mandingo sovereigns are
given in Stokvis, _Manuel d'histoire_, vol. i. (Leiden, 1888).
(F. R. C.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Indeed it is possible that the European name for this
Sirenian--manati--derived from the West Indies, is the corruption of
a West African word _manti_, applied very naturally to the animal by
the West African slaves, who at once recognized it as similar to the
creature found on the West African coast in their own rivers, and
also on the Upper Niger.
[2] On the ruins of the old Melle dominions arose five smaller
kingdoms, representing different sections of the Mandingo peoples.
MANDLA, a town and district of British India, in the Jubbulpore division
of the Central Provinces. The town is on the river Nerbudda, 1787 ft.
above the sea. It has a manufacture of bell-metal vessels. Pop. (1901),
5054. The district of Mandla, among the Satpura hills, has an area of
5054 sq. m. It consists of a wild highland region, broken up by the
valleys of numerous rivers and streams. The Nerbudda flows through the
centre of the district, receiving several tributaries which take their
rise in the Maikal hills, a range densely clothed with _sal_ forest, and
forming part of the great watershed between eastern and western India.
The loftiest mountain is Chauradadar, about 3400 ft. high. Tigers
abound, and the proportion of deaths caused by wild animals is greater
than in any other district of the Central Provinces. The magnificent
_sal_ forests which formerly clothed the highlands have suffered greatly
from the nomadic system of cultivation practised by the hill tribes, who
burned the wood and sowed their crops in the ashes; but measures have
been taken to prevent further damage. The population in 1901 was
318,400, showing a decrease of 6.5% in the decade, due to famine. The
aboriginal or hill tribes are more numerous in Mandla than in any other
district of the Central Provinces, particularly the Gonds. The principal
crops are rice, wheat, other food grains, pulse and oilseeds. There is a
little manufacture of country cloth. A branch of the Bengal-Nagpur
railway touches the south-western border of the district. Mandla
suffered most severely from the famine of 1896-1897, partly owing to its
inaccessibility, and partly from the shy habits of the aboriginal
tribes. The registered death-rate in 1907 was as high as 96 per
thousand.
MANDOLINE (Fr. _mandoline_; Ger. _Mandoline_; It. _mandolina_), the
treble member of the lute family, and therefore a stringed instrument of
great antiquity. The mandoline is classified amongst the stringed
instruments having a vaulted back, which is more accentuated than even
that of the lute. The mandoline is strung with steel and brass wire
strings. There are two varieties of mandolines, both Italian: (1) the
_Neapolitan_, 2 ft. long, which is the best known, and has four courses
of pairs of unisons tuned like the violin in fifths; (2) the _Milanese_,
which is slightly larger and has five or six courses of pairs of
unisons. The neck is covered by a finger-board, on which are distributed
the twelve or more frets which form nuts at the correct points under the
strings on which the fingers must press to obtain the chromatic
semitones of the scale. The strings are twanged by means of a plectrum
or pick, held between the thumb and first finger of the right hand. In
order to strike a string the pick is given a gliding motion over the
string combined with a _down_ or an _up_ movement, respectively
indicated by signs over the notes. In order to sustain notes on the
mandoline the effect known as _tremolo_ is employed; it is produced by
means of a double movement of the pick up and down over a pair of
strings.
The mandoline is a derivative of the mandola or mandore, which was
smaller than the lute but larger than either of the mandolines
described above. It had from four to eight courses of strings, the
_chanterelle_ or melody string being single and the others in pairs of
unisons. The mandore is mentioned in Robert de Calenson (12th cent.),
and elsewhere; it may be identified with the pandura.
The Neapolitan mandoline was scored for by Mozart as an accompaniment
to the celebrated serenade in _Don Juan_. Beethoven wrote for it a
_Sonatina per il mandolino_, dedicated to his friend Krumpholz. Grétry
and Paisiello also introduced it into their operas as an accompaniment
to serenades.
The earliest method for the mandoline was published by Fouchette in
Paris in 1770. The earliest mention of the instrument in England, in
1707, is quoted in Ashton's _Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne_:
"Signior Conti will play ... on the mandoline, an instrument not known
yet." (K. S.)
MANDRAKE (_Mandragora officinarum_), a plant of the potato family, order
Solanaceae, a native of the Mediterranean region. It has a short stem
bearing a tuft of ovate leaves, with a thick fleshy and often forked
root. The flowers are solitary, with a purple bell-shaped corolla; the
fruit is a fleshy orange-coloured berry. The mandrake has been long
known for its poisonous properties and supposed virtues. It acts as an
emetic, purgative and narcotic, and was much esteemed in old times; but,
except in Africa and the East, where it is used as a narcotic and
anti-spasmodic, it has fallen into well-earned disrepute. In ancient
times, according to Isidorus and Serapion, it was used as a narcotic to
diminish sensibility under surgical operations, and the same use is
mentioned by Kazwini, i. 297, s.v. "Luffah" Shakespeare more than once
alludes to this plant, as in _Antony and Cleopatra_: "Give me to drink
mandragora." The notion that the plant shrieked when touched is alluded
to in _Romeo and Juliet_: "And shrieks like mandrakes torn out of the
earth, that living mortals, hearing them, run mad." The mandrake, often
growing like the lower limbs of a man, was supposed to have other
virtues, and was much used for love philtres, while the fruit was
supposed, and in the East is still supposed, to facilitate pregnancy
(Aug., _C. Faust_. xxii. 56; cf. Gen. xxx. 14, where the Hebrew [Hebrew:
dadarom] is undoubtedly the mandrake). Like the mallow, the mandrake was
potent in all kinds of enchantment (see Maimonides in Chwolson,
_Ssabier_, ii. 459). Dioscorides identifies it with the [Greek:
kirkaia], the root named after the enchantress Circe. To it appears to
apply the fable of the magical herb Baaras, which cured demoniacs, and
was procured at great risk or by the death of a dog employed to drag it
up, in Josephus (_B. J._ vii. 6, § 3). The German name of the plant
(_Alraune_; O. H. G. _Alrûna_) indicates the prophetic power supposed to
be in little images (homunculi, Goldmännchen, Galgenmännchen) made of
this root which were cherished as oracles. The possession of such roots
was thought to ensure prosperity. (See Du Cange, s.vv. "Mandragora" and
Littré.)
Gerard in 1597 (_Herball_, p. 280) described male and female
mandrakes, and Dioscorides also recognizes two such plants
corresponding to the spring and autumn species (_M. vernalis_ and _M.
officinarum_ respectively), differing in the colour of the foliage and
shape of fruit.
MANDRILL (a name formed by the prefix "man" to the word "drill," which
was used in ancient literature to denote an ape, and is probably of West
African origin), the common title of the most hideous and most
brilliantly coloured of all the African monkeys collectively denominated
baboons and constituting the genus _Papio_. Together with the _drill_
(q.v.), the mandrill, _Papio maimon_, constitutes the subgenus _Maimon_,
which is exclusively West African in distribution, and characterized,
among other peculiarities, by the extreme shortness of the tail, and the
great development of the longitudinal bony swellings, covered during
life with naked skin, on the sides of the muzzle. As a whole, the
mandrill is characterized by heaviness of body, stoutness and strength
of limb, and exceeding shortness of tail, which is a mere stump, not 2
in. long, and usually carried erect. It is, moreover, remarkable for the
prominence of its brow-ridges, beneath which the small and closely
approximated eyes are deeply sunk; the immense size of the canine teeth;
and more especially for the extraordinarily vivid colouring of some
parts of the skin. The body generally is covered with soft hair--light
olive-brown above and silvery grey beneath--and the chin is furnished
underneath with a small pointed yellow beard. The hair of the forehead
and temples is directed upwards so as to meet in a point on the crown,
which gives the head a triangular appearance. The ears are naked, and
bluish black. The hands and feet are naked, and black. A large space
around the greatly developed callosities on the buttocks, as well as the
upper part of the insides of the thighs, is naked and of a crimson
colour, shading off on the sides to lilac or blue, which, depending upon
injection of the superficial blood-vessels, varies in intensity
according to the condition of the animal--increasing under excitement,
fading during sickness, and disappearing after death. It is, however, in
the face that the most remarkable disposition of vivid hues occurs, more
resembling those of a brilliantly coloured flower than what might be
expected in a mammal. The cheek-prominences are of an intense blue, the
effect of which is heightened by deeply sunk longitudinal furrows of a
darker tint, while the central line and termination of the nose are
bright scarlet. It is only to fully adult males that this description
applies. The female is of much smaller size, and more slender; and,
though the general tone of the hairy parts of the body is the same, the
prominences, furrows, and colouring of the face are much less marked.
The young males have black faces.
Old males are remarkable for the ferocity of their disposition, as well
as for other disagreeable qualities; but when young they can easily be
tamed. Like baboons, mandrills appear to be indiscriminate eaters,
feeding on fruit, roots, reptiles, insects, scorpions, &c., and inhabit
open rocky ground rather than forests. Not much is known of the
mandrill's habits in the wild state, nor of the exact limits of its
geographical distribution; the specimens brought to Europe coming from
the west coast of tropical Africa, from Guinea to the Gaboon. (See also
PRIMATES.) (W. H. F.; R. L.*)
MANDU, or MANDOGARH, a ruined city in the Dhar state of Central India,
the ancient capital of the Mahommedan kingdom of Malwa. The city is
situated at an elevation of 2079 ft. and extends for 8 m. along the
crest of the Vindhyan mountains. It reached its greatest splendour in
the 15th century under Hoshang Shah (1405-1434). The circuit of the
battlemented wall is nearly 23 m., enclosing a large number of palaces,
mosques and other buildings. The oldest mosque dates from 1405; the
finest is the Jama Masjid or great mosque, a notable example of Pathan
architecture, founded by Hoshang Shah. The marble-domed tomb of this
ruler is also magnificent.
For a description and history of Mandu, see Sir James Campbell's
_Gazetteer of Bombay_, vol. i. part ii. (1896), and _Journal of the
Bombay Asiatic Society_ (vol. xxi.).
MANDURIA, a city of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Lecce, from which
it is 27 m. W. by road (22 m. E. of Taranto), 270 ft. above sea-level,
and 8 m. N. of the coast. Pop. (1901), 12,199 (town); 13,190 (commune).
It is close to the site of the ancient Manduria, considerable remains of
the defences of which can still be seen; they consisted of a double line
of wall built of rectangular blocks of stone, without mortar, and with a
broad ditch in front. Some tombs with gold ornaments were found in 1886
(L. Viola in _Notizie degli Scavi_, 1886, 100). It was an important
stronghold of the Messapii against Tarentum, and Archidamus III., king
of Sparta, fell beneath its walls in 338 B.C., while leading the army of
the latter (Plut., _Agis_, 3, calls the place Mandonion: see s.v.
ARCHIDAMUS). It revolted to Hannibal, but was stormed by the Romans in
209 B.C. Pliny mentions a spring here which never changed its level, and
may still be seen. The town was destroyed by the Saracens in the 10th
century; the inhabitants settled themselves on the site of the present
town, at first called Casalnuovo, which resumed the old name in 1700.
(T. As.)
MANDVI, a seaport of India, in the native state of Cutch, within the
Gujarat province of Bombay, 36 m. from Bhuj, and 182 m. by sea from
Karachi. Pop. (1901), 24,683. It is a weekly port of call for steamers
of the British India line, vessels of 70 tons cannot come nearer than
500 yards. The pilots and sailors of Mandvi have a high reputation.
MANES, in Roman mythology, the disembodied and immortal spirits of the
dead. The word is an old adjective--_manis_, _manus_, meaning "good,"
the opposite of which is _immanis_; hence the Manes, clearly a
euphemistic term, are the "good people." They were looked upon as gods;
hence the dedication, of great antiquity and frequent occurrence,
_Divis_ or _Dis Manibus_ in sepulchral inscriptions, used even in
Christian times. When a body was consumed on the funeral pyre, relations
and friends invoked the deceased as a divinity, and the law of the
Twelve Tables prescribed that the rights of the divine Manes should be
respected, and that each man should regard the dead members of his
family as gods. Their home was in the bowels of the earth, from which
they only emerged at certain times. It was an old Italian
custom--especially at the foundation of cities--to dig a pit in the form
of an inverted sky (hence called _mundus_), the lower part of which was
supposed to be sacred to the gods of the underworld, including the
Manes. Such a pit existed on the Palatine at Rome. It was covered by a
stone called _lapis manalis_, representing the entrance to the lower
world, which was removed three times in the year (Aug. 24, Oct. 5, Nov.
8). The Manes were then believed to issue forth, and these days were
regarded as _religiosi_--that is, all important business in public and
private life was suspended. Offerings were made to propitiate the dead:
libations of water, wine, warm milk, honey, oil, and the blood of
sacrificial victims--black sheep, pigs and oxen (_suovetaurilia_)--was
poured upon the graves; ointment and incense were offered, lamps were
lighted, and the grave was adorned with garlands of flowers, especially
roses and violets. Beans, eggs, lentils, salt, bread and wine, placed on
the grave, formed the chief part of a meal partaken of by the mourners.
There was also a public state festival in honour of the dead, called
Parentalia, held from the 13th to the 21st of February, the last month
of the old Roman year, the last day of the festival being called
Feralia. During its continuance all the temples were shut, marriages
were forbidden, and the magistrates had to appear without the insignia
of their office.
There was considerable analogy between the Manes and the received idea
of "souls"--and there was a corresponding idea that they could be
conjured up and appear as ghosts. They were also supposed to have the
power of sending dreams. It is to be noticed that, unlike the Lares, the
Manes are never spoken of singly.
For authorities, see LARES and PENATES.
MANET, ÉDOUARD (1832-1883), French painter, regarded as the most
important master of Impressionism (q.v.), was born in Paris on the 23rd
of January 1832. After spending some time under the tuition of the Abbé
Poiloup, he entered the Collège Rollin, where his passion for drawing
led him to neglect all his other lessons. His studies finished in 1848,
he was placed on board the ship _Guadeloupe_, voyaging to Rio de
Janeiro. On his return he first studied in Couture's studio (1851),
where his independence often infuriated his master. For six years he was
an intermittent visitor to the studio, constantly taking leave to
travel, and going first to Cassel, Dresden, Vienna and Munich, and
afterwards to Florence, Rome and Venice, where he made some stay. Some
important drawings date from this period, and one picture, "A Nymph
Surprised." Then, after imitating Couture, more or less, in "The
Absinthe-drinker" (1866), and Courbet in "The Old Musician," he devoted
himself almost exclusively to the study of the Spanish masters in the
Louvre. A group was already gathering round him--Whistler, Legros, and
Fantin-Latour haunted his studio in the Rue Guyot. His "Spaniard playing
the Guitar," in the Salon of 1861, excited much animadversion. Delacroix
alone defended Manet, but, this notwithstanding, his "Fifer of the
Guard" and "Breakfast on the Grass" were refused by the jury. Then the
"Exhibition of the Rejected" was opened, and round Manet a group was
formed, including Bracquemond, Legros, Jongkind, Whistler, Harpignies
and Fantin-Latour, the writers Zola, Duranty and Duret, and Astruc the
sculptor. In 1863, when an amateur, M. Martinet, lent an exhibition-room
to Manet, the painter exhibited fourteen pictures; and then, in 1864,
contributed again to the Salon "The Angels at the Tomb" and "A
Bullfight." Of this picture he afterwards kept nothing but the toreador
in the foreground, and it is now known as "The Dead Man." In 1865 he
sent to the Salon "Christ reviled by the Soldiers" and the famous
"Olympia," which was hailed with mockery and laughter. It represents a
nude woman reclining on a couch, behind which is seen the head of a
negress who carries a bunch of flowers. A black cat at her feet
emphasizes the whiteness of the sheet on which the woman lies. This work
(now in the Louvre) was presented to the Luxembourg by a subscription
started by Claude Monet (1890). It was hung in 1897 among the
Caillebotte collection, which included the "Balcony," and a study of a
female head called "Angelina." This production, of a highly independent
individuality, secured Manet's exclusion from the Salon of 1866, so that
he determined to exhibit his pictures in a place apart during the Great
Exhibition of 1867. In a large gallery in the Avenue de l'Alma, half of
which was occupied by Courbet, he hung no fewer than fifty paintings.
Only one important picture was absent, "The Execution of the Emperor
Maximilian"; its exhibition was prohibited by the authorities. From that
time, in spite of the fierce hostility of some adversaries, Manet's
energy and that of his supporters began to gain the day. His "Young
Girl" (Salon of 1868) was justly appreciated, as well as the portrait of
Lola; but the "Balcony" and the "Breakfast" (1869) were as severely
handled as the "Olympia" had been. In 1870 he exhibited "The Music
Lesson" and a portrait of Mlle E. Gonzales. Not long before the
Franco-Prussian War, Manet, finding himself in the country with a
friend, for the first time discovered the true value of open air to the
effects of painting in his picture "The Garden," which gave rise to the
"open air" or _plein air_ school. After fighting as a gunner, he
returned to his family in the Pyrenees, where he painted "The Battle of
the _Kearsarge_ and the _Alabama_." His "Bon Bock" (1873) created a
_furore_. But in 1875, as in 1869, there was a fresh outburst of abuse,
this time of the "Railroad," "Polichinelle," and "Argenteuil," and the
jury excluded the artist, who for the second time arranged an exhibition
in his studio. In 1877 his "Hamlet" was admitted to the Salon, but
"Nana" was rejected. The following works were exhibited at the Salon of
1881: "In the Conservatory," "In a Boat," and the portraits of Rochefort
and Proust; and the Cross of the Legion of Honour was conferred on the
painter on the 31st of December in that year. Manet died in Paris on the
20th of April 1883. He left, besides his pictures, a number of pastels
and engravings. He illustrated _Les Chats_ by Champfleury, and Edgar
Allan Poe's _The Raven_.
See Zola, _Manet_ (Paris, 1867); E. Bazire, _Manet_ (Paris, 1884); G.
Geffroy, _La Vie artistique_ (1893). (H. Fr.)
MANETENERIS, a tribe of South American Indians of the upper Purus river,
and between it and the Jurua, north-western Brazil. They manufacture
cotton cloth, and have iron axes and fish hooks. The men wear long
ponchos, the women sacks open at the bottom. The Maneteneris are
essentially a waterside people. Their cedarwood canoes are very long and
beautifully made.
MANETHO ([Greek: Manethôn] in an inscription of Carthage; [Greek:
Manethôs] in a papyrus), Egyptian priest and annalist, was a native of
Sebennytus in the Delta. The name which he bears has a good Egyptian
appearance, and has been found on a contemporary papyrus probably
referring to the man himself. The evidence of Plutarch and other
indications connect him with the reigns of Ptolemy I. and II. His most
important work was an Egyptian history in Greek, for which he translated
the native records. It is now only known by some fragments of narrative
in Josephus's treatise _Against Apion_, and by tables of dynasties and
kings with lengths of reigns, divided into three books, in the works of
Christian chronographers. The earliest and best of the latter is Julius
Africanus, besides whom Eusebius and some falsifying apologists offer
the same materials; the chief text is that preserved in the
_Chronographia_ of Georgius Syncellus. It is difficult to judge the
value of the original from these extracts: it is clear from the
different versions of the lists that they have been corrupted. Manetho's
work was probably based on native lists like that of the Turin Papyrus
of Kings: even his division into dynasties may have been derived from
such. The fragments of narrative give a very confused idea of Egyptian
history in the time of the Hyksos and the XVIIIth Dynasty. The royal
lists, too, are crowded with errors of detail, both in the names and
order of the kings, and in the lengths attributed to the reigns. The
brief notes attached to some of the names may be derived from Manetho's
narrative, but they are chiefly references to kings mentioned by
Herodotus or to marvels that were supposed to have occurred: they
certainly possess little historical value. A puzzling annotation to the
name of Bocchoris, "in whose time a lamb spake 990 years," has been well
explained by Krall's reading of a demotic story written in the
twenty-third year of Augustus. According to this a lamb prophesied that
after Bocchoris's reign Egypt should be in the hands of the oppressor
900 years; in Africanus's day it was necessary to lengthen the period in
order to keep up the spirits of the patriots after the stated term had
expired. This is evidently not from the pure text of Manetho.
Notwithstanding all their defects, the fragments of Manetho have
provided the accepted scheme of Egyptian dynasties and have been of
great service to scholars ever since the first months of Champollion's
decipherment.
See C. Müller, _Fragmenta historicorum graecorum_, ii. 511-616; A.
Wiedemann, _Aegyptische Geschichte_ (Gotha, 1884), pp. 121 et sqq.; J.
Krall in _Festgaben für Büdinger_ (Innsbruck, 1898); Grenfell and
Hunt, _El Hibeh Papyri_, i. 223; also the section on chronology in
EGYPT, and generally books on Egyptian history and chronology.
(F. Ll. G.)
MANFRED (c. 1232-1266), king of Sicily, was a natural son of the emperor
Frederick II. by Bianca Lancia, or Lanzia, who is reported on somewhat
slender evidence to have been married to the emperor just before his
death. Frederick himself appears to have regarded Manfred as legitimate,
and by his will named him as prince of Tarentum and appointed him as the
representative in Italy of his half-brother, the German king, Conrad IV.
Although only about eighteen years of age Manfred acted loyally and with
vigour in the execution of his trust, and when Conrad appeared in
southern Italy in 1252 his authority was quickly and generally
acknowledged. When in May 1254 the German king died, Manfred, after
refusing to surrender Sicily to Pope Innocent IV., accepted the regency
on behalf of Conradin, the infant son of Conrad. But the strength of the
papal party in the Sicilian kingdom rendered the position of the regent
so precarious that he decided to open negotiations with Innocent. By a
treaty made in September 1254, Apulia passed under the authority of the
pope, who was personally conducted by Manfred into his new possession.
But Manfred's suspicions being aroused by the demeanour of the papal
retinue, he fled to the Saracens at Lucera. Aided by Saracen allies, he
defeated the papal troops at Foggia on the 2nd of December 1254, and
soon established his authority over Sicily and the Sicilian possessions
on the mainland.
Taking advantage in 1258 of a rumour that Conradin was dead, Manfred was
crowned king of Sicily at Palermo on the 10th of August in that year.
The falsehood of this report was soon manifest; but the new king,
supported by the popular voice, declined to abdicate, and pointed out to
Conradin's envoys the necessity for a strong native ruler. But the pope,
to whom the Saracen alliance was a serious offence, declared Manfred's
coronation void and pronounced sentence of excommunication. Undeterred
by this sentence Manfred sought to obtain power in central and northern
Italy, and in conjunction with the Ghibellines his forces defeated the
Guelphs at Monte Aperto on the 4th of September 1260. He was then
recognized as protector of Tuscany by the citizens of Florence, who did
homage to his representative, and he was chosen senator of the Romans by
a faction in the city. Terrified by these proceedings, Pope Urban IV.
implored aid from France, and persuaded Charles count of Anjou, a
brother of King Louis IX., to accept the investiture of the kingdom of
Sicily at his hands. Hearing of the approach of Charles, Manfred issued
a manifesto to the Romans, in which he not only defended his rule over
Italy but even claimed the imperial crown. The rival armies met near
Benevento on the 26th of February 1266, where, although the Germans
fought with undaunted courage, the cowardice of the Italians quickly
brought destruction on Manfred's army. The king himself, refusing to
fly, rushed into the midst of his enemies and was killed. Over his body,
which was buried on the battlefield, a huge heap of stones was placed,
but afterwards with the consent of the pope the remains were unearthed,
cast out of the papal territory, and interred on the banks of the Liris.
Manfred was twice married. His first wife was Beatrice, daughter of
Amadeus IV. count of Savoy, by whom he had a daughter, Constance, who
became the wife of Peter III. king of Aragon; and his second wife, who
died in prison in 1271, was Helena, daughter of Michael II. despot of
Epirus. Contemporaries praise the noble and magnanimous character of
Manfred, who was renowned for his physical beauty and intellectual
attainments.
Manfred forms the subject of dramas by E. B. S. Raupach, O. Marbach
and F. W. Roggee. Three letters written by Manfred are published by J.
B. Carusius in _Bibliotheca historica regni Siciliae_ (Palermo, 1732).
See Cesare, _Storia di Manfredi_ (Naples, 1837); Münch, _König
Manfred_ (Stuttgart, 1840); Riccio, _Alcuni studii storici intorno a
Manfredi e Conradino_ (Naples, 1850); F. W. Schirrmacher, _Die letzten
Hohenstaufen_ (Göttingen, 1871); Capesso, _Historia diplomatica regni
Siciliae_ (Naples, 1874); A. Karst, _Geschichte Manfreds vom Tode
Friedrichs II. bis zu seiner Krönung_ (Berlin, 1897); and K. Hampe,
_Urban IV. und Manfred_ (Heidelberg, 1905).
MANFREDONIA, a town and archiepiscopal see (with Viesti) of Apulia,
Italy, in the province of Foggia, from which it is 22½ m. N.E. by rail,
situated on the coast, facing E., 13 ft. above sea-level, to the south
of Monte Gargano, and giving its name to the gulf to the east of it.
Pop. (1901), 11,549. It was founded by Manfred in 1263, and destroyed by
the Turks in 1620; but the medieval castle of the Angevins and parts of
the town walls are well preserved. In the church of S. Domenico, the
chapel of the Maddalena contains old paintings of the 14th century. Two
miles to the south-west is the fine cathedral of S. Maria Maggiore di
Siponto, built in 1117 in the Romanesque style, with a dome and crypt.
S. Leonardo, nearer Foggia, belonging to the Teutonic order, is of the
same date. This marks the site of the ancient Sipontum, the harbour of
Arpi, which became a Roman colony in 194 B.C., and was not deserted in
favour of Manfredonia until the 13th century, having become unhealthy
owing to the stagnation of the water in the lagoons.
See A. Beltramelli, _Il Gargano_ (Bergamo, 1907). (T. As.)
MANGABEY, a name (probably of French origin) applied to the West African
monkeys of the genus _Cercocebus_, the more typical representatives of
which are characterized by their bare, flesh-coloured upper eye-lids,
and the uniformly coloured hairs of the fur. (See PRIMATES.)
MANGALIA, a town in the department of Constantza Rumania, situated on
the Black Sea, and at the mouth of a small stream, the Mangalia, 10 m.
N. of the Bulgarian frontier. Pop. (1900), 1459. The inhabitants, among
whom are many Turks and Bulgarians, are mostly fisherfolk. Mangalia is
to be identified with the Thracian Kallatis or Acervetis, a colony of
Miletus which continued to be a flourishing place to the close of the
Roman period. In the 14th century it had 30,000 inhabitants, and a large
trade with Genoa.
MANGALORE, a seaport of British India, administrative headquarters of
the South Kanara district of Madras, and terminus of the west coast line
of the Madras railway. Pop. (1901), 44,108. The harbour is formed by the
backwater of two small rivers. Vessels ride in 24 to 30 ft. of water,
and load from and unload into lighters. The chief exports are coffee,
coco-nut products, timber, rice and spices. Mangalore clears and exports
all the coffee of Coorg, and trades directly with Arabia and the
Persian Gulf. There is a small shipbuilding industry. The town has a
large Roman Catholic population, with a European bishop, several
churches, a convent and a college. It is the headquarters of the Basel
Lutheran mission, which possesses one of the most active printing
presses in southern India, and has also successfully introduced the
industries of weaving and the manufacture of tiles. Two colleges
(Government and St Aloysius) are situated here. Mangalore was gallantly
defended by Colonel John Campbell of the 42nd regiment from May 6, 1783,
to January 30, 1784, with a garrison of 1850 men, of whom 412 were
English, against Tippoo Sultan's whole army.
MANGAN, JAMES CLARENCE (1803-1849), Irish poet, was born in Dublin on
the 1st of May 1803. His baptismal name was James, the "Clarence" being
his own addition. His father, a grocer, who boasted of the terror with
which he inspired his children, had ruined himself by imprudent
speculation and extravagant hospitality. The burden of supporting the
family fell on James, who entered a scrivener's office, at the age of
fifteen, and drudged as a copying clerk for ten years. He was employed
for some time in the library of Trinity College, and in 1833 he found a
place in the Irish Ordnance Survey. He suffered a disappointment in
love, and continued ill health drove him to the use of opium. He was
habitually the victim of hallucinations which at times threatened his
reason. For Charles Maturin, the eccentric author of _Melmoth_, he
cherished a deep admiration, the results of which are evident in his
prose stories. He belonged to the Comet Club, a group of youthful
enthusiasts who carried on war in their paper, the _Comet_, against the
levying of tithes on behalf of the Protestant clergy. Contributions to
the _Dublin Penny Journal_ followed; and to the _Dublin University
Magazine_ he sent translations from the German poets. The mystical
tendency of German poetry had a special appeal for him. He chose poems
that were attuned to his own melancholy temperament, and did much that
was excellent in this field. He also wrote versions of old Irish poems,
though his knowledge of the language, at any rate at the beginning of
his career, was but slight. Some of his best-known Irish poems, however,
_O'Hussey's Ode to the Maguire_, for instance, follow the originals very
closely. Besides these were "translations" from Arabic, Turkish and
Persian. How much of these languages he knew is uncertain, but he had
read widely in Oriental subjects, and some of the poems are exquisite
though the original authors whom he cites are frequently mythical. He
took a mischievous pleasure in mystifying his readers, and in practising
extraordinary metres. For the _Nation_ he wrote from the beginning
(1842) of its career, and much of his best work appeared in it. He
afterwards contributed to the _United Irishman_. On the 20th of June
1849 he died at Meath Hospital, Dublin, of cholera. It was alleged at
the time that starvation was the real cause. This statement was untrue,
but there is no doubt that his wretched poverty made him ill able to
withstand disease.
Mangan holds a high place among Irish poets, but his fame was deferred
by the inequality and mass of his work, much of which lay buried in
inaccessible newspaper files under his many pseudonyms, "Vacuus,"
"Terrae Filius," "Clarence," &c. Of his genius, morbid though it
sometimes is, as in his tragic autobiographical ballad of _The Nameless
One_, there can be no question. He expressed with rare sincerity the
tragedy of Irish hopes and aspirations, and he furnished abundant proof
of his versatility in his excellent nonsense verses, which are in
strange contrast with the general trend of his work.
An autobiography which appeared in the _Irish Monthly_ (1882) does not
reproduce the real facts of his career with any fidelity. For some
time after his death there was no adequate edition of his works, but
_German Anthology_ (1845), and _The Poets and Poetry of Munster_
(1849) had appeared during his lifetime. In 1850 Hercules Ellis
included thirty of his ballads in his _Romances and Ballads of
Ireland_. Other selections appeared subsequently, notably one (1897),
by Miss L. I. Guiney. _The Poems of James Clarence Mangan_ (1903), and
the _Prose Writings_ (1904), were both edited by D. J. O'Donoghue, who
wrote in 1897 a complete account of the _Life and Writings_ of the
poet.
MANGANESE [symbol Mn; atomic weight, 54.93 (O = 16)], a metallic
chemical element. Its dioxide (pyrolusite) has been known from very
early times, and was at first mistaken for a magnetic oxide of iron. In
1740 J. H. Pott showed that it did not contain iron and that it yielded
a definite series of salts, whilst in 1774 C. Scheele proved that it was
the oxide of a distinctive metal. Manganese is found widely distributed
in nature, being generally found to a greater or less extent associated
with the carbonates and silicates of iron, calcium and magnesium, and
also as the minerals braunite, hausmannite, psilomelane, manganite,
manganese spar and hauerite. It has also been recognized in the
atmosphere of the sun (A. Cornu, _Comptes rendus_, 1878, 86, pp. 315,
530), in sea water, and in many mineral waters.
The metal was isolated by J. G. Gahn in 1774, and in 1807 J. F. John
(_Gehlen's Jour. chem. phys._, 1807, 3, p. 452) obtained an impure metal
by reducing the carbonate at a high temperature with charcoal, mixed
with a small quantity of oil. R. Bunsen prepared the metal by
electrolysing manganese chloride in a porous cell surrounded by a carbon
crucible containing hydrochloric acid. Various reduction methods have
been employed for the isolation of the metal. C. Brunner (_Pogg. Ann._,
1857, 101, p. 264) reduced the fluoride by metallic sodium, and E.
Glatzel (_Ber._, 1889, 22, p. 2857) the chloride by magnesium, H.
Moissan (_Ann. Chim. Phys._, 1896 (7) 9, p. 286) reduced the oxide with
carbon in the electric furnace; and H. Goldschmidt has prepared the
metal from the oxide by means of his "thermite" process (see CHROMIUM).
W. H. Green and W. H. Wahl [German patent 70773 (1893)] prepare a 97%
manganese from pyrolusite by heating it with 30% sulphuric acid, the
product being then converted into manganous oxide by heating in a
current of reducing gas at a dull red heat, cooled in a reducing
atmosphere, and finally reduced by heating with granulated aluminium in
a magnesia crucible with lime and fluorspar as a flux. A purer metal is
obtained by reducing manganese amalgam by hydrogen (O. Prelinger,
_Monats._, 1894, 14, p. 353).
Prelinger's manganese has a specific gravity of 7.42, and the variety
obtained by distilling pure manganese amalgam _in vacuo_ is pyrophoric
(A. Guntz, _Bull. Soc._ [3], 7, 275), and burns when heated in a current
of sulphur dioxide. The pure metal readily evolves hydrogen when acted
upon by sulphuric and hydrochloric acids, and is readily attacked by
dilute nitric acid. It precipitates many metals from solutions of their
salts. It is employed commercially in the manufacture of special steels.
(See IRON AND STEEL.)
COMPOUNDS
Manganese forms several oxides, the most important of which are
manganous oxide, MnO, trimanganese tetroxide, Mn3O4, manganese
sesquioxide, Mn2O3, manganese dioxide, MnO2, manganese trioxide, MnO3,
and manganese heptoxide, Mn3O7.
_Manganous oxide_, MnO, is obtained by heating a mixture of anhydrous
manganese chloride and sodium carbonate with a small quantity of
ammonium chloride (J. v. Liebig and F. Wöhler, _Pogg. Ann._, 1830, 21,
p. 584); or by reducing the higher oxides with hydrogen or carbon
monoxide. It is a dark coloured powder of specific gravity 5.09.
_Manganous hydroxide_, Mn(OH)2, is obtained as a white precipitate on
adding a solution of a caustic alkali to a manganous salt. For the
preparation of the crystalline variety identical with the mineral
pyrochroite (see A. de Schulten, _Comptes rendus_, 1887, 105, p.
1265). It rapidly oxidizes on exposure to air and turns brown, going
ultimately to the sesquioxide. _Trimanganese tetroxide_, Mn3O4, is
produced more or less pure when the other oxides are heated. It may be
obtained crystalline by heating manganese sulphate and potassium
sulphate to a bright red heat (H. Debray, _Comptes rendus_, 1861, 52,
p. 985). It is a reddish-brown powder, which when heated with
hydrochloric acid yields chlorine. _Manganese sesquioxide_, Mn2O3,
found native as the mineral braunite, may be obtained by igniting the
other oxides in a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen, containing not more
than 26% of the latter gas (W. Dittmar, _Jour. Chem. Soc._, 1864, 17,
p. 294). The hydrated form, found native as the mineral manganite, is
produced by the spontaneous oxidation of manganous hydroxide. In the
hydrated condition it is a dark brown powder which readily loses water
at above 100° C., it dissolves in hot nitric acid, giving manganous
nitrate and manganese dioxide: 2MnO(OH) + 2HNO3 = Mn(NO3)2 + MnO2 +
2H2O. _Manganese dioxide_, or pyrolusite (q.v.), MnO2, the most
important oxide, may be prepared by heating crystallized manganous
nitrate until red fumes are given off, decanting the clear liquid, and
heating to 150° to 160° C. for 40 to 60 hours (A. Gorgen, _Bull.
Soc._, 1890 [3], 4, p. 16), or by heating manganese carbonate to 260°
C. in the presence of air and washing the residue with very dilute
cold hydrochloric acid. It is a hard black solid which readily loses
oxygen when strongly heated, leaving a residue of Mn3O4. When heated
with concentrated hydrochloric acid it yields chlorine, and with
concentrated sulphuric acid it yields oxygen. It is reduced to the
monoxide when heated in a current of hydrogen. It is a strong
oxidizing agent. It dissolves in cold concentrated hydrochloric acid,
forming a dark brown solution which probably contains manganic
chloride (see R. J. Meyer, _Zeit. anorg. Chem._, 1899, 22, p. 169; G.
Neumann, _Monats._, 1894, 15, p. 489). It is almost impossible to
prepare a pure hydrated manganese dioxide owing to the readiness with
which it loses oxygen, leaving residues of the type _x_MnO·_y_MnO2.
Such mixtures are obtained by the action of alkaline hypochlorites on
manganous salts, or by suspending manganous carbonate in water and
passing chlorine through the mixture. The solid matter is filtered
off, washed with water, and warmed with 10% nitric acid (A. Gorgen).
It is a dark brown powder, which reddens litmus. Manganese dioxide
combines with other basic oxides to form _manganites_, and on this
property is based the Weldon process for the recovery of manganese
from the waste liquors of the chlorine stills (see CHLORINE). The
manganites are amorphous brown solids, insoluble in water, and
decomposed by hydrochloric acid with the evolution of chlorine.
_Manganese trioxide_, MnO3, is obtained in small quantity as an
unstable deliquescent red solid by dropping a solution of potassium
permanganate in sulphuric acid on to dry sodium carbonate (B. Franke,
_Jour. prak. Chem._, 1887 [2], 36, p. 31). Above 50° C. it decomposes
into the dioxide and oxygen. It dissolves in water forming manganic
acid, H2MnO4. _Manganese heptoxide_, Mn2O7, prepared by adding pure
potassium permanganate to well cooled, concentrated sulphuric acid,
when the oxide separates as a dark oil (H. Aschoff, _Pogg. Ann._,
1860, 111, p. 217), is very unstable, continually giving off oxygen.
It decomposes violently on heating, and explodes in contact with
hydrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, &c. It dissolves in water to form a
deep red solution which contains _permanganic acid_, HMnO4. This acid
is also formed by decomposing barium or lead permanganate with dilute
sulphuric acid. It is only known in aqueous solution. This solution is
of a deep violet-red colour, and is somewhat fluorescent; it
decomposes on exposure to light, or when heated. It is a monobasic
acid, and a very powerful oxidizing agent (M. M. P. Muir, _Jour. Chem.
Soc._, 1907, 91, p. 1485).
_Manganous Salts._--The anhydrous _chloride_, MnCl2, is obtained as a
rose-red crystalline solid by passing hydrochloric acid gas over
manganese carbonate, first in the cold and afterwards at a moderate
red heat. The hydrated chloride, MnCl2·4H2O, is obtained in rose-red
crystals by dissolving the metal or its carbonate in aqueous
hydrochloric acid and concentrating the solution. It may be obtained
in at least two different forms, one isomorphous with NaCl·2H2O, by
concentrating the solution between 15° C. and 20°C.; the other,
isomorphous with FeCl2·4H2O, by slow evaporation of the mother liquors
from the former. It forms double salts with the chlorides of the
alkali metals. The _bromide_ MnBr2·4H2O, _iodide_, MnI2, and
_fluoride_, MnF2, are known.
_Manganous Sulphate_, MnSO4, is prepared by strongly heating a paste
of pyrolusite and concentrated sulphuric acid until acid fumes cease
to be evolved. The ferric and aluminium sulphates present are thus
converted into insoluble basic salts, and the residue yields manganous
sulphate when extracted with water. The salt crystallizes with varying
quantities of water, according to the temperature at which
crystallization is effected: between -4° C. and +6° C. with 7H2O,
between 15° C. and 20° C. with 5H2O, and between 25° C. and 31° C.
with 4H2O. It crystallizes in large pink crystals, the colour of which
is probably due to the presence of a small quantity of manganic
sulphate or of a cobalt sulphate. It combines with the sulphates of
the alkali metals to form double salts.
_Manganous Nitrate_, Mn(NO3)2·6H2O, obtained by dissolving the
carbonate in nitric acid and concentrating the solution, crystallizes
from nitric acid solutions in long colourless needles, which melt at
25.8° C. and boil at 129.5° C. with some decomposition.
_Manganous Carbonate_, MnCO3, found native as manganese spar, may be
prepared as an amorphous powder by heating manganese chloride with
sodium carbonate in a sealed tube to 150° C., or in the hydrated form
as a white flocculent precipitate by adding sodium carbonate to a
manganous salt. In the moist condition it rapidly turns brown on
exposure to air.
_Manganous Sulphide_, MnS, found native as manganese glance, may be
obtained by heating the monoxide or carbonate in a porcelain tube in a
current of carbon bisulphide vapour. R. Schneider (_Pogg. Ann._, 1874,
151, 449) obtained a crystalline variety by melting sulphur with
anhydrous manganous sulphate and dry potassium carbonate, extracting
the residue and drying it in a current of hydrogen. Four sulphides are
known; the red and green are anhydrous, a grey variety contains much
water, whilst the pink is a mixture of the grey and red (J. C. Olsen
and W. S. Rapalje, _Jour. Amer. Chem. Soc._, 1904, 26, p. 1615).
Ammonium sulphide alone gives incomplete precipitation of the
sulphide. In the presence of ammonium salts the precipitate is dirty
white in colour, whilst in the presence of free ammonia it is a buff
colour. This form of the sulphide is readily oxidized when exposed in
the moist condition, and is easily decomposed by dilute mineral acids.
_Manganese Disulphide_, MnS2, found native as hauerite, is formed as a
red coloured powder by heating manganous sulphate with potassium
polysulphide in a sealed tube at 160°-170° C. (H. v. Senarmont, _Jour.
prak. Chem._, 1850, 51, p. 385).
_Manganic Salts._--The sulphate, Mn2(SO4)3, is prepared by gradually
heating at 138° C. a mixture of concentrated sulphuric and manganese
dioxide until the whole becomes of a dark green colour. The excess of
acid is removed by spreading the mass on a porous plate, the residue
stirred for some hours with nitric acid, again spread on a porous
plate, and finally dried quickly at about 130° C. It is a dark green
deliquescent powder which decomposes on heating or on exposure to
moist air. It is readily decomposed by dilute acids. With potassium
sulphate in the presence of sulphuric acid it forms potassium
manganese alum, K2SO4·Mn2(SO4)2·24H2O. A. Piccini (_Zeit. anorg.
Chem._ 1898, 17, p. 355) has also obtained a manganese caesium alum.
_Manganic Fluoride_, MnF3, a solid obtained by the action of fluorine
on manganous chloride, is decomposed by heat into manganous fluoride
and fluorine. By suspending the dioxide in carbon tetrachloride and
passing in hydrochloric acid gas, W. B. Holmes (_Abst. J.C.S._, 1907,
ii., p. 873) obtained a black trichloride and a reddish-brown
tetrachloride.
_Manganese Carbide_, Mn3C, is prepared by heating manganous oxide with
sugar charcoal in an electric furnace, or by fusing manganese chloride
and calcium carbide. Water decomposes it, giving methane and hydrogen
(H. Moissan); Mn3C + 6H2O = 3Mn(OH)2 + CH4 + H2.
_Manganates._--These salts are derived from manganic acid H2MnO4.
Those of the alkali metals are prepared by fusing manganese dioxide
with sodium or potassium hydroxide in the presence of air or of some
oxidizing agent (nitre, potassium chlorate, &c.); MnO2 + 2KHO + O =
K2MnO4 + H2O. In the absence of air the reaction proceeds slightly
differently, some manganese sesquioxide being formed; 3MnO2 + 2KHO =
K2MnO4 + Mn2O3 + H2O. The fused mass has a dark olive-green colour,
and dissolves in a small quantity of cold water to a green solution,
which is, however, only stable in the presence of an excess of alkali.
The green solution is readily converted into a pink one of
permanganate by a large dilution with water, or by passing carbon
dioxide through it: 3K2MnO4 + 2CO2 = 2K2CO3 + 2KMnO4 + MnO2.
_Permanganates_ are the salts of permanganic acid, HMnO4. The
_potassium_ salt, KMnO4, may be prepared by passing chlorine or carbon
dioxide through an aqueous solution of potassium manganate, or by the
electrolytic oxidation of the manganate at the anode [German patent
101710 (1898)]. It crystallizes in dark purple-red prisms, isomorphous
with potassium perchlorate. It acts as a powerful oxidizing agent,
both in acid and alkaline solution; in the first case two molecules
yield five atoms of available oxygen and in the second, three atoms:
2KMnO4 + 3H2SO4 = K2SO4 + 2MnSO4 + 3H2O + 5O;
2KMnO4 + 3H2O = 2MnO2·H2O + 2KHO + 3O.
It completely decomposes hydrogen peroxide in sulphuric acid
solution--
2KMnO4 + 5H2O2 + 3H2SO4 = K2SO4 + 2MnSO4 + 8H2O + 5O2.
It decomposes when heated to
200° - 240° C.: 2KMnO4 = K2MnO4 + MnO2 + O2;
and when warmed with hydrochloric acid it yields chlorine:
2KMnO4 + 16HCl = 2KCl + 2MnCl2 + 8H2O + 5Cl2.
_Sodium Permanganate_, NaMnO4.3H2O (?), may be prepared in a similar
manner, or by precipitating the silver salt with sodium chloride. It
crystallizes with great difficulty. A solution of the crude salt is
used as a disinfectant under the name of "Condy's fluid."
_Ammonium Permanganate_, NH4·MnO4, explodes violently on rubbing, and
its aqueous solution decomposes on boiling (W. Muthmann, _Ber._, 1893,
26, p. 1018); NH4·MnO4 = MnO2 + N2 + 2H2O.
_Barium Permanganate_, BaMn2O3, crystallizes in almost black needles,
and is formed by passing carbon dioxide through water containing
suspended barium manganate.
_Detection._--Manganese salts can be detected by the amethyst colour
they impart to a borax-bead when heated in the Bunsen flame, and by
the green mass formed when they are fused with a mixture of sodium
carbonate and potassium nitrate. Manganese may be estimated
quantitatively by precipitation as carbonate, this salt being then
converted into the oxide, Mn3O4 by ignition; or by precipitation as
hydrated dioxide by means of ammonia and bromine water, followed by
ignition to Mn3O4. The valuation of pyrolusite is generally carried
out by means of a distillation with hydrochloric acid, the liberated
chlorine passing through a solution of potassium iodide, and the
amount of iodine liberated being ascertained by means of a standard
solution of sodium thiosulphate.
The atomic weight of manganese has been frequently determined. J.
Berzelius, by analysis of the chloride, obtained the value 54.86; K.
v. Hauer (_Sitzb. Akad. Wien._, 1857, 25, p. 132), by conversion of
the sulphate into sulphide, obtained the value 54.78; J. Dewar and A.
Scott (_Chem. News_, 1883, 47, p. 98), by analysis of silver
permanganate, obtained the value 55.038; J. M. Weeren (_Stahl. u._
_Eisen_, 1893, 13, p. 559), by conversion of manganous oxide into the
sulphate obtained the value 54.883, and of the sulphate into sulphide
the value 54.876 (H = 1), and finally G. P. Baxter and Hines (_Jour.
Amer. Chem. Soc._, 1906, 28, p. 1360), by analyses of the chloride and
bromide, obtained 54.96 (O = 16).
MANGANITE, a mineral consisting of hydrated manganese sesquioxide,
Mn2O3·H2O, crystallizing in the orthorhombic system and isomorphous with
diaspore and göthite. Crystals are prismatic and deeply striated
parallel to their length; they are often grouped together in bundles.
The colour is dark steel-grey to iron-black, and the lustre brilliant
and submetallic: the streak is dark reddish-brown. The hardness is 4,
and the specific gravity 4.3. There is a perfect cleavage parallel to
the brachypinacoid, and less perfect cleavage parallel to the prism
faces _m_. Twinned crystals are not infrequent. The mineral contains
89.7% of manganese sesquioxide; it dissolves in hydrochloric acid with
evolution of chlorine. The best crystallized specimens are those from
Ilfeld in the Harz, where the mineral occurs with calcite and barytes in
veins traversing porphyry. Crystals have also been found at Ilmenau in
Thuringia, Neukirch near Schlettstadt in Alsace ("newkirkite"), Granam
near Towie in Aberdeenshire, Upton Pyne near Exeter and Negaunee in
Michigan. As an ore of manganese it is much less abundant than
pyrolusite or psilomelane. The name manganite was given by W. Haidinger
in 1827: French authors adopt F. S. Beudant's name "acerdèse," (Gr.
[Greek: âkerdês], unprofitable) because the mineral is of little value
for bleaching purposes as compared with pyrolusite. (L. J. S.)
[Illustration]
MANGBETTU (_Monbuttu_), a negroid people of Central Africa living to the
south of the Niam-Niam in the Welle district of Belgian Congo. They
number about a million. Their country is a table-land at an altitude of
2500 to 2800 ft. Despite its abundant animal life, luxuriant vegetation
and rich crops of plantain and oil-palm, the Mangbettu have been some of
the most inveterate cannibals in Africa; but since the Congo State
established posts in the country (c. 1895) considerable efforts have
been made to stamp out cannibalism. Physically the Mangbettu differ
greatly from their negro neighbours. They are not so black and their
faces are less negroid, many having quite aquiline noses. The beard,
too, is fuller than in most negroes. They appear to have imposed their
language and customs on the surrounding tribes, the Mundu, Abisanga, &c.
Once a considerable power, they have practically disappeared as far as
the original stock is concerned; their language and culture, however,
remain, maintained by their subjects, with whom they have to a large
extent intermixed. The men wear bark cloth, the art of weaving being
unknown, the women a simple loin cloth, often not that. Both sexes paint
the body in elaborate designs. As potters, sculptors, boatbuilders and
masons the Mangbettu have had few rivals in Africa. Their huts, with
pointed roofs, were not only larger and better built, but were cleaner
than those of their neighbours, and some of their more important
buildings were of great size and exhibited some skill in architecture.
See G. A. Schweinfurth, _Heart of Africa_ (1874); W. Junker, _Travels
in Africa_ (1890); G. Casati, _Ten Years in Equatoria_ (1891).
MANGEL-WURZEL, or field-beet, a variety of the common beet, known
botanically as _Beta vulgaris_, var. _macrorhiza_. The name is German
and means literally "root of scarcity." R. C. A. Prior (_Popular Names
of British Plants_) says it was originally mangold, a word of doubtful
meaning. The so-called root consists of the much thickened primary root
together with the "hypocotyl," i.e. the original stem between the root
and the seed-leaves. A transverse section of the root shows a similar
structure to the beet, namely a series of concentric rings of firmer
"woody" tissue alternating with rings of soft thin-walled parenchymatous
"bast-tissue" which often has a crimson or yellowish tint. The root is a
store of carbohydrate food-stuff in the form of sugar, which is formed
in the first year of growth when the stem remains short and bears a
rosette of large leaves. If the plant be allowed to remain in the
ground till the following year strong leafy angular aerial stems are
developed, 3 ft. or more in height, which branch and bear the
inflorescences. The flowers are arranged in dense sessile clusters
subtended by a small bract, and resemble those of the true beet. The
so-called seeds are clusters of spurious fruits. After fertilization the
fleshy receptacle and the base of the perianth of each flower enlarge
and the flowers in a cluster become united; the fleshy parts with the
ovaries, each of which contains one seed, become hard and woody. Hence
several seeds are present in one "seed" of commerce, which necessitates
the careful thinning of a young crop, as several seedlings may spring
from one "seed."
This plant is very susceptible of injury from frost, and hence in the
short summer of Scotland it can neither be sown so early nor left in the
ground so late as would be requisite for its mature growth. But it is
peculiarly adapted for those southern parts of England where the climate
is too hot and dry for the successful cultivation of the turnip. In
feeding quality it rivals the swede; it is much relished by
livestock--pigs especially doing remarkably well upon it; and it keeps
in good condition till midsummer if required. The valuable constituent
of mangel is dry matter which averages about 12% as against 11% in
swedes. Of this two-thirds may be sugar, which only develops fully
during storage. Indeed, it is only after it has been some months in the
store heap that mangel becomes a palatable and safe food for cattle. It
is, moreover, exempt from the attacks of the turnip beetle. On all these
accounts, therefore, it is peculiarly valuable in those parts of Great
Britain where the summer is usually hot and dry.
Up to the act of depositing the seed, the processes of preparation for
mangel are similar to those described for the turnip; winter dunging
being even more appropriate for the former than for the latter. The
common drilling machines are easily fitted for sowing its large rough
seeds, which should be sown from the beginning of April to the middle of
May and may be deposited either on ridges or on the flat. The after
culture is like that of the turnip. The plants are thinned out at
distances of not less than 15 in. apart. Transplanting can be used for
filling up of gaps with more certainty of success than in the case of
swedes, but it is much more economical to avoid such gaps by sowing a
little swede seed along with the mangel. Several varieties of the plant
are cultivated--those in best repute being the long red, the yellow
globe and the tankard, intermediate in shape. This crop requires a
heavier dressing of manure than the turnip to grow it in perfection, and
is much benefited by having salt mixed with the manure at the rate of 2
or 3 cwt. per acre. Nitrogenous manures are of more marked value than
phosphatic manures. The crop requires to be secured in store heaps as
early in autumn as possible, as it is easily injured by frost.
MANGLE. (1) A machine for pressing and smoothing clothes after washing
(see LAUNDRY). The word was adopted from the Dutch; _mangel-stok_ means
a rolling pin, and _linnen mangelen_, to press linen by rolling;
similarly in O. Ital. _mangano_ meant, according to Florio, "a presse to
press buckrom," &c. The origin of the word is to be found in the
medieval Latin name, _manganum_, _mangonus_ or _mangana_, for an engine
of war, the "mangonel," for hurling stones and other missiles (see
CATAPULT). The Latin word was adapted from the Greek [Greek: magganon],
a trick or device, cognate with [Greek: mêchanê], a machine. (2) To cut
in pieces, to damage or disfigure; to mutilate. This word is of obscure
origin. According to the _New English Dictionary_ it presents an
Anglo-French _mahangler_, a form of _mahaigner_ from which the English
"maim" is derived, cf. the old form "mayhem," surviving in legal
phraseology. Skeat connects the word with the Latin _mancus_, maimed,
with which "maim" is not cognate.
MANG LÖN, a state in the northern Shan states of Burma. It is the chief
state of the Wa or Vü tribes, some of whom are head-hunters, and Mang
Lön is the only one which as yet has direct relations with the British
government. Estimated area, 3000 sq. m.; estimated population, 40,000.
The state extends from about 21° 30´ to 23° N., or for 100 m. along the
river Salween. Its width varies greatly, from a mile or even less on
either side of the river to perhaps 40 m. at its broadest part near
Taküt, the capital. It is divided into East and West Mang Lön, the
boundary being the Salween. There are no Wa in West Mang Lön. Shans form
the chief population, but there are Palaungs, Chinese and Yanglam,
besides Lahu. The bulk of the population in East Mang Lön is Wa, but
there are many Shans and Lahu. Both portions are very hilly; the only
flat land is along the banks of streams in the valleys, and here the
Shans are settled. There are prosperous settlements and bazaars at Nawng
Hkam and Möng Kao in West Mang Lön. The Wa of Mang Lön have given up
head-hunting, and many profess Buddhism. The capital, Taküt, is perched
on a hill-top 6000 ft. above sea-level. The sawbwa is a Wa, and has
control over two sub-states, Mot Hai to the north and Maw Hpa to the
south.
MANGNALL, RICHMAL (1769-1820), English schoolmistress, was born,
probably at Manchester, on the 7th of March 1769. She was a pupil and
finally mistress of a school at Crofton Hall, near Wakefield, Yorkshire,
which she conducted most successfully until her death there on the 1st
of May 1820. She was the author of _Historical and Miscellaneous
Questions for the Use of Young People_ (1800), generally known as
"Mangnall's Questions," which was prominent in the education of English
girls in the first half of the 19th century.
MANGO. The mango-tree (_Mangifera indica_, natural order Anacardiaceae)
is a native of tropical Asia, but is now extensively cultivated in the
tropical and subtropical regions of the New as well as the Old World. It
is indigenous in India at the base of the Himalayas, and in Further
India and the Andaman Islands (see A. de Candolle, _Origin of Cultivated
Plants_). The cultivation of the fruit must have spread at an early age
over the Indian Peninsula, and it now grows everywhere in the plains. It
grows rapidly to a height of 30 to 40 ft., and its dense, spreading and
glossy foliage would secure its cultivation for the sake of its shade
and beauty alone. Its fruit, a drupe, though in the wild variety (not to
be confused with that of _Spondias mangifera_, belonging to the same
order, also called wild mango in India) stringy and sour, from its
containing much gallic acid, and with a disagreeable flavour of
turpentine, has become sweet and luscious through culture and selection,
to which we owe many varieties, differing not only in flavour but also
in size, from that of a plum to that of an apple. When unripe, they are
used to make pickles, tarts and preserves; ripe, they form a wholesome
and very agreeable dessert. In times of scarcity the kernels also are
eaten. The timber, although soft and liable to decay, serves for common
purposes, and, mixed with sandal-wood, is employed in cremation by the
Hindus. It is usually propagated by grafts, or by layering or inarching,
rather than by seed.
See G. Watt, _Dictionary of the Economic Products of India_ (1891).
MANGOSTEEN (_Garcinia Mangostana_), a tree belonging to the order
Guttiferae. It is a native of the Malay Peninsula, and is extensively
cultivated in southern Tenasserim, and in some places in the Madras
presidency. Poor results have followed the attempt to introduce it to
other countries; and A. de Candolle refers to it as one of the most
local among cultivated plants both in its origin, habitation and
cultivation. It belongs to a family in which the mean area of the
species is very restricted. It is an evergreen about 20 ft. high, and is
somewhat fir-like in general form, but the leaves are large, oval,
entire, leathery and glistening. Its fruit, the much-valued mangosteen,
is about the size and shape of an orange, and is somewhat similarly
partitioned, but is of a reddish-brown to chestnut colour. Its thick
rind yields a very astringent juice, rich in tannin, and containing a
gamboge-like resin. The soft and juicy pulp is snow-white or
rose-coloured, and of delicious flavour and perfume. It is wholesome,
and may be administered in fever.
The genus _Garcinia_ is a genus of trees containing about fifty species
in the tropics of the Old World, and usually yielding a yellow gum-resin
(gamboge). _G. Morella_, a native of India, yields the true gamboge.
MANGROVE. The remarkable "mangrove forests" which fringe tidal
estuaries, overrun salt marshes, and line muddy coasts in the tropics of
both Old and New Worlds, are composed of trees and shrubs belonging
mainly to the Rhizophoraceae, but including, especially in the eastern
mangrove formations of Further India and the Malay Archipelago, members
of other orders of Dicotyledons, such as Lythraceae (_Sonneratia_),
Verbenaceae (_Avicennia_), and the acaulescent Nipa-palm. Their trunks
and branches constantly emit adventitious roots, which, descending in
arched fashion, strike at some distance from the parent stem, and send
up new trunks, the forest thus spreading like a banyan grove. An
advantage in dispersal, very characteristic of the order, is afforded by
the seeds, which have a striking peculiarity of germination. While the
fruit is still attached to the parent branch the long radicle emerges
from the seed and descends rapidly towards the mud, where it may even
establish itself before falling off. Owing to its clubbed shape, this is
always in the right position; the plumule then makes its appearance. An
interesting feature of the mangrove is the air-roots, erect or kneed
branches of the roots, which project above the mud, and are provided
with minute openings (stomata or lenticels), into which the air passes
and is then carried by means of passages in the soft spongy tissue to
the roots which spread beneath the mud. The wood of some species is hard
and durable, and the astringent bark is used in tanning. The fruit of
the common mangrove, _Rhizophora Mangle_, is sweet and wholesome, and
yields a light wine.
MANICHAEISM. Towards the close of the 3rd century two great religions
stood opposed to one another in western Europe, one wholly Iranian,
namely Mithraism, the other of Jewish origin, but not without Iranian
elements, part and parcel probably of the Judaism which gave it birth,
namely Christianity. Professor Franz Cumont has traced the progress of
Mithraism all over the Balkan Peninsula, Italy, the Rhine-lands,
Britain, Spain and Latin Africa. It was peculiarly the religion of the
Roman garrisons, and was carried by the legionaries wherever they went.
It was an austere religion, inculcating self-restraint, courage and
honesty; it secured peace of conscience through forgiveness of sins, and
abated for those who were initiated in its mysteries the superstitious
terrors of death and the world to come. In these respects it resembled
Christianity. Soldiers may have espoused it rather than the rival faith,
because in the primitive age Christian discipline denied them the
sacraments, on the ground that they were professional shedders of blood.
The cumbrous mythology and cosmogony of Mithraism at last weakened its
hold upon men's minds, and it disappeared during the 4th century before
a victorious Catholicism, yet not until another faith, equally Iranian
in its mythology and cosmological beliefs, had taken its place. This new
faith was that of Mani, which spread with a rapidity only to be
explained by supposing that Mithraism had prepared men's minds for its
reception.
Mani professed to blend the teachings of Christ with the old Persian
Magism. Kessler, the latest historian of Manichaeism, opines that Mani's
own declaration on this point is not to be relied upon, and has tried to
prove that it was rather of Semitic or Chaldaic origin. He certainly
shows that the old Assyrian mythology influenced Mani, but not that this
element did not reach him through Persian channels. In genuine
Manichaean documents we only find the name Mani, but Manes, [Greek:
Manês], Manichaeus, meet us in 4th-century Greek and Latin documents. In
the _Acta Archelai_ his first name is said to have been Cubricus, which
Kessler explains as a corruption of Shuravik, a name common among the
Arabs of the Syrian desert.
_Life of Mani._--According to the Mahommedan tradition, which is more
trustworthy than the account contained in these _Acta_, Mani was a
high-born Persian of Ecbatana. The year of his birth is uncertain, but
Kessler accepts as reliable the statement made by Biruni, that Mani was
born in the year 527 of the astronomers of Babylon (A.D. 215-216). He
received a careful education at Ctesiphon from his father Fatak, Babak
or Patak ([Greek: Patekios]). As the father connected himself at a later
period with the confession of the _Moghtasilah_, or "Baptists," in
southern Babylonia, the son also was brought up in the religious
doctrines and exercises of this sect. These Baptists (see the _Fihrist_)
were apparently connected with the Elkesaites and the Hemerobaptists,
and certainly with the Mandaeans. It is probable that this Babylonian
sect had absorbed Christian elements. Thus the boy early became
acquainted with very different forms of religion. If even a small part
of the stories about his father is founded on fact, it was he who first
introduced Mani to that medley of religions out of which his system
arose. Manichaean tradition relates that Mani received revelations while
yet a boy, and assumed a critical attitude towards the religious
instruction that was being imparted to him. This is the more incredible
since the same tradition informs us that the boy was as yet prohibited
from making public use of his new religious views. It was only when Mani
had reached the age of twenty-five or thirty years that he began to
proclaim his new religion. This he did at the court of the Persian king,
Shapur I., and, according to the story, on the coronation day of that
monarch (241/2). A Persian tradition says that he had previously been a
Christian presbyter, but this is certainly incorrect. Mani did not
remain long in Persia, but undertook long journeys for the purpose of
spreading his religion, and also sent forth disciples. According to the
_Acta Archelai_, his missionary activity extended westwards into the
territory of the Christian church; but from Oriental sources it is
certain that Mani rather went into Transoxiana, western China, and
southwards as far as India. His labours there as well as in Persia were
not without result. Like Mahomet after him and the founder of the
Elkesaites before him, he gave himself out for the last and highest
prophet, who was to surpass all previous divine revelation, which only
possessed a relative value, and to set up the perfect religion. In the
closing years of the reign of Shapur I. (c. 270) Mani returned to the
Persian capital, and gained adherents even at court. But the dominant
priestly caste of the Magians, on whose support the king was dependent,
were naturally hostile to him, and after some successes Mani was made a
prisoner, and had then to flee. The successor of Shapur, Hormizd
(272-273), appears to have been favourably disposed towards him, but
Bahram I. abandoned him to the fanaticism of the Magians, and caused him
to be crucified in the capital in the year 276/7. The corpse was flayed,
and Mani's adherents were cruelly persecuted by the king.
_Mani's Writings._--Mani himself composed a large number of works and
epistles, which were in great part still known to the Mahommedan
historians, but are now mostly lost. The later heads of the Manichaean
churches also wrote religious treatises, so that the ancient
Manichaean literature must have been very extensive. According to the
_Fihrist_, Mani made use of the Persian and Syriac languages; but,
like the Oriental Marcionites before him, he invented an alphabet of
his own, which the _Fihrist_ has handed down to us. In this alphabet
the sacred books of the Manichaeans were written, even at a later
period. The _Fihrist_ reckons seven principal works of Mani, six being
in the Syriac and one in the Persian language; regarding some of these
we also have information in Epiphanius, Augustine, Titus of Bostra,
and Photius, as well as in the formula of abjuration (Cotelerius, _PP.
Apost. Opp._ i. 543) and in the _Acta Archelai_. They are (1) _The
Book of Secrets_ (see _Acta Archel._), containing discussions bearing
on the Christian sects spread throughout the East, especially the
Marcionites and Bardesanites, and dealing also with their conception
of the Old and New Testaments; (2) _The Book of the Giants_ (Demons?);
(3) _The Book of Precepts for Hearers_ (probably identical with the
_Epistola Fundamenti_ of Augustine and with the _Book of Chapters_ of
Epiphanius and the _Acta Archelai_; this was the most widely spread
and most popular Manichaean work, having been translated into Greek
and Latin; it contained a short summary of all the doctrines of
fundamental authority); (4) _The Book Shahpurakan_ (Flügel was unable
to explain this name; according to Kessler it signifies "epistle to
King Shapur"; the treatise was of an eschatological character); (5)
_The Book of Quickening_ (Kessler identifies this work with the
"Thesaurus [vitae]" of the _Acta Archelai_, Epiphanius, Photius and
Augustine, and if this be correct it also must have been in use among
the Latin Manichaeans); (6) _The Book [Greek: pragmateia]_ (of unknown
contents); (7) a book in the Persian language, the title of which is
not given in our present text of the _Fihrist_, but which is in all
probability identical with the "holy gospel" of the Manichaeans
(mentioned in the _Acta Archel._ and many other authorities). It was
this work which the Manichaeans set up in opposition to the Gospels.
Besides these principal works, Mani also wrote a large number of
smaller treatises and epistles. The practice of writing epistles was
continued by his successors. These Manichaean dissertations also
became known in the Graeco-Roman Empire, and existed in
collections.[1] There also existed a Manichaean book of memorabilia,
and of prayers, in Greek, as well as many others,[2] all of which were
destroyed by the Christian bishops acting in conjunction with the
authorities. A Manichaean epistle, addressed to one Marcellus, has,
however, been preserved for us in the _Acta Archelai_.[3]
_Manichaean System._--Though the leading features of Manichaean doctrine
can be exhibited clearly even at the present day, and though it is
undoubted that Mani himself drew up a complete system, many details are
nevertheless uncertain, since they are differently described in
different sources, and it often remains doubtful which of the accounts
that have been transmitted to us represents the original teaching of the
founder.
The Manichaean system is one of consistent, uncompromising dualism, in
the form of a fantastic philosophy of nature. The physical and the
ethical are not distinguished, and in this respect the character of the
system is thoroughly materialistic; for when Mani co-ordinates good with
light, and evil with darkness, this is no mere figure of speech, but
light is actually good and darkness evil. From this it follows that
religious knowledge involves the knowledge of nature and her elements,
and that redemption consists in a physical process of freeing the
element of light from the darkness. Under such circumstances ethics
becomes a doctrine of abstinence in regard to all elements which have
their source within the sphere of darkness.
The self-contradictory character of the present world forms the point of
departure for Mani's speculations. This contradiction presents itself to
his mind primarily as elemental, and only in the second instance as
ethical, inasmuch as he considers the sensual nature of man to be the
outflow of the evil elements in nature. From the contradictory character
of the world he concludes the existence of two beings, originally quite
separate from each other--light and darkness. Each is to be thought of
according to the analogy of a kingdom. Light presents itself to us as
the good primal spirit (God, radiant with the ten [twelve] virtues of
love, faith, fidelity, high-mindedness, wisdom, meekness, knowledge,
understanding, mystery and insight), and then further as the heavens of
light and the earth of light, with their guardians the glorious aeons.
Darkness is likewise a spiritual kingdom (more correctly, it also is
conceived of as a spiritual and feminine personification), but it has no
"God" at its head. It embraces an "earth of darkness." As the earth of
light has five tokens (the mild zephyr, cooling wind, bright light,
quickening fire, and clear water), so has the earth of darkness also
five (mist, heat, the sirocco, darkness and vapour). Satan with his
demons was born from the kingdom of darkness. These two kingdoms stood
opposed to each other from all eternity, touching each other on one
side, but remaining unmingled. Then Satan began to rage, and made an
incursion into the kingdom of light, into the earth of light. The God of
light, with his _syzygy_, "the spirit of his right hand," now begot the
primal man, and sent him, equipped with the five pure elements, to fight
against Satan. But the latter proved himself the stronger, and the
primal man was for a moment vanquished. And although the God of light
himself now took to the field, and with the help of new aeons (the
spirit of life, &c.) inflicted total defeat upon Satan, and set the
primal man free; the latter had already been robbed of part of his
light by the darkness, and the five dark elements had already mingled
themselves with the generations of light. It only remained now for the
primal man to descend into the abyss and prevent the further increase of
the generations of darkness by cutting off their roots; but he could not
immediately separate again the elements that had once mingled. These
mixed elements are the elements of the present visible world, which was
formed from them at the command of the God of light. The forming of the
world is in itself the beginning of the deliverance of the imprisoned
elements of light. The world is represented as an orderly structure of
various heavens and various earths, which is borne and supported by the
aeons, the angels of light. It possesses in the sun and moon, which are
in their nature almost quite pure, large reservoirs, in which the
portions of light that have been rescued are stored up. In the sun
dwells the primal man himself, as well as the glorious spirits which
carry on the work of redemption; in the moon the mother of life is
enthroned. The twelve constellations of the zodiac form an ingenious
machine, a great wheel with buckets, which pour into the sun and moon,
those shining ships that sail continually through space, the portions of
light set free from the world. Here they are purified anew, and attain
finally to the kingdom of pure light and to God Himself. The later
Western Manichaeans termed those portions of light which are scattered
throughout the world--in its elements and organisms--awaiting their
deliverance, the _Jesus patibilis_.
It is significant of the materialistic and pessimistic character of the
system that, while the formation of the world is considered as a work of
the good spirits, the creation of man is referred to the princes of
darkness. The first man, Adam, was engendered by Satan in conjunction
with "sin," "cupidity," "desire." But the spirit of darkness drove into
him all the portions of light he had stolen, in order to be able to
dominate them the more securely. Hence Adam is a discordant being,
created in the image of Satan, but carrying within him the stronger
spark of light. Eve is given him by Satan as his companion. She is
seductive sensuousness, though also having in her a small spark of
light. But if the first human beings thus stood entirely under the
dominion of the devil, the glorious spirits took them under their care
from the very outset, sending aeons down to them (including Jesus), who
instructed them regarding their nature, and in particular warned Adam
against sensuality. But this first man fell under the temptation of
sexual desire. Cain and Abel indeed are not sons of Adam, but of Satan
and Eve; Seth, however, who is full of light, is the offspring of Adam
by Eve. Thus did mankind come into existence, its various members
possessing very different shares of light, but the men having uniformly
a larger measure of it than the women. In the course of history the
demons sought to bind men to themselves by means of sensuality, error
and false religions (among which is to be reckoned above all the
religion of Moses and the prophets), while the spirits of light carried
on their process of distillation with the view of gaining the pure light
which exists in the world. But these good spirits can only save men by
imparting to them the true _gnosis_ concerning nature and her forces,
and by calling them away from the service of darkness and sensuality. To
this end prophets, preachers of true knowledge, have been sent into the
world. Mani, following the example of the gnostic Jewish Christians,
appears to have held Adam, Noah, Abraham (perhaps Zoroaster and Buddha)
to be such prophets. Probably Jesus was also accounted a prophet who had
descended from the world of light--not, however, the historical Jesus,
the devilish Messiah of the Jews, but a contemporaneous phantom Jesus,
who neither suffered nor died (_Jesus impatibilis_). According to the
teaching of some Manichaeans, it was the primal man who disseminated the
true gnosis in the character of Christ. But at all events Mani himself,
on his own claim, is to be reckoned the last and greatest prophet, who
took up the work of Jesus impatibilis and of Paul (for he too finds
recognition), and first brought full knowledge. He is the "leader," the
"ambassador of the light," the "Paraclete." It is only through his
agency and that of his imitators, "the elect," that the separation of
the light from the darkness can be completed. The system contains very
fantastic descriptions of the processes by which the portions of light
when once set free finally ascend even to the God of light. He who
during his lifetime did not become one of the elect, who did not
completely redeem himself, has to go through a severe process of
purification on the other side of the grave, till he too is gathered to
the blessedness of the light. It is erroneous, however, to ascribe, as
has been done, a doctrine of transmigration to the Manichaeans. Of
course men's bodies as well as the souls of the unsaved, who according
to the oldest conception have in them no light whatever, fall under the
sway of the powers of darkness. A later view, adapted to the Christian
one, represents the portions of light in the unsaved as actually
becoming lost. When the elements of light have at last been completely,
or as far as possible, delivered from the world, the end of all things
comes. All glorious spirits assemble, the God of light himself appears,
accompanied by the aeons and the perfected just ones. The angels
supporting the world withdraw themselves from their burden, and
everything falls in ruins. A tremendous conflagration consumes the
world; the perfect separation of the two powers takes place once more;
high above is the kingdom of light, again brought into a condition of
completeness, and deep below is the (? now powerless) darkness.
_Ethics, Social Polity and Worship of the Manichaeans._--On the basis
of such a cosmical philosophy, ethics can only have a dualistic
ascetic character. Manichaean ethics is not merely negative, however,
since it is necessary to cherish, strengthen and purify the elements
of light, as well as free oneself from the elements of darkness. The
aim is not self-destruction, but self-preservation; and yet the ethics
of Manichaeism appears in point of fact as thoroughly ascetic. The
Manichaean had, above all, to refrain from sensual enjoyment, shutting
himself up against it by three seals--the _signaculum oris_, _manus_
and _sinus_. The _signaculum oris_ forbids all eating of unclean food
(which included all bodies of animals, wine, &c.--vegetable diet being
allowed because plants contained more light, though the killing of
plants, or even plucking their fruit and breaking their twigs, was not
permitted), as well as all impure speech. The _signaculum manus_
prohibits all traffic with things generally, in so far as they carry
in them elements of darkness. Finally, by the _signaculum sinus_ every
gratification of sexual desire, and hence also marriage, are
forbidden. Besides all this, life was further regulated by an
exceedingly rigorous system of fasts. Certain astronomical
conjunctions determined the selection of the fast-days, which in their
total number amounted to nearly a quarter of the year. Sunday was
regularly solemnized as one, and the practice was also generally
observed on Monday. Hours of prayer were determined with equal
exactness. The Manichaean had to pray four times a day, each prayer
being preceded by ablutions. The worshipper turned towards the sun, or
the moon, or the north, as the seat of light; but it is erroneous to
conclude from this, as has been done, that in Manichaeism the sun and
moon were themselves objects of worship. Forms of prayer used by the
Manichaeans have been preserved to us in the _Fihrist_. The prayers
are addressed to the God of light, to the whole kingdom of light, to
the glorious angels, and to Mani himself, who is apostrophized in them
as "the great tree, which is all salvation." According to Kessler,
these prayers are closely related to the Mandaean and the ancient
Babylonian hymns. An asceticism so strict and painful as that demanded
by Manichaeism could only be practised by few; hence the religion must
have abandoned all attempts at an extensive propaganda had it not
conceded the principle of a twofold morality. A distinction was made
in the community between the _electi_ (_perfecti_), the perfect
Manichaeans, and the _catechumeni_ (_auditores_), the secular
Manichaeans. Only the former submitted themselves to all the demands
made by their religion; for the latter the stringency of the precepts
was relaxed. They had to avoid idolatry, sorcery, avarice, falsehood,
fornication, &c.; above all, they were not allowed to kill any living
being (the ten commandments of Mani). They had also to free themselves
as much as possible from the world; but in truth they lived very much
as their non-Manichaean fellow-citizens. We have here essentially the
same condition of things as in the Catholic Church, where a twofold
morality was also in force, that of the religious orders and that of
secular Christians--only that the position of the electi in
Manichaeism was a more distinguished one than that of the monks in
Catholicism. For, after all, the Christian monks never quite forgot
that salvation is given by God through Christ, whereas the Manichaean
_electi_ were actually themselves redeemers. Hence it was the duty of
the _auditores_ to pay the greatest respect and most assiduous
attention to the _electi_. These "perfect ones," wasting away under
their asceticism, were objects of admiration and of the most elaborate
solicitude.[4] Food was presented to them in abundance, and by their
eating it the _electi_ set free the portions of light from the
vegetables. They prayed for the _auditores_, they blessed them and
interceded for them, thereby shortening the process of purification
the latter had to pass through after death. It was only the _electi_,
too, who possessed full knowledge of religious truths, a point of
distinction from Catholicism.
The distinction between _electi_ and _auditores_, however, does not
exhaust the conception of the Manichaean Church; on the contrary, the
latter possessed a hierarchy of three ranks, so that there were
altogether five gradations in the community. These were regarded as a
copy of the ranks of the kingdom of light. At the head stood the
_teachers_ ("the sons of meekness," Mani himself and his successors);
then follow the _administrators_ ("the sons of knowledge," the
bishops); then the _elders_ ("the sons of understanding," the
presbyters); the _electi_ ("the sons of mystery"); and finally the
_auditores_ ("the sons of insight"). The number of the _electi_ must
always have been small. According to Augustine the teachers were
twelve and the bishops seventy-two in number. One of the teachers
appears to have occupied the position of superior at the head of the
whole Manichaean Church. At least Augustine speaks of such a
personage, and the _Fihrist_ also has knowledge of a chief of all
Manichaeans. The constitution, therefore, had a monarchic head.
The worship of the Manichaeans must have been very simple, and must
have essentially consisted of prayers, hymns and ceremonies of
adoration. This simple service promoted the secret dissemination of
their doctrines. The Manichaeans too, at least in the West, appear to
have adapted themselves to the Church's system of festivals. The
_electi_ celebrated special feasts; but the principal festival with
all classes was the _Bema_ ([Greek: bêma]), the feast of the
"teacher's chair," held in commemoration of the death of Mani in the
month of March. The faithful prostrated themselves before an adorned
but empty chair, which was raised upon a podium of five steps. Long
fasts accompanied the feasts. The Christian and Mahommedan historians
could learn little of the Manichaean mysteries and "sacraments," and
hence the former charged them with obscene rites and abominable
usages. It may be held as undoubted that the later Manichaeans
celebrated mysteries analogous to Christian baptism and the Lord's
Supper, which may have rested upon ancient consecration rites and
other ceremonies instituted by Mani himself and having their origin in
nature worship.
_Recent Discoveries._--F. Cumont (_Revue d'histoire et de littérature
religieuse_, t. xii., 1907, No. 2) showed that one at least of the
fundamental myths of Mani was borrowed from the Avesta, namely, that
which recounts how through the manifestation of the virgin of light and
of the messenger of salvation to the libidinous princes of darkness the
vital substance or light held captive in their limbs was liberated and
recovered for the realm of light. The legend of the _Omophorus_ and
_Splenditeneus_, rival giants who sustain earth and luminous heavens on
their respective shoulders, even if it already figures in the cuneiform
texts of Assyria, is yet to be traced in Mithraic bas-reliefs. It also
may therefore have come to Mani through Magian channels.
When, however, we turn to the numerous fragments of authentic Manichaean
liturgies and hymns lately discovered in Turfan in East Turkestan,
Mani's direct indebtedness to the cycle of Magian legends rather than to
Chaldaic sources (as Kessler argued) is clearly exhibited.
In fr. 472, taken from the Shapurakan, as part of a description of the
sun-god in his ship or reservoir the sun, we have a mention of Az and
Ahriman and the devas (demons), the Pairikas. Az in the Avestan
mythology was the demon serpent who murders Gayomert in the old
Persian legend, and an ally of Ahriman, as also are the _Pairikas_ or
Peris. In the same fragment we read of the ruin of _Azidahaka
Mazainya_, which name Darmesteter interprets in the Persian sources as
the demon serpent, the sorcerer (_Ormazd et Ahriman_, Paris, 1877, p.
157). In fr. 470, descriptive of the conflagration of the world, we
read of how, after Az and the demons have been struck down, the pious
man is purified and led up to sun and moon and to the being of Ahura
Mazda, the Divine.
In another fragment (388) of a hymn Mani describes himself as "the
first stranger" (cf. Matt. xxv. 43), the son of the god Zarvan, the
Ruler-Child. In the orthodox literature of fire-worship Zarvan was
Time or Destiny. Later on Zarvan was elevated to the position of
supreme principle, creator of Ormazd and Ahriman, and, long before
Mani, Zarvan accompanied Mithras in all his westward migrations.
In fr. 20, in an enumeration of angels, we hear of Narsus, who may be
the Neryosang (Armenian Nerses or Narsai) of the Avesta. The other
angels are Jacob, the mighty angel and leader of angels, the Lord Bar
Simus, Qaftinus the mighty, Raphael, Gabriel, Michael, Sarael and
Nastikus--a truly Catholic list.
In fr. 4 a rubric enjoins the recital of the hymn of the _Frasegerd_.
Here we recognize a technical term of the Avesta--namely, the
"Frasho-kereti," that is the reanimation of the world or resurrection
of the dead (Darmesteter, _op. cit._, p. 239). In this hymn we read
how the gods shall release us from this sinful time, from the
oppression of this world. In fr. 4, under the rubric Bar Simus, we
find the god Mihir (Mihryazd), the liberator, the compassionate,
invoked along with Fredon, the good; and later on we read as follows:
"with his mighty glance may the god of pure name, Predon, the king and
Jacob Nareman, protect religion and us the sons." Mihr or Mithras and
Feridoun or Thraetaona, the slayer of Ajis (or Azi) Dahaka, also
Nariman, spelled Nairimanau, are familiar figures in the old Persian
pantheon. In the same prayer the votary begs that "new blessing may
come, new victory from the god Zarvan over the glories and angels, the
spirits of this world, to the end that he accept our holy religion,
become a watcher within and without, helper and protector," and the
prayer ends thus: "I invoke the angels, the strong ones, the mighty,
Raphael, Michael, Gabriel, Sarael, who shall protect us from all
adversity, and free us from the wicked Ahriman."
In fr. 176 Jesus is invoked: "Jesus, of the gods first new moon, thou
art God.... Jesus, O Lord, of waxing fame full moon, O Jesus. Lord ...
light, our hearts' prayer. Jesus, God and Vahman. Sheen God! We will
praise the God Naresaf. Mar Mani will we bless. O new moon and spring.
Lord, we will bless. The angels, the gods ... New sun, Mihr."
In the above Vahman is Vohu Mano, the good thought or inspiration of
the Zoroastrian religion. Mihr is Mithras. The god Naresaf is also
invoked in other fragments.
In fr. 74 is invoked, together with Jesus and Mani, the "strong mighty
Zrosch, the redeemer of souls." In the Avesta Sraosha is the angel
that guards the world at night from demons, and is styled "the
righteous" or "the strong."
Fr. 38 is as follows: "Mithras (MS. Mitra) great ... messenger of the
gods, mediator (or interpreter) of religion, of the elect one
Jesus--virgin of light. Mar Mani, Jesus--virgin of light, Mar Mani. Do
thou in me make peace, O light-bringer, mayest thou redeem my soul
from this born-dead (existence)."
Fr. 543 runs thus: "... and ladder of the Mazdean faith. Thou, new
teacher of Chorasan (of the East), and promoter of those that have the
good faith. For thou wast born under a glittering star in the family
of the rulers. Elect are these--Jesus and Vahman."
The above examples bear out Mani's own declaration, as reported by the
_Fihrist_, that his faith was a blend of the old Magian cult with
Christianity. Whether the Hebrew names of angels came to him direct from
the Jews or not we cannot tell, but they were, as the Greek magical
papyri prove, widely diffused among the Gentiles long before his age.
The Armenian writer Eznik (c. 425) also attests that Mani's teaching was
merely that of the Magi, _plus_ an ascetic morality, for which they
hated and slew him.
Just as the background of Christianity was formed by the Hebrew
scriptures, and just as the Hebrew legends of the creation became the
basis of its scheme of human redemption from evil, so the Avesta, with
its quaint cosmogony and myths, formed the background of Mani's new
faith. He seems to have quarrelled with the later Magism because it was
not dualistic enough, for in fr. 28 we have such a passage as the
following: "They also that adore the fire, the burning, by this they
themselves recognize that their end shall be in fire. And they say that
Ormuzd and Ahriman are brothers, and in consequence of this saying they
shall come to annihilation." In the same fragment the Christians are
condemned as worshippers of idols, unless indeed the writer has genuine
pagans in view. There is a mention of Marcion in the same context, but
it is unintelligible. There can be no doubt that in the form in which
Mani became acquainted with it Christianity had been disengaged and
liberated from the womb of Judaism which gave it birth. This
presentation of it as an ethical system of universal import was the
joint work of Paul and Marcion.
It remains to add that in these newly found fragments Mani styles
himself "the apostle (_lit._ the sent forth) of Jesus the friend in the
love of the Father, of God." He uses the formula: "Praise and laud to
the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." In fr. 4 he attests that he
was sprung from the land Babel; in fr. 566 that he was a physician from
the land Babel. Fr. 3 recounts his interview with King Shapur I. The
Gospel of Peter seems to have been in use, for one lengthy citation is
taken from it in fr. 18. The Manichaeans of Chinese Turkestan also used
a version of the _Shepherd_ of Hermas. Several of the hymns (e.g. in fr.
7 and 32) reproduce the ideas and almost the phases of the Syriac "Hymn
of the Soul," so confirming the hypothesis that Mani was influenced by
Bardesanes.
With the exception of a few fragments written in a Pehlevi dialect,
all this recovered Manichaean literature is in the Ouigour or Vigur
dialect of Tatar. The alphabet used is the one adapted by Mani himself
from the Syriac estrangelo. The fragments are 800 in number, both on
paper and vellum, written and adorned with the pious care and good
taste which the Manichaeans are known to have bestowed on their
manuscripts. They were brought back by Professor Grünwedel and Dr Huth
from Turfan in East Turkestan, and were partly translated by Dr F. W.
K. Müller in the _Abhandtungen der k. preuss. Akademie der
Wissenschaften_ (Berlin, 1904). Much of this literature is still left
in Turfan, where the natives use the sheets of Vigur and Chinese
vellum MSS. as window-panes in their huts. The Russian and German
governments have sent out fresh expeditions to rescue what is left
before it is too late. We may thus hope to recover some priceless
monuments of early Christianity, hymns and treatises perhaps of
Marcion and Bardesanes, the Gospel of Peter, and even the Diatessaron.
Müller's translations includes a long extract of Mani's book called
_Schapurakan_, parts of his _Evangelium_, and epistles, with
liturgies, hymns and prayers, for Tatar Khans who espoused the faith
in Khorasan.
_Manichaeism and Christianity._--It is very difficult to determine what
was the extent of Mani's knowledge of Christianity, how much he himself
borrowed from it, and through what channels it reached him. It is
certain that Manichaeism, in those districts where it was brought much
into contact with Christianity, became additionally influenced by the
latter at a very early period. The Western Manichaeans of the 4th and
5th centuries are much more like Christians than their Eastern brethren.
In this respect Manichaeism experienced the same kind of development as
Neo-Platonism. As regards Mani himself, it is safest to assume that he
held both Judaism and Catholic Christianity to be entirely false
religions. It is indeed true that he not only described himself as the
promised Paraclete--for this designation probably originated with
himself--but also conceded a high place in his system to "Jesus"; we can
only conclude from this, however, that he distinguished between
Christianity and Christianity. The religion which had proceeded from the
historical Jesus he repudiated together with its founder, and
Catholicism as well as Judaism he looked upon as a religion of the
devil. But he distinguished between the Jesus of darkness and the Jesus
of light who had lived and acted contemporaneously with the former. This
distinction agrees with that made by the gnostic Basilides no less
strikingly than the Manichaean criticism of the Old Testament does with
that propounded by the Marcionites (see the _Acta Archelai_, in which
Mani is made to utter the antitheses of Marcion). Finally, the
Manichaean doctrines exhibit points of similarity to those of the
Christian Elkesaites. The historical relation of Mani to Christianity is
then as follows. From Catholicism, which he very probably had no
detailed knowledge of, he borrowed nothing, rejecting it as devilish
error. On the other hand, he looked upon what he considered to be
Christianity proper--that is, Christianity as it had been developed
among the sects of Basilidians, Marcionites, and perhaps Bardesanites,
as a comparatively valuable and sound religion. He took from it the
moral teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, and a criticism of the Old
Testament and of Judaism so far as he required it. Indications of the
influence of Marcionitism are found in the high estimation in which Mani
held the apostle Paul, and in the fact that he explicitly rejects the
Book of Acts. Mani appears to have given recognition to a portion of the
historical matter of the Gospels, and to have interpreted it in
accordance with his own doctrine.
_Manichaeism and Buddhism._--It remains to be asked whether Buddhistic
elements can also be detected in Manichaeism. Most modern scholars since
F. C. Baur have answered this question in the affirmative. According to
Kessler, Mani made use of the teaching of Buddha, at least as far as
ethics was concerned. It cannot be doubted that Mani, who undertook long
journeys as far as India, knew of Buddhism. The name Buddha (Buddas)
which occurs in the legendary account of Mani, and perhaps in the
latter's own writings, indicates further that he had occupied his
attention with Buddhism when engaged in the work of founding his new
religion. But his borrowings from this source must have been quite
insignificant. A detailed comparison shows the difference between
Buddhism and Manichaeism in all their principal doctrines to be very
great, while it becomes evident that the points of resemblance are
almost everywhere accidental. This is also true of the ethics and the
asceticism of the two systems. There is not a single point in
Manichaeism which demands for its explanation an appeal to Buddhism.
Such being the case, the relationship between the two religions remains
a mere possibility, a possibility which the inquiry of Geyler (_Das
System des Manichaeismus und sein Verhältniss zum Buddhismus_, Jena,
1875) has not been able to elevate into a probability.
_The Secret of Manichaeism._--How are we to explain the rapid spread of
Manichaeism, and the fact that it really became one of the great
religions? What gave it strength was that it united an ancient mythology
and a thorough-going materialistic dualism with an exceedingly simple
spiritual worship and a strict morality. On comparing it with the
Semitic religions of nature we perceive that it was free from their
sensuous _cultus_, substituting instead a spiritual worship as well as a
strict morality. Manichaeism was thus able to satisfy the new wants of
an old world. It offered revelation, redemption, moral virtue and
immortality, spiritual benefits on the basis of the religion of nature.
A further source of strength lay in the simple yet firm social
organization which was given by Mani himself to his new institution. The
wise man and the ignorant, the enthusiast and the man of the world,
could all find acceptance here, and there was laid on no one more than
he was able and willing to bear. Each one, however, was attached and led
onward by the prospect of a higher rank to be attained, while the
intellectually gifted had an additional inducement in the assurance that
they did not require to submit themselves to any authority, but would be
led to God by pure reason. Thus adapted from the first to individual
requirements, this religion also showed itself able to appropriate from
time to time foreign elements. Originally furnished from fragments of
various religions, it could increase or diminish this possession without
rupturing its own elastic framework. And, after all, great adaptability
is just as necessary for a universal religion as a divine founder in
whom the highest revelation of God may be seen and reverenced.
Manichaeism indeed, though it applies the title "redeemer" to Mani, has
really no knowledge of a redeemer, but only of a physical and gnostic
process of redemption; on the other hand, it possesses in Mani the
supreme prophet of God. If we consider in conclusion that Manichaeism
gave a simple, apparently profound, and yet convenient solution of the
problem of good and evil, a problem that had become peculiarly
oppressive to the human race in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, we shall have
named the most important factors which account for the rapid spread of
the system.
_Sketch of the History of Manichaeism._--Manichaeism first gained a firm
footing in the East, i.e. in Persia, Mesopotamia and Transoxiana. The
persecutions it had to endure did not hinder its extension. The seat of
the Manichaean pope was for centuries in Babylon, at a later period in
Samarkand. Even after the conquests of Islam the Manichaean Church
continued to maintain itself, indeed it seems to have become still more
widely diffused by the victorious campaigns of the Mahommedans, and it
frequently gained secret adherents among the latter themselves. Its
doctrine and discipline underwent little change in the East; in
particular, it drew no nearer to the Christian religion. More than once,
however, Manichaeism experienced attempts at reformation; for of course
the _auditores_ very easily became worldly in character, and movements of
reformation led temporarily to divisions and the formation of sects.
Towards the close of the 10th century, at the time the _Fihirst_ was
written, the Manichaeans in Mesopotamia and Persia had already been in
large measure ousted from the towns, and had withdrawn to the villages.
But in Turkestan, and as far as the Chinese frontier, there existed
numerous Manichaean communities and even whole tribes that had adopted
the name of Mani. Probably it was the great migrations of the Mongolian
race that first put an end to Manichaeism in Central Asia. But even in
the 15th century there were Manichaeans living beside the
Thomas-Christians on the coast of Malabar in India (see Germann, _Die
Thomas-Christen_, 1875). Manichaeism first penetrated the Greek-Roman
Empire about the year 280, in the time of the emperor Probus (see the
_Chronicon_ of Eusebius). If we may take the edict of Diocletian against
the Manichaeans as genuine, the system must have gained a firm footing in
the West by the beginning of the 4th century, but we know that as late as
about the year 325 Eusebius had not any accurate knowledge of the sect.
It was only subsequent to about 330 that Manichaeism spread rapidly in
the Roman Empire. Its adherents were recruited on the one hand from the
old gnostic sects (especially from the Marcionites--Manichaeism exerted
besides this a strong influence on the development of the Marcionite
churches of the 4th century), on the other hand from the large number of
the "cultured," who were striving after a "rational" and yet in some
manner Christian religion. Its polemics and its criticism of the Catholic
Church now became the strong side of Manichaeism, especially in the West.
It admitted the stumbling-blocks which the Old Testament offers to every
intelligent reader, and gave itself out as a Christianity without the Old
Testament. Instead of the subtle Catholic theories concerning divine
predestination and human freedom, and instead of a difficult theodicaea,
it offered an exceedingly simple conception of sin and goodness. The
doctrine of the incarnation of God, which was especially objectionable to
those who were going over to the new universal religion from the old
cults, was not proclaimed by Manichaeism. In its rejection of this
doctrine Manichaeism agreed with Neo-Platonism; but, while the latter,
notwithstanding all its attempts to conform itself to Christianity, could
find no formula by which to inaugurate within its own limits the special
veneration of Christ, the Western Manichaeans succeeded in giving their
teaching a Christian tinge. The only part of the Manichaean mythology
that became popular was the crude, physical dualism. The barbaric
elements were judiciously screened from view as a "mystery"; they were,
indeed, here and there explicitly disavowed even by the initiated. The
farther Manichaeism advanced into the West the more Christian and
philosophic did it become. In Syria it maintained itself in comparative
purity. In North Africa it found its most numerous adherents, gaining
secret support even among the clergy. Augustine was an _auditor_ for nine
years, while Faustus was at that time the most esteemed Manichaean
teacher in the West. Augustine in his later writings against the
Manichaeans deals chiefly with the following problems: (1) the relation
between knowledge and faith, and between reason and authority; (2) the
nature of good and evil, and the origin of the latter; (3) the existence
of free will, and its relation to the divine omnipotence; (4) the
relation of the evil in the world to the divine government.
The Christian Byzantine and Roman emperors, from Valens onwards, enacted
strict laws against the Manichaeans. But at first these bore little
fruit. The _auditores_ were difficult to trace out, and besides they
really gave little occasion for persecution. In Rome itself between 370
and 440 Manichaeism gained a large amount of support, especially among
the scholars and public teachers. It also made its way into the life of
the people by means of a popular literature in which the apostles were
made to play a prominent part (_Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles_).
Manichaeism in the West had also some experience of attempts at
reformation from the ascetic side, but of these we know little. In Rome
Leo the Great was the first who took energetic measures, along with the
state authorities, against the system. Valentinian III. decreed
banishment against its adherents, Justinian the punishment of death. In
North Africa Manichaeism appears to have been extinguished by the
persecution of the Vandals. But it still continued to exist elsewhere,
both in the Byzantine Empire and in the West, and in the earlier part of
the middle ages it gave an impulse to the formation of new sects, which
remained related to it. And if it has not been quite proved that so
early as the 4th century the Priscillianists of Spain were influenced by
Manichaeism, it is at least undoubted that the Paulicians and Bogomiles,
as well as the Catharists and the Albigenses, are to be traced back to
Manichaeism (and Marcionitism). Thus the system, not indeed of Mani the
Persian, but of Manichaeism as modified by Christian influences,
accompanied the Catholic Church until the 13th century.
_Sources._--(a) Oriental. Among the sources for a history of
Manichaeism the most important are the Oriental. Of these the
Mahommedan, though of comparatively late date, are distinguished by
the excellent manner in which they have been transmitted to us, as
well as by their impartiality. They must be named first, because
ancient Manichaean writings have been used in their construction. At
the head of all stands En-Nedim, _Fihrist_ (c. 980), ed. by Flügel
(1871-1872); cf. the latter's work _Mani, seine Lehre u. seine
Schriften_ (1862). See also Shahrastani, _Kitab al-milal wan-nuhal_
(12th cent.), ed. by Cureton (1846) and translated into German by
Haarbrücker (1851), and individual notes and excerpts by Tabari (10th
cent.), Al-Biruni (11th cent.), and other Arabian and Persian
historians. Next come the Turfan fragments described in the body of
this article. See also W. Brandt, _Schriften aus der Genza oder Sidva
Rabba_ (Göttingen, 1893).
Of the Christian Orientals those that afford most information are
Ephraem Syrus (d. 373), in various writings; the Armenian Esnik
(German translation by J. M. Schmid, Vienna, 1900, see also _Zeitsch.
f. hist. Theol._, 1840, ii.; Langlois, _Collection_, ii. 375 seq.),
who wrote in the 5th century against Marcion and Mani; and the
Alexandrian patriarch Eutychius (d. 916), _Annales_, ed. Pococke
(1628). There are, besides, scattered pieces of information in
Aphraates (4th cent.), Barhebraeus (13th cent.) and others. The newly
found Syriac _Book of Scholia_ of Theodor bar Khouni (see Pognon, _Les
Coupes de Kouabir_, Paris, 1898) gives many details about Mani's
teaching (also ed. without translation by Dr M. Lewin, Berlin, 1905).
(b) Greek and Latin. The earliest mention of the Manichaeans in the
Graeco-Roman Empire is to be found in an edict of Diocletian (see
Hänel, _Cod. Gregor._, tit. xv.), which is held by some to be
spurious, while others assign it to one or other of the years 287,
290, 296, 308 (so Mason, _The Persec. of Diocl._, pp. 275 seq.).
Eusebius gives a short account of the sect (_H. E._, vii. 31). It was
the _Acta Archelai_, however, that became the principal source on the
subject of Manichaeism for Greek and Roman writers. These _Acta_ are
not indeed what they give themselves out for, viz. an account of a
disputation held between Mani and the bishop Archelaus of Cascar, in
Mesopotamia; but they nevertheless contain much that is trustworthy,
especially regarding the doctrine of Mani, and they also include
Manichaean documents. They consist of various distinct pieces, and
originated in the beginning of the 4th century, probably at Edessa.
They were translated as early as the first half of the same century
from the Syriac (as is maintained by Jerome, _De vir. illust._, 72;
though this is doubted by modern scholars) into Greek, and soon
afterwards into Latin. It is only this secondary Latin version that we
possess (ed. by C. H. Beeson; Leipzig, 1906, under title _Hegemonius
acta Archelai_); earlier editions, Zacagni (1698); Routh, _Reliquiae
sac._, vol. v. (1848); translated in Clark's _Ante-Nicene Library_,
vol. xx.; small fragments of the Greek version have been preserved.
Regarding the _Acta Archelai_, see Zittwitz in _Zeitschr. f. d.
histor. Theol._ (1873) and Oblasinski, _Acta disp. Arch. el Manetis_
(1874). In the form in which we now possess them, they are a
compilation after the pattern of the _Clementine Homilies_, and have
been subjected to manifold redactions. These _Acta_ were used by Cyril
of Jerusalem (_Catech._ 6), Epiphanius (_Haer._ 66), and a great
number of other writers. All the Greek and Latin heresiologists have
included the Manichaeans in their catalogues; but they seldom adduce
any independent information regarding them (see Theodoret, _Haer.
fab._ i. 26). Important matter is to be found in the resolutions of
the councils from the 4th century onwards (see Mansi, _Acta concil._,
and Hefele, _Conciliengeschichte_, vols. i.-iii.), and also in the
controversial writings of Titus of Bostra (6th century), [Greek: Pros
Manichaious] (ed. Lagarde, 1859), and of Alexander of Lycopolis
[Greek: Logos pros tas Manichaiou doxas] (ed. Combefis; transl. in
_Ante-Nic. Lib._, vol. xiv.). Of the Byzantines, the most worthy of
mention are John of Damascus (_De haeres._ and _Dialog._) and Photius
(_cod._ 179 _Biblioth._). The struggle with the Paulicians and the
Bogomiles, who were often simply identified with the Manichaeans,
again directed attention to the latter. In the West the works of
Augustine are the great repertory for information on the subject of
Manichaeism (_Contra epistolam Manichaei, quam vocant fundamenti_;
_Contra Faustum Manichaeum_; _Contra Fortunatum_; _Contra Adimantum_;
_Contra Secundinum_; _De actis cum Felice Manichaeo_; _De genesi c.
Manichaeos_; _De natura boni_; _De duabus animabus_; _De utilitate
credendi_; _De moribus eccl. cathol. et de moribus Manichaeorum_; _De
haeres._). The more complete the picture, however, which may here be
obtained of Manichaeism, the more cautious must we be in making
generalizations from it, for it is beyond doubt that Western
Manichaeism adopted Christian elements which are wanting in the
original and in the Oriental Manichaeism. The "Dispute of Paul the
Persian with a Manichaean" in Migne _P.G._, 88, col. 529-578 (first
ed. by A. Mai) is shown by G. Mercati, _Studi e testi_ (Rome, 1901) to
be the _procès verbal_ of an actual discussion held under Justinian at
Constantinople in 527.
LITERATURE.--The most important works on Manichaeism are Beausobre,
_Hist. critique de Manichée et du Manichéisme_ (2 vols., 1734 seq.;
the Christian elements in Manichaeism are here strongly, indeed too
strongly, emphasized); Baur, _Das manich. Religionssystem_ (1831; in
this work Manichaean speculation is exhibited from a speculative
standpoint); Flügel, _Mani_ (1862; a very careful investigation on the
basis of the _Fihrist_); Kessler, _Untersuchung zur Genesis des
manich. Religionssystems_ (1876); and the article "Mani, Manichäer,"
by the same writer in Herzog-Hauck's _R.E._, xii. 193-228; Kessler,
_Mani_ (2 vols., Berlin, 1889, 1903); Ernest Rochat, _Essai sur Mani
et sa doctrine_ (Geneva, 1897); _Recherches sur le manichéisme: I. La
cosmogonie manichéisme d'après Théodore Bar Khôui_, by Franz Cumont
(Brussels, 1908); _II. Fragments syriaques d'ouvrages manichéens_, by
Kugener and F. Cumont. _III. Les Formules grecques d'abjuration
imposées aux manichéens_, by F. Cumont. The accounts of Mosheim,
Lardner, Walch and Schröckh, as well as the monograph by Trechsel,
_Ueber Kanon, Kritik und Exegese der Manichäer_ (1832), may also be
mentioned as still useful. The various researches which have been made
regarding Parsism, the ancient Semitic religions, Gnosticism, &c., are
of the greatest importance for the investigation of Manichaeism.
(A. Ha.; F. C. C.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A [Greek: biblion epistolôn] is spoken of in the formula of
abjuration, and an _Epistola ad virginem Menoch_ by Augustine.
Fabricius has collected the "Greek Fragments of Manichaean Epistles"
in his _Bibliotheca Graeca_ (vii. 311 seq.).
[2] The _Canticum amatorium_ is cited by Augustine.
[3] Zittwitz assumes that this epistle was in its original form of
much larger extent, and that the author of the _Acts_ took out of it
the matter for the speeches which he makes Mani deliver during his
disputation with Bishop Archelaus. The same scholar traces back the
account by Turbo in the _Acts_, and the historical data given in the
fourth section, to the writings of Turbo, a Mesopotamian, who is
assumed to have been a Manichaean renegade and a Christian. But as to
this difference of opinion is at least allowable.
[4] Analogous to this is the veneration in which the Catholic monks
and the Neoplatonic "philosophers" were held; but the prestige of the
Manichaean _electi_ was greater than that of the monks and the
philosophers.
MANIFEST (Lat. _manifestus_, clear, open to view), in commercial law, a
document delivered to the officer of customs by the captain of a ship
before leaving port, giving a description of the shipped goods of every
kind, and setting forth the marks, numbers and descriptions of the
packages and the names of the consignors thereof. In England, by the
Revenue Act 1884, s. 3, where goods are exported for which no bond is
required, a manifest must be delivered to the officer of customs by the
master or owner of the ship within six days after the final clearance,
or a declaration in lieu thereof, the penalty in default being a sum not
exceeding five pounds.
MANIHIKI (MANAHIKI, MONAHIKI), a scattered archipelago in the central
Pacific Ocean, between 4° and 11° S., and 150° and 162° W., seldom
visited, and producing only a little copra and guano. It may be taken to
include the Caroline or Thornton Islands, Vostok and Flint to the east;
Suvarov, Manihiki or Humphrey, and Tongareva or Penrhyn to the west, and
Starbuck and Malden to the north, the whole thus roughly forming the
three corners of a triangle. There are pearl and pearl-shell fisheries
at Tongareva and Suvarov. The natives (about 1000) are Polynesians and
nominally Christian. There are ancient stone buildings of former
inhabitants on Malden Island. The islands were mostly discovered early
in the 19th century, and were annexed by Great Britain mainly in
1888-1889.
MANIKIALA, a village of India, in Rawalpindi district of the Punjab.
Pop. (1901), 734. It contains one of the largest _stupas_ or Buddhist
memorial shrines in N. India, and the one first known to Europeans, who
early detected traces of Greek influence in the sculpture. The _stupa_
was excavated by General Court in 1834, and has been identified by Sir
A. Cunningham with the scene of Buddha's "body-offering."
MANILA, the capital city and principal port of the Philippine Islands,
situated on the W. coast of the island of Luzon, on the E. shore of
Manila Bay, at the mouth of the Pasig river, in lat. 14° 35´ 31´´ N.,
and in long. 120° 58´ 8´´ E. It is about 4890 m. W.S.W. of Honolulu,
6990 m. W.S.W. of San Francisco, 628 m. S.E. of Hong-Kong, and 1630 m.
S. by W. of Yokohama. Pop. (1876), 93,595; (1887), 176,777; (1903),
219,928. Of the total population in 1903, 185,351 were of the brown
race, 21,838 were of the yellow race, 7943 were of the white race, and
232 were of the black race (230 of those of this race were
foreign-born), and 4564 were of mixed races; of the same total 131,659,
or nearly 60% were males. The foreign-born in 1903 numbered 29,491,
comprising 21,083 natives of China, 4300 natives of the United States of
America, 2065 natives of Spain, and 721 natives of Japan. Nearly all of
the brown race were native-born, and 80.6% of them were Tagalogs.
The city covers an area of about 20 sq. m. of low ground, through which
flow the Pasig river and several _esteros_, or tidewater creeks. To the
west is the broad expanse of Manila Bay, beyond which are the rugged
Mariveles Mountains; to the eastward the city extends about half-way to
Laguna de Bay, a lake nearly as large as Manila Bay and surrounded on
three sides by mountains. On the south bank of the Pasig and fronting
the bay for nearly a mile is the "Ancient City," or Intramuros, enclosed
by walls 2½ m. long, with a maximum height of 25 ft., built about 1590.
Formerly a moat flanked the city on the land sides, and a drawbridge at
each of six gates was raised every night. But this practice was
discontinued in 1852 and the moat was filled with earth in 1905. In the
north-west angle of the walled enclosure stands Fort Santiago, which was
built at the same time as the walls to defend the entrance to the river;
the remaining space is occupied largely by a fine cathedral, churches,
convents, schools, and government buildings. Outside the walls the
modern city has been formed by the union of several towns whose names
are still retained as the names of districts. The Pasig river is crossed
by two modern steel cantilever bridges. Near the north-east angle of
Intramuros is the Bridge of Spain, a stone structure across the Pasig,
leading to Binondo, the principal shopping and financial district; here
is the Escolta, the most busy thoroughfare of the city, and the Rosario,
noted for its Chinese shops. Between Binondo and the bay is San
Nicholas, with the United States custom-house and large shipping
interests. North of San Nicholas is Tondo, the most densely populated
district; in the suburbs, outside the fire limits, the greater part of
the inhabitants live in native houses of bamboo frames roofed and sided
with nipa palm, and the thoroughfares consist of narrow streets and
navigable streams. Paco, south-west of Intramuros, has some large cigar
factories, and a large cemetery where the dead are buried in niches in
two concentric circular walls. Ermita and Malate along the bay in the
south part of the city, San Miguel on the north bank of the river above
Intramuros, and Sampaloc farther north, are the more attractive
residential districts.
Most of the white inhabitants live in Ermita and Malate, or in San
Miguel, where there are several handsome villas along the river front,
among them that of the governor-general of the Philippines. The better
sort of houses in Manila have two storeys, the lower one built of
brick or stone and the upper one of wood, roofed with red Spanish tile
or with corrugated iron; the upper storey contains the living-rooms,
and the lower has servants' rooms, storehouses, stables,
carriage-houses and poultry yards. On account of the warm climate the
cornices are wide, the upper storey projects over the lower, and the
outer walls are fitted with sliding frames. Translucent oyster shells
are a common substitute for glass; and the walls are white-washed, but
on account of the frequency of earthquakes are not plastered. More
than one half of the dwellings in the city are mere shacks or nipa
huts. Few of the public buildings are attractive or imposing. There
are, however, some churches with graceful towers and beautiful façades
and a few attractive monuments; among the latter are one standing on
the Magellan Plaza (Plaza or Paseo de Magellanes) beside the Pasig, to
the memory of Ferdinand Magellan, the discoverer of the islands; and
another by A. Querol on the shore of the bay, to the memory of Don
Miguel de Legaspi (d. 1572), the founder of the Spanish city, and of
Andres de Urdaneta (1498-1568), the Augustinian friar who accompanied
Legaspi to Cebu (but not to what is now Manila).
Many improvements have been made in and about the city since the
American occupation in 1898. The small tram-cars drawn by native ponies
have been replaced by a modern American electric street-railway service,
and the railway service to and from other towns on the island of Luzon
has been extended; in 1908, 267 m. were open to traffic and 400 m. were
under construction. Connected with Manila by electric railway is Fort
William McKinley, a U.S. army post in the hills five miles away,
quartering about 3000 men. The scheme for dredging some of the _esteros_
in order to make them more navigable and for filling in others has been
in part executed. But the greatest improvement affecting transportation
is the construction of a safe and deep harbour. Although Manila Bay is
nearly landlocked, it is so large that in times of strong winds it
becomes nearly as turbulent as the open sea, and it was formerly so
shallow that vessels drawing more than 16 ft. could approach no nearer
than two miles to the shore, where typhoons of the south-west monsoon
not infrequently obliged them to lie several days before they could be
unloaded. Two long jetties or breakwaters have now been constructed,
about 350 acres of harbour area have been dredged to a depth of 30 ft.,
and two wharves of steel and concrete, one 600 ft. long and 70 ft. wide,
and the other 650 ft. long and 110 ft. wide, were in process of
construction in 1909. The Pasig river has been dredged up to the Bridge
of Spain to a depth of 18 ft. and from the Bridge of Spain to Laguna de
Bay to a depth of 6 ft. The construction of the harbour was begun about
1880 by the Spanish government, but the work was less than one-third
completed when the Americans took possession. Among other American
improvements were: an efficient fire department, a sewer system whereby
the sewage by means of pumps is discharged into the bay more than a mile
from the shore; a system of gravity waterworks (1908) whereby the city's
water supply is taken from the Mariquina river about 23 m. from the city
into a storage reservoir which has a capacity of 2,000,000,000 gallons
and is 212 ft. above the sea; the extension of the Luneta, the principal
pleasure-ground; a boulevard for several miles along the bay; a
botanical garden; and new market buildings.
_Climate._--Manila has a spring and summer hot season, an autumn and
winter cooler season, a summer and autumn rainy season, and a winter
and spring dry season. For the twenty years 1883-1902 the annual
average of mean monthly temperatures was 26.8° C., the maximum being
27.4° in 1889 and 1897, and the minimum 26.2° in 1884. From May until
October the prevailing wind is south-east, from November to January it
is north, and from February to April it is east. July and August are
the cloudiest months of the year; the average number of rainy days in
each of those months being 21, and in February or March only 3. The
annual average of rainy days is 138: 94 in the wet season (average
precipitation for the six months, 1556.3 mm.) and 44 in the dry season
(average precipitation for the six dry months, 382 mm.). Thunderstorms
are frequent and occasionally very severe, between May and September;
the annual average of thunderstorms for the decennium 1888-1897 was
505, the greatest frequency was in May (average 100.3) and in June
(average 90.7); the severity of these storms may be imagined from the
fact that in a half-hour between 5 and 6 P.M. on the 21st of May 1892
the fall (probably the maximum) was 60 mm. The air is very damp: for
the period 1883-1902 the annual average of humidity was 79.4%, the
lowest average for any one month was 66.6% in April 1896 (the average
for the twenty Aprils was 70.7), and the highest average for any one
month was 89.9% for September 1897 (the average for the twenty
Septembers was 85.5). The city is so situated as to be affected by
shocks from all the various seismological centres of Luzon, especially
those from the active volcano Taal, 35 m. south of the city. At the
Manila observatory, about 1 m. south-east of the walled city, the
number of perceptible earthquakes registered by seismograph between
1880 and 1897 inclusive was 221; the greatest numbers for any one year
were 26 in 1882 and 23 in 1892, and the least, 5 in 1896 and 6 in 1889
and in 1894; the average number in each May was 1.44, in each July,
1.33, and in January and in February 0.72; the frequency is much
greater in each of the spring summer months (except June, average
0.78) than in the months of autumn and winter.
_Public Institutions._--The public school system of Manila includes,
besides the common schools and Manila high school, the American
school, the Philippine normal school (1901), the Philippine school of
arts and trades (1901), the Philippine medical school (1907) and the
Philippine school of commerce (1908). The Philippine government also
maintains here a bureau of science which publishes the monthly
_Philippine Journal of Science_, and co-operates with the Jesuits in
maintaining, in Ermita, the Manila observatory (meteorological,
seismological and astronomical), which is one of the best equipped
institutions of the kind in the East. The royal and pontifical
university of St Thomas Aquinas (generally known as the university of
Santo Tomas) was founded in 1857 with faculties of theology, law,
philosophy, science, medicine and pharmacy, and grew out of a
seminary, for the foundation of which Philip II. of Spain gave a grant
in 1585, and which opened in 1601; and of the Dominican college of St
Thomas, dating from 1611. Other educational institutions are the
(Dominican) San José medical and pharmaceutical college, San Juan de
Letrán (Dominican), which is a primary and secondary school, the
ateneo municipal, a corresponding secondary and primary school under
the charge of the Jesuits, and the college of St Isabel, a girls'
school. In 1908 there were thirty-four newspapers and periodicals
published in the city, of which thirteen were Spanish, fourteen were
English, two were Chinese, and five were Tagalog; the principal
dailies were the _Manila Times_, _Cablenews American_, _El Comercio_,
_El Libertas_, _El Mercantil_, _El Renacimiento_ and _La Democracia_.
There are several Spanish hospitals in Manila, in two of which the
city's indigent sick are cared for at its expense; in connexion with
another a reform school is maintained; and there are a general
hospital, built by the government, a government hospital for
contagious diseases, a government hospital for government employees, a
government hospital for lepers, an army hospital, a free dispensary
and hospital supported by American philanthropists, St Paul's hospital
(Roman Catholic), University hospital (Protestant Episcopal), and the
Mary Johnson hospital (Methodist Episcopal). There are several
American Protestant churches in the city, notably a Protestant
Episcopal cathedral and training schools for native teachers. In
Bibilid prison, in the Santa Cruz district, nearly 80% of the
prisoners of the archipelago are confined; it is under the control of
the department of public instruction and its inmates are given an
opportunity to learn one or more useful trades.
_Trade and Industry._--Manila is important chiefly for its commerce,
and to make it the chief distributing point for American goods
consigned to Eastern markets the American government undertook the
harbour improvements, and abolished the tonnage dues levied under
Spanish rule. Manila is the greatest hemp market in the world; 110,399
tons, valued at $19,444,769, were exported from the archipelago in
1906, almost all being shipped from Manila. Other important exports
are sugar, copra and tobacco. The imports represent a great variety of
food stuffs and manufactured articles. In 1906 the total value of the
exports was $23,902,986 and the total value of the imports was
$21,868,257. The coastwise trade is large. The principal manufactures
are tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, malt liquors, distilled liquors,
cotton fabrics, clothing, ice, lumber, foundry and machine shop
products, carriages, waggons, furniture and boots and shoes. There is
some ship and boat building. Lumber is sawed by steam power, and
cotton mills in the Tondo district are operated by steam. In the
foundries and machine shops small engines, boilers and church bells
are made, and the government maintains an ice and cold-storage plant.
With these exceptions manufacturing is in a rather primitive state.
Another industry of importance, especially in the district of Tondo,
is fishing, and the city's markets are well supplied with many
varieties of choice fish.
_Administration._--Manila is governed under a charter enacted in 1901 by
the Philippine commission, and amended in 1903. This vests the
legislative and administrative authority mainly in a municipal board of
five members, of whom three are appointed by the governor of the
Philippines by the advice and with the consent of the Philippine
commission, and the others are the president of the advisory board and
the city engineer. The administration is divided into eight departments:
engineering and public works; sewer and waterworks construction;
sanitation and transportation; assessments and collections; police,
fire, law and schools. There are no elective offices, but there is an
advisory board, appointed by the governor and consisting of one member
from each of eleven districts; its recommendations the municipal board
must seek on all important matters. The administration of justice is
vested in a municipal court and in one court under justices of the peace
and auxiliary justices; the administration of school affairs is vested
in a special board of six members; and matters pertaining to health are
administered by the insular bureau of health.
_History._--The Spanish city of Manila (named from "nilad," a weed or
bush which grew in the locality) was founded by Legaspi in 1571. The
site had been previously occupied by a town under a Mahommedan
chieftain, but this town had been burned before Legaspi gained
possession, although a native settlement still remained, within the
present district of Tondo. In 1572, while its fortifications were still
slight, the Spanish city was attacked and was nearly captured by a force
of Chinese pirates who greatly outnumbered the Spaniards. About 1590 the
construction of the present walls and other defences was begun. At the
beginning of the 17th century Manila had become the commercial
metropolis of the Far East. To it came fleets from China, Japan, India,
Malacca and other places in the Far East for an exchange of wares, and
from it rich cargoes were sent by way of Mexico to the mother country in
exchange for much cheaper goods. Before the close of the century,
however, a decline began, from which there was but little recovery under
Spanish rule. Several causes contributed to this, among them the waning
of the power of Spain, an exclusive commercial policy, dishonest
administration, hostilities with the Chinese, ravages of the Malay
pirates, and the growth of Dutch commerce. On several occasions the city
has been visited with destructive earthquakes; those of 1645 and 1863
were especially disastrous. In 1762, during war between England and
Spain, an English force under Vice-Admiral Sir Samuel Cornish (d. 1770)
and Lieut.-General Sir William Draper (1721-1787) breached the walls and
captured the city, but by the Treaty of Paris (1763) it was returned to
Spain. In 1837 the port of Manila was opened to foreign trade, and there
was a steady but slow increase in prosperity up to about 1890. During
this period, however, progress was hampered by vested interests, and the
spirit of rebellion among the natives became increasingly threatening.
About 1892 a large number of Filipinos in and near Manila formed a
secret association whose object was independence and separation from
Spain. In August 1896 members of this association began an attack; and
late in December the movement was reinforced as a result of the
execution in Manila of Dr José Rizal y Mercado (1861-1896), a Filipino
patriot. It spread to the provinces, and was only in part suppressed
when, in April 1898, the United States declared war against Spain. On
the 1st of May an American fleet under Commodore George Dewey destroyed
the Spanish fleet stationed in Manila Bay (see SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR).
The smouldering Filipino revolt then broke out afresh and an American
army under General Wesley Merritt (1836- ) was sent from San Francisco
to assist in capturing the city. The Spaniards, after making a rather
weak defence, surrendered it on the 13th of August 1898. Trouble now
arose between the Americans and the Filipinos under the leadership of
Emilio Aguinaldo, for the latter wished to establish a government of
their own. On the night of the 4th of February 1899 the Filipinos
attacked the American army which was defending the city, but were
repulsed after suffering a heavy loss. A military government, however,
was maintained in the city until August 1901.
MANILA HEMP, the most valuable of all fibres for cordage, the produce of
the leaf-stalks of _Musa textilis_, a native of the Philippine Islands.
The plant, called _abacá_ by the islanders, throws up a spurious stem
from its underground rootstocks, consisting of a cluster of sheathing
leaf-stalks, which rise to a height of from 15 to 25 ft. and spread out
into a crown of huge undivided leaves characteristic of the various
species of _Musa_ (plantain, banana, &c.). From 12 to 20 clusters are
developed on each rhizome. In its native regions the plant is rudely
cultivated solely as a source of fibre; it requires little attention,
and when about three years old develops flowers on a central stem, at
which stage it is in the most favourable condition for yielding fibre.
The stock is then cut down, and the sheathing stalks are torn asunder
and reduced to small strips. These strips in their fresh succulent
condition are drawn between a knife-edged instrument and a hard wooden
block to which it is fixed. The knife is kept in contact with the block
except when lifted to introduce the ribbons. Sufficient weight is
suspended to the end of the knife to keep back all pith when the
operator is drawing forward the ribbon between the block and knife. By
repeated scraping in this way the soft cellular matter which surrounds
the fibre is removed, and the fibre so cleaned has only to be hung up to
dry in the open air, when, without further treatment, it is ready for
use. Each stock yields, on an average, a little under 1 lb. of fibre;
and two natives cutting down plants and separating fibre will prepare
not more than 25 lb. per day. The fibre yielded by the outer layer of
leaf-stalks is hard, fully developed and strong, and used for cordage,
but the produce of the inner stalks is increasingly thin, fine and weak.
The finer fibre is used by the natives, without spinning or twisting
(the ends of the single fibres being knotted or gummed together), for
making exceedingly fine, light and transparent yet comparatively strong
textures, which they use as articles of dress and ornament. According to
Warden, "muslin and grass-cloth are made from the finest fibres of
Manila hemp, and some of them are so fine that a garment made of them
may, it is said, be enclosed in the hollow of the hand." In Europe,
especially in France, articles of clothing, such as shirts, veils,
neckerchiefs and women's hats, are made from _abacá_. It is also used
for matting and twines. It is of a light colour, very lustrous, and
possesses great strength, being thus exceptionally suitable for the best
class of ropes. It is extensively used for marine and other cordage. The
hemp exported for cordage purposes is a somewhat woody fibre, of a
bright brownish-white colour, and possessing great durability and
strain-resisting power. The strength of Manila hemp compared with
English hemp is indicated by the fact that a Manila rope 3¼ in. in
circumference and 2 fathoms long stood a strain of 4669 lb. before
giving way, while a similar rope of English hemp broke with 3885 lb. The
fibre contains a very considerable amount of adherent pectinous matter,
and in its so-called dry condition an unusually large proportion, as
much as 12% of water. In a damp atmosphere the fibre absorbs moisture so
freely that it has been found to contain not less than 40% of water, a
circumstance which dealers in the raw fibre should bear in mind. From
the old and disintegrated ropes is made the well-known manila paper. The
plant has been introduced into tropical lands--the West Indies, India,
Borneo, &c.--but only in the Philippines has the fibre been successfully
produced as an article of commerce. It is distributed throughout the
greater part of the Philippine Archipelago. The area of successful
cultivation lies approximately between 6° and 15° N. and 121° and 126°
E.; it may be successfully cultivated up to about 4000 ft. above
sea-level. The provinces, or islands, where cultivation is most
successful are those with a heavy and evenly distributed rainfall. H. T.
Edwards, fibre expert to the Philippine bureau of agriculture, wrote in
1904:--
"The opportunities for increasing the production of _abacá_ in the
Philippines are almost unlimited. Enormous areas of good _abacá_ land
are as yet untouched, while the greater part of land already under
cultivation might yield a greatly increased product if more careful
attention were given to the various details of cultivation. The
introduction of irrigation will make possible the planting of _abacá_
in many districts where it is now unknown. The _perfection_ of a
machine for the extraction of the fibre will increase the entire
output by nearly one-third, as this amount is now lost by the wasteful
hand-stripping process."
Hitherto, while numerous attempts have been made to extract the fibre
with machinery, some obstacle has always prevented the general use of
the process. The exports have increased with great rapidity, as shown by
the following table:--
1870 31,426 tons.
1880 50,482 "
1890 67,864 "
1900 89,438 "
1904 121,637 "
In 1901 the value of the export was $14,453,410, or 62.3% of the total
exports from the Philippines. The fibre is now so valuable that Manila
hemp cordage is freely adulterated by manufacturers, chiefly by
admixture of phormium (New Zealand flax) and Russian hemp.
MANILIUS, a Roman poet, author of a poem in five books called
_Astronomica_. The author is neither quoted nor mentioned by any ancient
writer. Even his name is uncertain, but it was probably Marcus Manilius;
in the earlier MSS. the author is anonymous, the later give Manilius,
Manlius, Mallius. The poem itself implies that the writer lived under
Augustus or Tiberius, and that he was a citizen of and resident in Rome.
According to R. Bentley he was an Asiatic Greek; according to F. Jacob
an African. His work is one of great learning; he had studied his
subject in the best writers, and generally represents the most advanced
views of the ancients on astronomy (or rather astrology). He frequently
imitates Lucretius, whom he resembles in earnestness and originality and
in the power of enlivening the dry bones of his subject. Although his
diction presents some peculiarities, the style is metrically correct.
Firmicus, who wrote in the time of Constantine, exhibits so many points
of resemblance with the work of Manilius that he must either have used
him or have followed some work that Manilius also followed. As Firmicus
says that hardly any Roman except Caesar, Cicero and Fronto had treated
the subject, it is probable that he did not know the work of Manilius.
The latest event referred to in the poem (i. 898) is the great defeat of
Varus by Arminius in the Teutoburgiensis Saltus (A.D. 9). The fifth book
was not written till the reign of Tiberius; the work appears to be
incomplete, and was probably never published.
See editions by J. Scaliger (1579); R. Bentley (1739); F. Jacob
(1846); A. G. Pingré (1786); and T. Breiter (Leipzig, 1907; and
commentary 1909); of book i. by A. E. Housman (1903). On the subject
generally see M. Bechert, _De emendandi Manilii Ratione_ (1878) and
_De M. M. Astronomicorum Poeta_ (1891); B. Freier, _De M. Astronom.
Aetate_ (1880); A. Cramer, _De Manilii Elocutione_ (very full; 1882);
G. Lanson, _De Manilio Poeta_, with select bibliog. (1887); P.
Monceaux, _Les Africains_ (a study of the Latin literature of Africa;
1894); R. Ellis, _Noctes Manilianae_ (1891); J. P. Postgate, _Silva
Maniliana_ (1897), chiefly on textual questions; P. Thomas,
_Lucubrationes Manilianae_ (1888), a collation of the Gemblacensis
(Gembloux) MS.; F. Plessis, _La Poesie latine_ (1909), pp. 477-483.
MANILIUS, GAIUS, Roman tribune of the people in 66 B.C. At the beginning
of his year of office (Dec. 67) he succeeded in getting a law passed
(_de libertinorum suffragiis_), which gave freedmen the privilege of
voting together with those who had manumitted them, that is, in the same
tribe as their patroni; this law, however, was almost immediately
declared null and void by the senate. Both parties in the state were
offended by the law, and Manilius endeavoured to secure the support of
Pompey by proposing to confer upon him the command of the war against
Mithradates with unlimited power (see POMPEY). The proposal was
supported by Cicero in his speech, _Pro lege Manilia_, and carried
almost unanimously. Manilius was later accused by the aristocratical
party on some unknown charge and defended by Cicero. He was probably
convicted, but nothing further is heard of him.
See Cicero's speech; Dio Cassius xxxvi. 25-27; Plutarch, _Pompey_, 30;
Vell. Pat. ii. 33; art. ROME: _History_, § II.
MANIN, DANIELE (1804-1857), Venetian patriot and statesman, was born in
Venice, on the 13th of May 1804. He was the son of a converted Jew, who
took the name of Manin because that patrician family stood sponsors to
him, as the custom then was. He studied law at Padua, and then practised
at the bar of his native city. A man of great learning and a profound
jurist, he was inspired from an early age with a deep hatred for
Austria. The heroic but foolhardy attempt of the brothers Bandiera,
Venetians who had served in the Austrian navy against the Neapolitan
Bourbons in 1844, was the first event to cause an awakening of Venetian
patriotism, and in 1847 Manin presented a petition to the Venetian
congregation, a shadowy consultative assembly tolerated by Austria but
without any power, informing the emperor of the wants of the nation. He
was arrested on a charge of high treason (Jan. 18, 1848), but this only
served to increase the agitation of the Venetians, who were beginning to
know and love Manin. Two months later, when all Italy and half the rest
of Europe were in the throes of revolution, the people forced Count
Palffy, the Austrian governor, to release him (March 17). The Austrians
soon lost all control of the city, the arsenal was seized by the
revolutionists, and under the direction of Manin a civic guard and a
provisional government were instituted. The Austrians evacuated Venice
on the 26th of March, and Manin became president of the Venetian
republic. He was already in favour of Italian unity, and though not
anxious for annexation to Piedmont (he would have preferred to invoke
French aid), he gave way to the will of the majority, and resigned his
powers to the Piedmontese commissioners on the 7th of August. But after
the Piedmontese defeats in Lombardy, and the armistice by which King
Charles Albert abandoned Lombardy and Venetia to Austria, the Venetians
attempted to lynch the royal commissioners, whose lives Manin saved with
difficulty; an assembly was summoned, and a triumvirate formed with
Manin at its head. Towards the end of 1848 the Austrians, having been
heavily reinforced, reoccupied all the Venetian mainland; but the
citizens, hard-pressed and threatened with a siege, showed the greatest
devotion to the cause of freedom, all sharing in the dangers and
hardships and all giving what they could afford to the state treasury.
Early in 1849 Manin was again chosen president of the republic, and
conducted the defence of the city with great ability. After the defeat
of Charles Albert's forlorn hope at Novara in March the Venetian
assembly voted "Resistance at all costs!" and granted Manin unlimited
powers. Meanwhile the Austrian forces closed round the city; but Manin
showed an astonishing power of organization, in which he was ably
seconded by the Neapolitan general, Guglielmo Pepe. But on the 26th of
May the Venetians were forced to abandon Fort Malghera, half-way between
the city and the mainland; food was becoming scarce, on the 19th of June
the powder magazine blew up, and in July cholera broke out. Then the
Austrian batteries began to bombard Venice itself, and when the
Sardinian fleet withdrew from the Adriatic the city was also attacked by
sea, while certain demagogues caused internal trouble. At last, on the
24th of August 1849, when all provisions and ammunition were exhausted,
Manin, who had courted death in vain, succeeded in negotiating an
honourable capitulation, on terms of amnesty to all save Manin himself,
Pepe and some others, who were to go into exile. On the 27th Manin left
Venice for ever on board a French ship. His wife died at Marseilles, and
he himself reached Paris broken in health and almost destitute, having
spent all his fortune for Venice. In Paris he maintained himself by
teaching and became a leader among the Italian exiles. There he became a
convert from republicanism to monarchism, being convinced that only
under the auspices of King Victor Emmanuel could Italy be freed, and
together with Giorgio Pallavicini and Giuseppe La Farina he founded the
_Società Nazionale Italiana_ with the object of propagating the idea of
unity under the Piedmontese monarchy. His last years were embittered by
the terrible sufferings of his daughter, who died in 1854, and he
himself died on the 22nd of September 1857, and was buried in Ary
Scheffer's family tomb. In 1868, two years after the Austrians finally
departed from Venice, his remains were brought to his native city and
honoured with a public funeral. Manin was a man of the greatest honesty,
and possessed genuinely statesmanlike qualities. He believed in Italian
unity when most men, even Cavour, regarded it as a vain thing, and his
work of propaganda by means of the National Society greatly contributed
to the success of the cause.
See A. Errera, _Vita di D. Manin_ (Venice, 1872); P. de la Farge,
_Documents, &c., de D. Manin_ (Paris, 1860); Henri Martin, _D. Manin_
(Paris, 1859); V. Marchesi, _Settant' anni della storia di Venezia_
(Turin) and an excellent monograph in Countess Martinengo Cesaresco's
_Italian Characters_ (London, 1901).
MANING, FREDERICK EDWARD (1812-1883), New Zealand judge and author, son
of Frederick Maning, of Johnville, county Dublin, was born on the 5th of
July 1812. His father emigrated to Tasmania in the ship "Ardent" in 1824
and took up a grant of land there. Young Maning served in the fatuous
expedition which attempted to drive in the Tasmanian blacks by sweeping
with an unbroken line of armed men across the island. Soon afterwards he
decided to try the life of a trader among the wild tribes of New
Zealand, and, landing in the beautiful inlet of Hokianga in 1833, took
up his abode among the Ngapuhi. With them the tall Irish lad--he stood 6
ft. 3 in.--full of daring and good-humour and as fond of fun as of
fighting, quickly became a prime favourite, was adopted into the tribe,
married a chief's daughter, and became a "Pakeha-Maori" (foreigner
turned Maori). With the profits of his trading he bought a farm of 200
acres on the Hokianga, for which, unlike most white adventurers of the
time, he paid full value. When New Zealand was peacefully annexed in
1840, Maning's advice to the Maori was against the arrangement, but from
the moment of annexation he became a loyal friend to the government, and
in the wars of 1845-46 his influence was exerted with effect in the
settlers' favour. Again, in 1860, he persuaded the Ngapuhi to volunteer
to put down the insurrection in Taranaki. Finally, at the end of 1865,
he entered the public service as a judge of the native lands court,
where his unequalled knowledge of the Maori language, customs,
traditions and prejudices was of solid value. In this office he served
until 1881, when ill-health drove him to resign, and two years later to
seek surgical aid in London, where, however, he died of cancer on the
25th of July 1883. At his wish, his body was taken back to New Zealand
and buried there. A bust of him is placed in the public library at
Auckland. Maning is chiefly remembered as the author of two short books,
_Old New Zealand and History of the War in the North of New Zealand
against the Chief Heké_. Both books were reprinted in London in 1876 and
1884, with an introduction by the earl of Pembroke.
MANIPLE (Lat. _manipulus_, from _manus_, hand, and _plere_, to fill), a
liturgical vestment of the Catholic Church, proper to all orders from
the subdeacon upwards. It is a narrow strip of material, silk or
half-silk, about a yard long, worn on the left fore-arm in such a way
that the ends hang down to an equal length on either side. In order to
secure it, it is sometimes tied on with strings attached underneath,
sometimes provided with a hole in the lining through which the arm is
passed. It is ornamented with three crosses, one in the centre and one
at each end, that in the centre being obligatory, and is often
elaborately embroidered. It is the special ensign of the office of
subdeacon, and at the ordination is placed on the arm of the new
subdeacon by the bishop with the words: "Take the maniple, the symbol of
the fruit of good works."[1] It is strictly a "mass vestment," being
worn, with certain exceptions (e.g. by a subdeacon singing the Gospel at
the service of blessing the palms), only at Mass, by the celebrant and
the ministers assisting.
The most common name for the maniple up to the beginning of the 11th
century in the Latin Church was _mappula_ (dim. of _mappa_, cloth), the
Roman name for the vestment until the time of Innocent III. The
designation _manipulus_ did not come into general use until the 15th
century. Father Braun (_Liturg. Gewandung_, p. 517) gives other early
medieval names: _sudanum_, _fano_, _mantile_, all of them meaning
"cloth" or "handkerchief." He traces the vestment ultimately to a white
linen cloth of ceremony (_pallium linostinum_) worn in the 4th century
by the Roman clergy over the left arm, and peculiar at that time to
them. Its ultimate origin is obscure, but is probably traceable to some
ceremonial handkerchiefs commonly carried by Roman dignitaries, e.g.
those with which the magistrates were wont to signal the opening of the
games of the circus. As late as the 9th century, indeed, the maniple was
still a handkerchief, held folded in the left hand. By what process it
became changed into a narrow strip is not known; the earliest extant
specimen of the band-like maniple is that found in the grave of St
Cuthbert (9th century); by the 11th century (except in the case of
subdeacons, whose maniples would seem to have continued for a while to
be cloths in practical use) the maniple had universally assumed its
present general form and purely ceremonial character.
The maniple was originally carried in the left hand. In pictures of the
9th, 10th and 11th centuries it is represented as either so carried or
as hung over the left fore-arm. By the 12th century the rule according
to which it is worn over the left arm had been universally accepted.
According to present usage the maniple is put on by priests after the
alb and girdle; by deacons and subdeacons after the dalmatic or tunicle;
by bishops at the altar after the _Confiteor_, except at masses for the
dead, when it is assumed before the stole.[2]
In the East the maniple in its Western form is known only to the
Armenians, where it is peculiar to subdeacons. This vestment is not
derived from the Roman rite, but is properly a stole, which the
subdeacons used to carry in the left hand. It is now laid over the
subdeacon's left arm at ordination. The true equivalent of the maniple
(in the Greek and Armenian rites only) is not, as has been assumed, the
_epimanikion_, a sort of loose, embroidered cuff (see VESTMENTS), but
the _epigonation_. This is a square of silk, stiffened with cardboard,
surrounded by an embroidered border, and usually decorated in the
middle with a cross or a sword (the "sword of the Spirit," which it is
supposed to symbolize); sometimes, however, the space within the border
is embroidered with pictures. It is worn only by bishops and the higher
clergy, and derives its name from the fact that it hangs down over the
knee ([Greek: gony]). It is worn on the right side, under the
_phelonion_, but when the _sakkos_ is worn instead of the _phelonion_,
by metropolitans, &c., it is attached to this. The _epigonation_, like
the maniple, was originally a cloth held in the hand; a fact
sufficiently proved by the ancient name [Greek: egcheirion] ([Greek:
cheir], hand), which it retained until the 12th century. For
convenience' sake this cloth came to be suspended from the girdle on the
right side, and is thus represented in the earliest extant paintings
(see Braun, p. 552). The name _epigonation_, which appears in the latter
half of the 12th century, probably marks the date of the complete
conventionalizing of the original cloth into the present stiff
embroidered square; but the earliest representations of the vestment in
its actual form date from the 14th century, e.g. the mosaic of St
Athanasius in the chapel of St Zeno in St Mark's at Venice.
See J. Braun, S. J., _Die liturgische Gewandung_ (Freiburg im
Breisgau, 1907), pp. 515-561. and the bibliography to VESTMENTS.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] According to Father Braun this custom cannot be traced earlier
than the 9th century. It forms no essential part of the ordination
ceremony (_Liturg. Gewandung_, p. 548).
[2] For the evolution of these rules see Braun, _op. cit._ pp. 546
seq.
MANIPUR, a native state on the north-east frontier of India, in
political subordination to the lieutenant-governor of Eastern Bengal and
Assam. Area, 8456 sq. m. Pop. (1901), 284,465. It is bounded on the N.
by the Naga country and the hills overlooking the Assam valley, on the
W. by Cachar district, on the E. by Upper Burma, and on the S. by the
Lushai hills. The state consists of a wide valley, estimated at about
650 sq. m., and a large surrounding tract of mountainous country. The
hill ranges generally run north and south, with occasional connecting
spurs and ridges of lower elevation between. Their greatest altitude is
in the north, where they reach to upwards of 8000 ft. above sea-level.
The principal geographical feature in the valley is the Logtak lake, an
irregular sheet of water of considerable size, but said to be yearly
growing smaller. The valley is watered by numerous rivers, the Barak
being the most important. The hills are densely clothed with tree jungle
and large forest timber. Some silk is produced and there are a few
primitive manufacturing industries, e.g. of pottery. Rice and forest
produce, however, are the principal exports. The road from Manipur to
the Assam-Bengal railway at Dimapur is the principal trade route.
The kingdom of Manipur, or, as the Burmans call it, Kasse or Kathe,
first emerges from obscurity as a neighbour and ally of the Shan kingdom
of Pong, which had its capital at Mogaung. The valley appears to have
been originally occupied by several tribes which came from different
directions. Although their general facial characteristics are Mongolian,
there is a great diversity of feature among the Manipuris, some of them
showing a regularity approaching the Aryan type. In the valley the
people are chiefly Hindus, that religion being of recent introduction.
Their own name for themselves is Meithei, and their language is a branch
of the Kuki-Chin family, spoken by 273,000 persons in all India in 1901.
One of their peculiarities is the high position enjoyed by women, who
conduct most of the trade of the valley. They have a caste system of
their own, different from that of India, and chiefly founded on the
system of _lallup_, or forced labour, which has been abolished by the
British. Every male between the ages of seventeen and sixty was formerly
obliged to place his services at the disposal of the state for a certain
number of days each year, and to different classes of the people
different employments were assigned. About four hundred Mahommedan
families, descendants of settlers from Bengal, reside to the east of the
capital. The aboriginal hill-men belong to one of the two great
divisions of Nagas and Kukis, and are subdivided into innumerable clans
and sections with slight differences in language, customs or dress. The
state is noted for the excellence of its breed of ponies. The English
game of polo was introduced from Manipur, where it forms a great
national pastime.
The first relations of the British with Manipur date from 1762, when the
raja solicited British aid to repel a Burmese invasion, and a treaty
was entered into. The force was recalled, and little communication
between the two countries took place until 1824, on the outbreak of the
first Burmese War. British assistance was again invoked by the raja, and
the Burmese were finally expelled from both the Assam and the Manipur
valleys. Disputed successions have always been a cause of trouble. The
raja, Chandra Kirtti Singh, died in 1886, and was succeeded by his
eldest son, Sur Chandra Singh, who appointed his next brother, Kula
Chandra Dhuya Singh, _jubraj_, or heir-apparent. In 1890 another
brother, the _senapati_, or commander-in-chief, Tikendrajit Singh,
dethroned the raja, and installed the _jubraj_ as regent, the ex-raja
retiring to Calcutta. In March 1891 the chief commissioner of Assam
(Quinton) marched to Manipur with 400 Gurkhas, in order to settle the
question of succession. His purpose was to recognize the new ruler, but
to remove the _senapati_. After some futile negotiations, Quinton sent
an ultimatum, requiring the surrender of the _senapati_, by the hands of
the political resident, F. Grimwood, but no result followed. An attempt
was then made to arrest the _senapati_, but after some sharp fighting,
in which Lieut. Brackenbury was killed, he escaped; and the Manipuris
then attacked the British residency with an overwhelming force. Quinton
was compelled to ask for a parley, and he, Colonel Skene, Grimwood,
Cossins and Lieut. Simpson, unarmed, went to the fort to negotiate. They
were all there treacherously murdered, and when the news arrived the
Gurkhas retreated to Cachar, Mrs Grimwood and the wounded being with
them. This led to a military expedition, which did not encounter much
resistance. The various columns, converging on Manipur, found it
deserted; and the regent, _senapati_, and others were captured during
May. After a formal trial the _senapati_ and one of the generals of the
rebellion were hanged and the regent was transported to the Andaman
Islands. But it was decided to preserve the existence of the state, and
a child of the ruling family, named Chura Chand, of the age of five, was
nominated raja. He was sent to be educated in the Mayo College at
Ajmere, and he afterwards served for two years in the imperial cadet
corps. Meanwhile the administration was conducted under British
supervision. The opportunity was seized for abolishing slavery and
unpaid forced labour, a land revenue of Rs. 2 per acre being substituted
in the valley and a house-tax in the hills. The boundaries of the state
were demarcated, disarmament was carried out, and the construction of
roads was pushed forward. In 1901 Manipur was visited by Lord Curzon, on
his way from Cachar to Burma. In May 1907 the government of the state
was handed over to Chura Chand, who was to be assisted by a council of
six Manipuris, with a member of the Indian civil service as
vice-president. At the same time it was announced that the government of
India would support the raja with all its powers and suppress summarily
all attempts to displace him. The revenue is £26,000. The capital is
Imphal, which is really an overgrown village; pop. (1901), 67,093.
See Mrs Ethel St Clair Grimwood, _My Three Years in Manipur_ (1891);
_Manipur State Gazetteer_ (Calcutta, 1905); T. C. Hodson, _The
Meitheis_ (1908).
MANISA (anc. _Magnesia ad Sipylum_), the chief town of the Saru-khan
sanjak of the Aidin (Smyrna) vilayet of Asia Minor, situated in the
valley of the Gediz Chai (Hermus), at the foot of Mt Sipylus, and
connected by railway with Smyrna and Afium Kara-Hissar. Pop. about
35,000, half being Mussulman. Manisa is an important commercial centre,
and contains interesting buildings dating from the times of the Seljuk
and early Osmanli sultans, including mosques built by Murad II. and III.
and a Mevlevi _Tekke_ second only to that at Konia. It is the seat of a
flourishing American mission. In 1204 Manisa was occupied by John Ducas,
who when he became emperor made it the Byzantine seat of government. In
1305, after the inhabitants had massacred the Catalan garrison, Roger de
Flor besieged it unsuccessfully. In 1313 the town was taken by Saru Khan
and became the capital of the Turcoman emirate of that name. In 1398 it
submitted to the Osmanli sultan Bayezid I., and in 1402 was made a
treasure city by Timur. In 1419 it was the scene of the insurrection of
the liberal reformer, Bedr ed-Din, which was crushed by Prince Murad,
whose residence in the town as Murad II., after twice abdicating the
throne, is one of the most romantic stories in Turkish history. In the
17th century Manisa became the residence of the greatest of the Dere Bey
families, Kara Osman Oglu, Turcoman by origin, and possibly connected
with the former emirs of Sarukhan, which seems to have risen to power by
farming the taxes of a province which princes of the house of Othman had
often governed and regarded with especial affection. The _liva_ of
Sarukhan was one of the twenty-two in the Ottoman Empire leased on a
life tenure up to the time of Mahmud II. In the 18th century the family
of Kara Osman Oglu (or Karasman) ruled _de facto_ all west central
Anatolia, one member being lord of Bergama and another of Aidin, while
the head of the house held Manisa with all the Hermus valley and had
greater power in Smyrna than the representative of the capitan pasha in
whose province that city nominally lay. Outside their own fiefs the
family had so much property that it was commonly said they could sleep
in a house of their own at any stage from Smyrna to Baghdad. The last of
its great beys was Haji Hussein Zade, who was frequently called in to
Smyrna on the petition of his friends, the European merchants, to assure
tranquillity in the troublous times consequent on Napoleon's invasion of
Egypt, and the British and Russian attacks on the Porte early in the
19th century. He always acquitted himself well, but having refused to
bring his contingent to the grand vizier when on the march to Egypt in
1798, and awakened the jealousy of the capitan pasha, he was in
continual danger. Exiled in 1812, he was subsequently restored to
Manisa, and died there in 1821. His son succeeded after sanguinary
tumults; but Mahmud II., who had long marked the family for destruction,
was so hostile towards it, after he had got rid of the janissaries, that
it had lost all but the shadow of power by 1830. Descendants survived in
Manisa who retained a special right of granting title-deeds within the
district, independent of the local administration. (D. G. H.)
MANISTEE, a city and the county-seat of Manistee county, Michigan,
U.S.A., on the Manistee river (which here broadens into a small lake)
near its entrance into Lake Michigan, about 114 m. W.N.W. of Grand
Rapids. Pop. (1890), 12,812; (1900), 14,260 (4966 foreign-born); (1904,
state census), 12,708; (1910), 12,381. It is served by the Père
Marquette, the Manistee & Grand Rapids, the Manistee & North-Eastern,
and the Manistee & Luther railways, and by steamboat lines to Chicago,
Milwaukee and other lake ports. The channel between Lake Manistee and
Lake Michigan has been considerably improved since 1867 by the Federal
government. There is a United States life-saving station at the harbour
entrance. The city has a county normal school, a school for the deaf and
dumb, a domestic science and manual training school, a business college,
and a Carnegie library. Manistee is a summer resort, with good trout
streams and well-known brine-baths. One mile from the city limits, on
Lake Michigan, is Orchard Beach, a bathing resort, connected with the
city by electric railway; and about 9 m. north of Manistee is Portage
Lake (about 2 m. long and 1 m. wide), a fishing resort and harbour of
refuge (with a good channel from Lake Michigan), connected with the city
by steamboat and railway. Manistee has large lumber interests, is the
centre of an extensive fruit-growing region, and has various
manufactures, including lumber and salt.[1] The total value of the
factory product in 1904 was $3,256,601. The municipality owns and
operates its waterworks. Manistee (the name being taken from a former
Ottawa Indian village, probably on Little Traverse Bay, Mich.) was
settled about 1849, and was chartered as a city in 1869, the charter of
that year being revised in 1890.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] There is a very large salt block at Eastlake, 1 m. east of
Manistee, and Filer City, a few miles south-east, is another source
of supply.
MANITOBA, a lake of Manitoba province, Canada, situated between 50° 11´
and 51° 48´ N. and 97° 56´ and 99° 35´ W. It has an area of 1711 sq. m.,
a length of shore line of 535 m., and is at an altitude of 810 ft. above
the sea. It has a total length of 119 m., a maximum width of 29 m.,
discharge of 14,833 cub. ft. per second, and has an average depth of 12
ft. Its shores are low, and for the most part swampy. The Waterhen
river, which carries the discharge of Lake Winnipegosis, is the only
considerable stream entering the lake. It is drained by the Little
Saskatchewan river into Lake Winnipeg. It was discovered by De la
Verendrye in 1739.
MANITOBA, one of the western provinces of the Dominion of Canada,
situated midway between the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts of the
Dominion, about 1090 m. due west of Quebec. It is bounded S. by the
parallel 49° N., which divides it from the United States; W. by 101° 20´
W.; N. by 52° 50´ N.; and E. by the western boundary of Ontario.
Manitoba formerly belonged to the Hudson's Bay Company, and after the
transfer of its territory to Canada was admitted in 1870 as the fifth
province of the Dominion. At that time the infant province had an area
of 13,500 sq. m., and some 12,000 people, chiefly Indian half-breeds. In
1881 the limits were increased as above, and the province now contains
upwards of 73,956 sq. m., extending 264 m. from north to south and
upwards of 300 from east to west. The old district of Assiniboia, the
result of the efforts in colonization by the earl of Selkirk in 1811 and
succeeding years, was the nucleus of the province.
The name Manitoba sprang from the union of two Indian words, _Manito_
(the Great Spirit), and _Waba_ (the "narrows" of the lake, which may
readily be seen on the map). This well-known strait was a sacred place
to the Crees and Saulteaux, who, impressed by the weird sound made by
the wind as it rushed through the narrows, as simple children of the
prairies called them _Manito-Waba_, or the "Great Spirit's narrows." The
name, arising from this unusual sound, has been by metonymy translated
into "God's Voice." The word was afterwards contracted into its present
form. As there is no accent in Indian words, the natural pronunciation
of this name would be Man-i-to-ba. On this account, the custom of both
the French and English people of the country was for years before and
for several years after 1870 to pronounce it Man-i-to-ba, and even in
some cases to spell it "Manitobah." After the formation of the province
and the familiar use of the provincial name in the Dominion parliament,
where it has occupied much attention for a generation, the pronunciation
has changed, so that the province is universally known from ocean to
ocean as Man-i-to-ba.
_Physical Features._--The drainage of Manitoba is entirely
north-eastward to Hudson Bay. The three lakes--whose greatest lengths
are 260,122 and 119 m. respectively--are Winnipeg, Winnipegosis and
Manitoba. They are all of irregular shape, but average respectively
30, 18 and 10 m. in width. They are fresh, shallow and tideless.
Winnipegosis and Manitoba at high water, in spring-time, discharge
their overflow through small streams into Winnipeg. The chief rivers
emptying into Lake Winnipeg are the Winnipeg, the Red and the
Saskatchewan. The Assiniboine river enters the Red river 45 m. from
Lake Winnipeg, and at the confluence of the rivers ("The Forks") is
situated the city of Winnipeg. The Winnipeg, which flows from the
territory lying south-east of Lake Winnipeg, is a noble river some 200
m. long, which after leaving Lake of the Woods dashes with its clear
water over many cascades, and traverses very beautiful scenery. At its
falls from Lake of the Woods is one of the greatest and most easily
utilized water-powers in the world, and from falls lower down the
river electric power for the city of Winnipeg is obtained. The Red
river is at intervals subject to freshets. In a century's experience
of the Selkirk colonists there have been four "floods." The highest
level of the site of the city of Winnipeg is said to have been under 5
ft. of water for several weeks in May and June in 1826, and 2½ ft. in
1852, not covered in 1861; only the lowest levels were under water in
1882. The extent of overflow has thus on each occasion been less. The
loose soil on the banks of the river is every year carried away in
great masses, and the channel has so widened as to render the
recurrence of an overflow unlikely. The Saskatchewan, though not in
the province, empties into Lake Winnipeg less than half a degree from
the northern boundary. It is a mighty river, rising in the Rocky
Mountains, and crossing eighteen degrees of longitude. Near its mouth
are the Grand Rapids. Above these steamers ply to Fort Edmonton, a
point upwards of 800 m. north-west of the city of Winnipeg. Steamers
run from Grand Rapids, through Lake Winnipeg, up Red river to the city
of Winnipeg, important locks having been constructed on the river at
St Andrews.
The surface of Manitoba is somewhat level and monotonous. It is
chiefly a prairie region, with treeless plains of from 5 to 40 m.
extent, covered in summer with an exuberant vegetable growth, which
dies every year. The river banks, however, are fringed with trees, and
in the more undulating lands the timber belts vary from a few hundreds
of yards to 5 or 10 m. in width, forming at times forests of no
inconsiderable size. The chief trees of the country are the aspen
(_Populus tremuloides_), the ash-leaved maple (_Negundo aceroides_),
oak (_Quercus alba_), elm (_Ulmus Americana_), and many varieties of
willow. The strawberry, raspberry, currant, plum, cherry and grape are
indigenous.
[Illustration: Map of Manitoba.]
_Climate._--The climate of Manitoba, being that of a region of wide
extent and of similar conditions, is not subject to frequent
variations. Winter, with cold but clear and bracing weather, usually
sets in about the middle of November, and ends with March. In April
and May the rivers have opened, the snow has disappeared, and the
opportunity has been afforded the farmer of sowing his grain. June is
often wet, but most favourable for the springing crops; July and
August are warm, but, excepting two or three days at a time, not
uncomfortably so; while the autumn weeks of late August and September
are very pleasant. Harvest generally extends from the middle of August
to near the end of September. The chief crops of the farmer are wheat
(which from its flinty hardness and full kernel is the specialty of
the Canadian north-west), oats, barley and pease. Hay is made of the
native prairie grasses, which grow luxuriantly. From the richness and
mellowness of the soil potatoes and all taproots reach a great size.
Heavy dews in summer give the needed moisture after the rains of June
have ceased. The traveller and farmer are at times annoyed by the
mosquito.
_Area and Population._--The area is 73,956 sq. m., of which 64,066 are
land and 9890 water. Pop. (1871), 18,995; (1881), 62,260; (1891),
152,506; (1901), 254,947 (138,332 males, 116,615 females); (1906),
365,688 (205,183 males and 160,505 females). The principal cities and
towns are: Winnipeg (90,153), Brandon (10,408), Portage la Prairie
(5106), St Boniface (5119), West Selkirk (2701), and Morden (1437). In
1901, 49,102 families inhabited 48,415 houses, and the proportion of the
urban population to the rural was 27.5 to 72.5. Classified according to
place of birth, the principal nationalities were as follows in 1901:
Canada, 180,853; England, 20,392; Scotland, 8099; Ireland, 4537; other
British possessions, 490; Germany, 2291; Iceland, 5403; Austria, 11,570;
Russia and Poland, 8854; Scandinavia, 1772; United States, 6922; other
countries, 4028. In 1901 the Indians numbered 5827; half-breeds, 10,372.
Of the Indian half-breeds, one half are of English-speaking parentage,
and chiefly of Orkney origin; the remainder are known as Metis or
Bois-brûlés, and are descended from French-Canadian voyageurs. In 1875 a
number of Russian Mennonites (descendants of the Anabaptists of the
Reformation) came to the country. They originally emigrated from
Germany to the plains of southern Russia, but came over to Manitoba to
escape the conscription. They number upwards of 15,000. About 4000
French Canadians, who had emigrated from Quebec to the United States,
have also made the province their home, as well as Icelanders now
numbering 20,000. During the decade ending 1907 large reserves were
settled with Ruthenians often known as Galicians, Poles and other
peoples from central and northern Europe. Some 30,000 of these are found
in the province. The remainder of the population is chiefly made up of
English-speaking people from the other provinces of the Dominion, from
the United States, from England and Scotland and the north of Ireland.
_Religion._--Classified according to religion, the various denominations
were, in 1901, as follows: Presbyterians, 65,310; Episcopalians, 44,874;
Methodists, 49,909; Roman Catholics, 35,622; Baptists, 9098; Lutherans,
16,473; Mennonites, 15,222; Greek Catholics, 7898; other denominations,
9903; not specified, 638.
_Government._--The province is under a lieutenant-governor, appointed
for a term of five years, with an executive council of six members,
responsible to the local legislature, which consists of forty-two
members. It has four members in the Canadian Senate and ten in the House
of Commons.
_Education._--The dual system of education, established in 1871, was
abolished in 1890, and the administrative machinery consolidated under a
minister of the Crown and an advisory board. This act was amended in
1897 to meet the wishes of the Roman Catholic minority, but separate
schools were not re-established; nor was the council divided into
denominational committees. There are collegiate institutes for more
advanced education at Winnipeg, Brandon and Portage la Prairie, with a
total of 1094 pupils enrolled. There is also a normal school at Winnipeg
for the training of teachers. Higher education is represented by the
provincial university, which teaches science and mathematics, holds
examinations, distributes scholarships, and grants degrees in all
subjects. It has affiliated to it colleges of the Roman Catholic,
Episcopalian, Presbyterian and Methodist denominations, with medical and
pharmaceutical colleges. The arts colleges of the churches carry on the
several courses required by the university, and send their students to
the examinations of the university. A well-equipped agricultural college
near Winnipeg is provided for sons and daughters of farmers.
_Agriculture_ is the prevailing industry of Manitoba. Dairy-farming is
rapidly increasing in importance, and creameries for the manufacture of
butter and cheese are established in almost all parts of the province.
Large numbers of horses, cattle, swine and poultry are reared. The
growth of cereals is the largest department of agriculture followed.
The following statistics are interesting:--
+-------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| | 1883. | 1890. | 1894. | 1901. |
+-------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| | Bushels. | Bushels. | Bushels. | Bushels. |
| Wheat | 5,686,355 | 14,665,769 | 17,172,883 | 50,502,085 |
| Oats | 9,478,965 | 9,513,443 | 11,907,854 | 27,796,588 |
| Barley | 1,898,430 | 2,069,415 | 2,981,716 | 6,536,155 |
| Flax | No statistics collected | 366,000 | 266,420 |
| Rye | " | " | 59,924 | 62,261 |
| Peas | " | " | 18,434 | 16,349 |
| Potatoes | " | " | 2,035,336 | 4,797,433 |
| Other roots | " | " | 1,841,942 | 2,925,362 |
+-------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
The enormous development of the wheat-growing industry is shown by
these and the following statistics:--
Wheat inspected in Winnipeg.
1902 51,833,000 bushels
1903 40,396,650 "
1904 39,784,900 "
1905 55,849,840 "
1906 66,636,390 "
These figures do not include the wheat ground into flour and sent by
way of British Columbia to Asia and Australia, nor the wheat retained
by the farmers for seed. The Dominion government maintains an
experimental farm of 670 acres at Brandon. The fisheries are all
fresh-water, principally white-fish, pickerel and pike. Large
quantities of fresh fish caught in lakes Winnipeg and Manitoba are
exported to all parts of the United States.
_Communications._--The region of the Red River and Assiniboine valleys
was opened up by the fur traders, who came by the waterways from Lake
Superior, and afterwards by the water communication with Hudson Bay.
While these early traders used the canoe and the York boat,[1] yet the
steamboat played an important part in the early history of the region
from 1868 till 1885, when access from the United States was gained by
steamers down the Red River. The completion of the St Andrew's Rapids
canal on Red River, and the Grand Rapids canal on the Saskatchewan
river will again give an impetus to inland navigation on the
tributaries of Lake Winnipeg. Lake Manitoba also affords opportunity
for inland shipping.
The broad expanse of prairie-land in the western provinces of Canada
is well suited for the cheap and expeditious building of railways. The
first connexion with the United States was by two railways coming down
the Red River valley. But the desire for Canadian unity led the
Dominion to assist a transcontinental line connecting Manitoba with
eastern Canada. The building of the Canadian Pacific railway through
almost continuous rocks for 800 miles was one of the greatest
engineering feats of modern times. Immediately on the formation of the
Canadian Pacific railway company branch lines were begun at Winnipeg
and there are eight radial lines running from this centre to all parts
of the country. Winnipeg is thus connected with Montreal on the east,
and Vancouver on the west, and is the central point of the Canadian
Pacific system, having railway yards and equipment equalled by few
places in America. In opposition to the Canadian Pacific railway a
southern line was built from Winnipeg to the American boundary. This
fell into the hands of the Northern Pacific railway, but was purchased
by the promoters of the Canadian Northern railway. This railway has
six radiating lines leaving the city of Winnipeg, and its main line
connects Port Arthur on Lake Superior with Edmonton in the west. The
Canadian Northern railway has a remarkable network of railways
connecting Winnipeg with every corner of Manitoba. The Great Northern
railway has also three branch lines in Manitoba and one of these has
Winnipeg as its terminus. The grand Trunk Pacific railway, the great
transcontinental line promoted by the Laurier government, passes
through Manitoba north of the Canadian Pacific, coming from the east
deflects southward to pass through Winnipeg, and then strikes
northward in a direct line of easy gradients to find its way through
the Rocky Mountains to its terminus of Prince Rupert on the north
coast of British Columbia.
_History._--The first white settlement in Manitoba was made by Pierre
Gaultier de Varennes, Sieur de la Verendrye (d. 1749), who, gradually
pushing westward from Lake Superior, reached Lake Winnipeg in 1733, and
in the following year built a fort not far from the present Fort
Alexander. In October 1738 he built another at Fort Rouge, at the
junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, where is now the city of
Winnipeg. After the British conquest of 1763 the west became the scene
of a rapidly increasing fur trade, and for many years there was keen
rivalry between the Hudson's Bay Company, with its headquarters in
England, and the North-West Company of Montreal. French and Scottish
farmers and fur-traders gradually settled along the Red River, and by
their frequent marriages with the Indians produced a race of metis or
half-breeds. From 1811 to 1818 Lord Selkirk's attempted colonization
greatly increased the population; from the time of his failure till 1869
the settlers lived quietly under the mild rule of the Hudson's Bay
Company. In that year the newly formed Dominion of Canada bought from
the company its territorial and political rights. A too hasty occupation
by Canadian officials and settlers led to the rebellion of the Metis
under Louis Riel, a native leader. The rebellion was quieted and Sir
Garnet Wolseley (now Lord Wolseley) was sent from Canada by the lake
route, with several regiments of troops--regulars and volunteers. The
Manitoba Act constituting the province was passed by the Canadian
parliament in 1870. (See RED RIVER SETTLEMENT; and RIEL, LOUIS.)
The admixture of races and religions, and its position as the key to the
great West, have ever since made Manitoba the storm centre of Canadian
politics. In the charter granted by the Canadian parliament to the
Canadian Pacific railway a clause giving it for twenty years control
over the railway construction of the province led to a fierce agitation,
till the clause was repealed in 1888. Till 1884 an equally fierce
agitation was carried on against Ontario with regard to the eastern
boundary of Manitoba. (See ONTARIO.) In both these disputes the
provincial leader was the Hon. John Norquay, in whose veins ran a large
admixture of Indian blood. In 1890 changes in the school system
unfavourable to the Roman Catholic Church led to a constitutional
struggle, to which was due the defeat of the Federal ministry in 1896.
Since 1896 its rapid material progress has produced numerous economic
problems and disputes, many of which are still unsolved.
(G. Br.; W. L. G.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] A round-bottomed, strongly built boat, 30 to 36 ft. long,
propelled by 8 men. It was devised by the Hudson's Bay Company for
carrying freight, as a substitute for the less serviceable canoe, and
was named after their York factory, the centre to which the traders
brought down the furs for shipment to England and from which they
took back merchandise and supplies to the interior of Rupert's Land.
MANITOU or MANITO (Algonquian Indian, "mystery," "supernatural"), among
certain American Indian tribes, a spirit or genius of good or evil. The
manitou is almost always an animal, each individual having one assigned
him, generally by dream-inspiration, at the greatest religious act of
his life--his first fast. This animal then becomes his fetish; its skin
is carried as a charm, and representations of it are tattooed and
painted on the body or engraved on the weapons.
MANITOWOC (Indian, "Spirit-land"), a city and the county-seat of
Manitowoc county, Wisconsin, on the W. shore of Lake Michigan, 75 m. N.
of Milwaukee. Pop. (1890), 7710; (1900), 11,786, of whom 2998 were
foreign-born; (1910 census), 13,027. It is served by the Chicago &
North-Western, and the Wisconsin Central railways; by ferry across the
lake to Frankfort, Mich., and Ludington, Mich.; by the Ann Arbor and the
Père Marquette railways; and by the Goodrich line of lake steamers. The
city is finely situated on high ground above the lake at the mouth of
the Manitowoc river. At Manitowoc are the county insane asylum and a
Polish orphan asylum. The city has a training school for county
teachers, a business college, two hospitals and a Carnegie library.
There are ship-yards for the construction of both steel and wooden
vessels, and several grain elevators. The value of the factory products
increased from $1,935,442 in 1900 to $4,427,816 in 1905, or 128.8 per
cent.--a greater increase than that of any other city in the state
during this period. There is a good harbour, and the city has a
considerable lake commerce in grain, flour, and dairy products. Jacques
Vieau established here a post for the North-west Company of fur traders
in 1795. The first permanent settlement was made about 1836, and
Manitowoc was chartered as a city in 1870. In Manitowoc county, 18 m.
south-west of the city of Manitowoc, is St Nazianz, an unorganized
village near which in 1854 a colony or community of German Roman
Catholics was established under the leadership of Father Ambrose Oswald,
the primary object being to enable poor people by combination and
co-operation to supply themselves with the comforts of life at minimum
expense and have as much time as possible left for religious thought and
worship. The title of the colony's land was vested in Father Oswald
after the panic of 1857 until his death in 1874, when he devised the
lands to "the colony founded by me." The colony had no legal existence
at the time, but was then incorporated as the "Roman Catholic Religious
Society of St Nazianz," and as such sued successfully for the bequest.
Financially the colony was successful, but as there were some desertions
and no new recruits after Father Oswald's death, there were few members
by 1909. There are no longer any traces of communism, and the colony's
property is actually held by an organization of the local Roman Catholic
church.
MANIZALES, a city of Colombia and capital of the department of Cáldas
(up to 1905 the northern part of Antioquia), 75 m. S. of Medellin, on
the old trade route across the Cordillera between Honda, on the
Magdalena, and the Cauca Valley. Pop. (1906, estimate), 20,000. The city
is situated on a plateau of the western slope of the Cordillera, 6988
ft. above the sea. It is surrounded by rich mineral and agricultural
districts.
MANKATO, a city and the county-seat of Blue Earth county, Minnesota,
U.S.A., at the southern bend of the Minnesota river, where it is joined
by the Blue Earth about 86 m. S.W. of Minneapolis. Pop. (1890), 8838;
(1900), 10,599, of whom 2578 were foreign-born; (1910 census), 10,365.
Mankato is served by the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha, the
Chicago & North-Western (both "North-Western Lines"), the Chicago,
Milwaukee & St Paul, and the Chicago Great-Western railways. The city
has two fine parks, a Carnegie library, a Federal building, the Immanuel
and St Joseph hospitals, two commercial colleges, and a state normal
school (1868). The numerous lakes in the neighbourhood, particularly
Lake Madison and Lake Washington, are widely known as summer resorts.
Four miles west of the city is Minneopa state park (area, 60 acres), in
which are Minneopa Falls (60 ft.) and a fine gorge; the park was
established by the state in 1905-1906. Mankato has an extensive trade in
dairy and agricultural products (especially grain), stone (a pinkish
buff limestone is quarried in the vicinity), and forest products. The
value of its factory products increased from $1,887,315 in 1900 to
$3,422,117 in 1905, or 81.3%.
Mankato was settled about 1853, and was first chartered as a city in
1868. On or near the site of the city stood a village of the Mankato
("blue earth") band of the Mdewakanton Sioux, who derived their name
from one of their chiefs, "Old Mankato." In this region occurred the
Sioux uprising of 1862, and from this point operations were carried on
which eventually resulted in the subjugation of the Indians and the
hanging, at Mankato, in December 1862, of 38 leaders of the revolt. In
the uprising the Mankato band was led by another chief named Mankato,
who took part in the attack on Ft Ridgeley, Minn., in August, in the
engagement on the 3rd of September at Birch Coolie, Minn., and in that
on the 23rd of September at Wood Lake, where he was killed.
MANLEY, MARY DE LA RIVIERE (c. 1663-1724), English writer, daughter of
Sir Roger Manley, governor of the Channel Islands, was born on the 7th
of April 1663 in Jersey. She wrote her own biography under the title of
_The Adventures of Rivella, or the History of the Author of the
Atalantis_ by "Sir Charles Lovemore" (1714). According to her own
account she was left an orphan at the age of sixteen, and beguiled into
a mock marriage with a kinsman who deserted her basely three years
afterwards. She was patronized for a short time by the duchess of
Cleveland, and wrote an unsuccessful comedy, _The Lost Lover_ (1696); in
freedom of speech she equalled the most licentious writers of comedy in
that generation. Her tragedy, _The Royal Mischief_ (1696) was more
successful. From 1696 Mrs Manley was a favourite member of witty and
fashionable society. In 1705 appeared _The Secret History of Queen Zarah
and the Zarazians_, a satire on Sarah, duchess of Marlborough, in the
guise of romance. This was probably by Mrs Manley, who, four years
later, achieved her principal triumph as a writer by her _Secret Memoirs
... of Several Persons of Quality_ (1709), a scandalous chronicle "from
the New Atalantis, an island in the Mediterranean." She was arrested in
the autumn of 1709 as the author of a libellous publication, but was
discharged by the court of queen's bench on the 13th of February 1710.
Mrs Manley sought in this scandalous narrative to expose the private
vices of the ministers whom Swift, Bolingbroke and Harley combined to
drive from office. During the keen political campaign in 1711 she wrote
several pamphlets, and many numbers of the _Examiner_, criticizing
persons and policy with equal vivacity. Later were published her tragedy
_Lucius_ (1717); _The Power of Love, in Seven Novels_ (1720), and _A
Stage Coach Journey to Exeter_ (1725).
MANLIUS, the name of a Roman gens, chiefly patrician, but containing
plebeian families also.
1. MARCUS MANLIUS CAPITOLINUS, a patrician, consul 392 B.C. According to
tradition, when in 390 B.C. the besieging Gauls were attempting to scale
the Capitol, he was roused by the cackling of the sacred geese, rushed
to the spot and threw down the foremost assailants (Livy v. 47;
Plutarch, _Camillus_, 27). Several years after, seeing a centurion led
to prison for debt, he freed him with his own money, and even sold his
estate to relieve other poor debtors, while he accused the senate of
embezzling public money. He was charged with aspiring to kingly power,
and condemned by the comitia, but not until the assembly had adjourned
to a place without the walls, where they could no longer see the Capitol
which he had saved. His house on the Capitol (the origin of his surname)
was razed, and the Manlii resolved that henceforth no patrician Manlius
should bear the name of Marcus. According to Mommsen, the story of the
saving of the Capitol was a later invention to explain his surname, and
his attempt to relieve the debtors a fiction of the times of Cinna.
Livy vi. 14-20; Plutarch, _Camillus_, 36; Cicero, _De domo_, 38.
2. TITUS MANLIUS IMPERIOSUS TORQUATUS, twice dictator (353, 349 B.C.)
and three times consul (347, 344, 340). When his father, L. Manlius
Imperiosus (dictator 363), was brought to trial by the tribune M.
Pomponius for abusing his office of dictator, he forced Pomponius to
drop the accusation by threatening his life (Livy vii. 3-5). In 360,
during a war with the Gauls, he slew one of the enemy, a man of gigantic
stature, in single combat, and took from him a torques (neck-ornament),
whence his surname. When the Latins demanded an equal share in the
government of the confederacy, Manlius vowed to kill with his own hand
the first Latin he saw in the senate-house. The Latins and Campanians
revolted, and Manlius, consul for the third time, marched into Campania
and gained two great victories, near Vesuvius, where P. Decius Mus
(q.v.), his colleague, "devoted" himself in order to gain the day, and
at Trifanum. In this campaign Manlius executed his own son, who had
killed an enemy in single combat, and thus disobeyed the express command
of the consuls.
Livy vii. 4, 10, 27, viii. 3; Cicero, _De off._ iii. 31.
3. TITUS MANLIUS TORQUATUS, consul 235 B.C. and 224, censor 231,
dictator 208. In his first consulship he subjugated Sardinia, recently
acquired from the Carthaginians, when the temple of Janus was shut for
the second time in Roman history (Livy i. 19). In 216 he opposed the
ransoming of the Romans taken prisoners at Cannae; and in 215 he was
sent to Sardinia and defeated a Carthaginian attempt to regain
possession of the island.
Livy xxiii. 34; Polybius ii. 31.
4. GNAEUS MANLIUS VULSO, praetor 195, consul 189. He was sent to Asia to
conclude peace with Antiochus III., king of Syria. He marched into
Pamphylia, defeated the Celts of Galatia on Mt Olympus and drove them
back across the Halys. In the winter, assisted by ten delegates sent
from Rome, he settled the terms of peace with Antiochus, and in 187
received the honour of a triumph.
Polybius xxii. 16-25; Livy xxxviii. 12-28, 37-50; xxxix. 6.
MANN, HORACE (1796-1859), American educationist, was born in Franklin,
Massachusetts, on the 4th of May 1796. His childhood and youth were
passed in poverty, and his health was early impaired by hard manual
labour. His only means for gratifying his eager desire for books was the
small library founded in his native town by Benjamin Franklin and
consisting principally of histories and treatises on theology. At the
age of twenty he was fitted, in six months, for college, and in 1819,
graduated with highest honours, from the Brown University at Providence,
Rhode Island, having devoted himself so unremittingly to his studies as
to weaken further his naturally feeble constitution. He then studied law
for a short time at Wrentham, Massachusetts; was tutor in Latin and
Greek (1820-1822) and librarian (1821-1823) at Brown University; studied
during 1821-1823 in the famous law school conducted by Judge James Gould
at Litchfield, Connecticut; and in 1823 was admitted to the Norfolk
(Mass.) bar. For fourteen years, first at Dedham, Massachusetts, and
after 1833 at Boston, he devoted himself, with great success, to his
profession. Meanwhile he served, with conspicuous ability, in the
Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1827 to 1833 and in the
Massachusetts Senate from 1833 to 1837, for the last two years as
president. It was not until he became secretary (1837) of the newly
created board of education of Massachusetts, that he began the work
which was soon to place him in the foremost rank of American
educationists. He held this position till 1848, and worked with a
remarkable intensity--holding teachers' conventions, delivering numerous
lectures and addresses, carrying on an extensive correspondence,
introducing numerous reforms, planning and inaugurating the
Massachusetts normal school system, founding and editing _The Common
School Journal_ (1838), and preparing a series of _Annual Reports_,
which had a wide circulation and are still considered as being "among
the best expositions, if, indeed, they are not the very best ones, of
the practical benefits of a common school education both to the
individual and to the state" (Hinsdale). The practical result of his
work was the virtual revolutionizing of the common school system of
Massachusetts, and indirectly of the common school systems of other
states. In carrying out his work he met with bitter opposition, being
attacked particularly by certain school-masters of Boston who strongly
disapproved of his pedagogical theories and innovations, and by various
religious sectaries, who contended against the exclusion of all
sectarian instruction from the schools. He answered these attacks in
kind, sometimes perhaps with unnecessary vehemence and rancour, but he
never faltered in his work, and, an optimist by nature, a disciple of
his friend George Combe (q.v.), and a believer in the indefinite
improvability of mankind, he was sustained throughout by his conviction
that nothing could so much benefit the race, morally, intellectually and
materially, as education. Resigning the secretaryship in 1848, he was
elected to the national House of Representatives, as an anti-slavery
Whig to succeed John Quincy Adams, and was re-elected in 1849, and, as
an independent candidate, in 1850, serving until March 1853. In 1852 he
was the candidate of the Free-soilers for the governorship of
Massachusetts, but was defeated. In Congress he was one of the ablest
opponents of slavery, contending particularly against the Compromise
Measures of 1850, but he was never technically an Abolitionist and he
disapproved of the Radicalism of Garrison and his followers. From 1853
until his death, on the second of August 1859, he was president of the
newly established Antioch College at Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he
taught political economy, intellectual and moral philosophy, and natural
theology. The college received insufficient financial support and
suffered from the attacks of religious sectaries--he himself was charged
with insincerity because, previously a Unitarian, he joined the
Christian Connexion, by which the college was founded--but he earned the
love of his students, and by his many addresses exerted a beneficial
influence upon education in the Middle West.
A collected edition of Mann's writings, together with a memoir (1
vol.) by his second wife, Mary Peabody Mann, a sister of Miss E. P.
Peabody, was published (in 5 vols. at Boston in 1867-1891) as the
_Life and Works of Horace Mann_. Of subsequent biographies the best is
probably Burke A. Hinsdale's _Horace Mann and the Common School
Revival in the United Stales_ (New York, 1898), in "The Great
Educators" series. Among other biographies O. H. Lang's _Horace Mann,
his Life and Work_ (New York, 1893), Albert E. Winship's _Horace Mann,
the Educator_ (Boston, 1896), and George A. Hubbell's _Life of Horace
Mann, Educator, Patriot and Reformer_ (Philadelphia, 1910), may be
mentioned. In vol. I. of the _Report_ for 1895-1896 of the United
States commissioner of education there is a detailed "Bibliography of
Horace Mann," containing more than 700 titles.
MANNA, a concrete saccharine exudation obtained by making incisions on
the trunk of the flowering or manna ash tree, _Fraxinus Ornus_. The
manna ash is a small tree found in Italy, and extending to Switzerland,
South Tirol, Hungary, Greece, Turkey and Asia Minor. It also grows in
the islands of Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia. It blossoms early in
summer, producing numerous clusters of whitish flowers. At the present
day the manna of commerce is collected exclusively in Sicily from
cultivated trees, chiefly in the districts around Capaci, Carini, Cinisi
and Favarota, small towns 20 to 25 m. W. of Palermo, and in the
townships of Geraci, Castelbuono, and other places in the district of
Cefalù, 50 to 70 m. E. of Palermo. In the _frassinetti_ or plantations
the trees are placed about 7 ft. apart, and after they are eight years
old, and the trunk at least 3 in. in diameter, the collection of manna
is begun. This operation is performed in July or August during the dry
weather, by making transverse incisions 1½ to 2 in. long, and about 1
in. apart, through the bark, one cut being made each day, the first at
the bottom of the tree, another directly above the first, and so on. In
succeeding years the process is repeated on the untouched sides of the
trunk, until the tree has been cut all round and exhausted. It is then
cut down, and a young plant arising from the same root takes its place.
The finest or flaky manna appears to have been allowed to harden on the
stem. A very superior kind, obtained by allowing the juice to encrust
pieces of wood or straws inserted in the cuts, is called _manna a
cannolo_. The fragments adhering to the stem, after the finest flakes
have been removed are scraped off, and form the small or Tolfa manna of
commerce. That which flows from the lower incisions is often collected
on tiles or on a concave piece of the prickly pear (_Opunlia_), but is
less crystalline and more glutinous, and is less esteemed.
Manna of good quality dissolves at ordinary temperatures in about 6
parts of water, forming a clear liquid. Its chief constituent is mannite
or manna sugar, a hexatomic alcohol, C6H8(OH)6, which likewise occurs,
in much smaller quantity, in certain species of the brown seaweed,
_Fucus_, and in plants of several widely separated natural orders.
Mannite is obtained by extracting manna with alcohol and crystallizing
the solution. The best manna contains 70 to 80%. It crystallizes in
shining rhombic prisms from its aqueous solution and as delicate needles
from alcohol. Manna possesses mildly laxative properties, and on account
of its sweet taste is employed as a mild aperient for children. It is
less used in England now than formerly, but is still largely consumed in
South America. In Italy mannite is prepared for sale in the shape of
small cones resembling loaf sugar in shape, and is frequently prescribed
in medicine instead of manna.
The manna of the present day appears to have been unknown before the
15th century, although a mountain in Sicily with the Arabic name
Gibelman, i.e. "manna mountain," appears to point to its collection
there during the period that the island was held by the Saracens,
827-1070. In the 16th century it was collected in Calabria, and until
recently was produced in the Tuscan Maremma, but none is now brought
into commerce from Italy, although the name of Tolfa, a town near Civita
Vecchia, is still applied to an inferior variety of the drug.
Various other kinds of manna are known, but none of these has been
found to contain mannite. Alhagi manna (Persian and Arabic
_tar-angubin_, also known as terendschabin) is the produce of _Alhagi
maurorum_, a small, spiny, leguminous plant, growing in Arabia, Asia
Minor, Persia, Afghanistan, Baluchistan and northern India. This manna
occurs in the form of small, roundish, hard, dry tears, varying from
the size of a mustard seed to that of a coriander, of a light-brown
colour, sweet taste, and senna-like odour. The spines and pods of the
plant are often mixed with it. It is collected near Kandahar and
Herat, and imported into India from Cabul and Kandahar. Tamarisk manna
(Persian _gaz-angubin_, tamarisk honey) exudes in June and July from
the slender branches of _Tamarix gallica_, var. _mannifera_, in the
form of honey-like drops, which, in the cold temperature of the early
morning, are found in the solid state. This secretion is caused by the
puncture of an insect, _Coccus manniparus_. In the valleys of the
peninsula of Sinai, especially in the Wady el-Sheikh, this manna
(Arabic _man_) is collected by the Arabs and sold to the monks of St
Catherine, who supply it to the pilgrims visiting the convent. It is
found also in Persia and the Punjab, but does not appear to be
collected in any quantity. This kind of manna seems to be alluded to
by Herodotus (vii. 31). Under the same name of _gaz-angubin_ there are
sold commonly in the Persian bazaars round cakes, of which a chief
ingredient is a manna obtained to the south-west of Ispahan, in the
month of August, by shaking the branches or scraping the stems of
_Astragalus florulentus_ and _A. adscendens_.[1] _Shir Khist_, a manna
known to writers on materia medica in the 16th century, is imported
into India from Afghanistan and Turkestan to a limited extent; it is
the produce of _Cotoneaster nummularia_ (_Rosaceae_), and to a less
extent of _Atraphaxis spinosa_ (_Polygonaceae_); it is brought chiefly
from Herat.
Oak manna or _Gueze-elefi_, according to Haussknecht, is collected
from the twigs of _Quercus Vallonia_ and _Q. persica_, on which it is
produced by the puncture of an insect during the month of August. This
manna occurs in the state of agglutinated tears, and forms an object
of some industry among the wandering tribes of Kurdistan. It is
collected before sunrise, by shaking the grains of manna on to linen
cloths spread out beneath the trees, or by dipping the small branches
in hot water and evaporating the solution thus obtained. A substance
collected by the inhabitants of Laristan from _Pyrus glabra_ strongly
resembles oak manna in appearance.
Australian or Eucalyptus manna is found on the leaves of _Eucalyptus
viminalis_, _E. Gunnii_, var. _rubida_, _E. pulverulenta_, &c. The
Lerp manna of Australia is of animal origin.
Briançon manna is met with on the leaves of the common Larch (q.v.),
and _bide-khecht_ on those of the willow, _Salix fragilis_; and a kind
of manna was at one time obtained from the cedar.
The manna of the Biblical narrative, notwithstanding the miraculous
circumstances which distinguish it from anything now known, answers in
its description very closely to the tamarisk manna.
See Bentley and Trimen, _Medicinal Plants_ (1880); Watt, _Dictionary
of Economic Products of India_, under "Manna" (1891). For analyses see
A. Ebert, _Abst. J.C.S._, 1909, 96, p. 176.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] See _Bombay Lit. Tr._, vol. i. art. 16, for details as to the
_gazangubin_. A common Persian sweetmeat consists of wheat-flour
kneaded with manna into a thick paste.
MANNERS, CHARLES (1857- ), English musician, whose real name was
Southcote Mansergh, was born in London, son of Colonel Mansergh, an
Irishman. He had a fine bass voice, and was educated for the musical
profession in Dublin and at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He
began singing in opera in 1881, and in 1882 had great success as the
sentry in _Iolanthe_ at the Savoy, following this with numerous
engagements in opera both in England and America. He married the singer
Fanny Moody, already a leading soprano on the operatic stage, in 1890;
and in 1897 they formed the Moody-Manners opera company, which had a
great success in the provinces and undertook seasons in London in 1902.
Manners and his wife were assisted by some other excellent artists, and
their enterprise had considerable influence on contemporary English
music.
MANNERS-SUTTON, CHARLES (1755-1828), archbishop of Canterbury, was
educated at Charterhouse and Cambridge. In 1785 he was appointed to the
family living at Averham-with-Kelham, in Nottinghamshire, and in 1791
became dean of Peterborough. He was consecrated bishop of Norwich in
1792, and two years later received the appointment of dean of Windsor
_in commendam_. In 1805 he was chosen to succeed Archbishop Moore in the
see of Canterbury. During his primacy the old archiepiscopal palace at
Croydon was sold and the country palace of Addington bought with the
proceeds. He presided over the first meeting which issued in the
foundation of the National Society, and subsequently lent the scheme his
strong support. He also exerted himself to promote the establishment of
the Indian episcopate. His only published works are two sermons, one
preached before the Lords (London, 1794), the other before the Society
for the Propagation of the Gospel (London, 1797). His brother, THOMAS
MANNERS-SUTTON, 1st BARON MANNERS (1756-1842), was lord chancellor of
Ireland. For his son Charles see CANTERBURY, 1ST VISCOUNT.
MANNHEIM, a town of Germany, in the grand-duchy of Baden, lying on the
right bank of the Rhine, at its confluence with the Neckar, 39 m. by
rail N. of Karlsruhe, 10 m. W. of Heidelberg and 55 m. S. of
Frankfort-on-Main. Pop. (1900), 141,131; (1905), 162,607 (of whom about
70,000 are Roman Catholics and 6000 Jews). It is perhaps the most
regularly built town in Germany, consisting of twelve parallel streets
intersected at right angles by others, which cut it up into 136 square
sections of equal size. These blocks are distinguished, after the
American fashion, by letters and numerals. Except on the south side all
the streets debouch on the promenade, which forms a circle round the
town on the site of the old ramparts. Outside this ring are the suburbs
Schwetzinger-Vorstadt to the south and Neckar-Vorstadt to the north,
others being Lindenhof, Mühlau, Neckarau and Käferthal. Mannheim is
connected by a handsome bridge with Ludwigshafen, a rapidly growing
commercial and manufacturing town on the left bank of the Rhine, in
Bavarian territory. The Neckar is spanned by two bridges.
Nearly the whole of the south-west side of the town is occupied by the
palace (1720-1759), formerly the residence of the elector palatine of
the Rhine. It is one of the largest buildings of the kind in Germany,
covering an area of 15 acres, and having a frontage of about 600 yards.
It has 1500 windows. The left wing was totally destroyed by the
bombardment of 1795, but has since been restored. The palace contains a
picture gallery and collections of natural history and antiquities, and
in front of it are two monumental fountains and a monument to the
emperor William I. The large and beautiful gardens at the back form the
public park of the town. Among the other prominent buildings arc the
theatre, the arsenal, the synagogue, the "Kaufhaus," the town-hall
(_Rathaus_, 1771) and the observatory. A newer building is the fine
municipal Festhalle with magnificent rooms. The only noteworthy churches
are the Jesuit church (1737-1760), the interior of which is lavishly
decorated with marble and painting; the Koncordienkirche and the
Schlosskirche. In front of the theatre are statues of Schiller, August
Wilhelm Iffland the actor, and Wolfgang Heribert von Dalberg
(1750-1806), intendant of the theatre in the time of Schiller. Mannheim
is the chief commercial town on the upper Rhine, and yields in
importance to Cologne alone among the lower Rhenish towns. It stands at
the head of the effective navigation on the Rhine, and is not only the
largest port on the upper course of that stream, but is the principal
emporium for south Germany for such commodities as cereals, coal,
petroleum, timber, sugar and tobacco, with a large trade in hops, wine
and other south German produce. Owing to the rapid increase in the
traffic, a new harbour at the mouth of the Neckar was opened in 1898.
The industries are equal in importance to the transit trade, and embrace
metal-working, iron-founding and machine building, the manufacture of
electric plant, celluloid, automobiles, furniture, cables and chemicals,
sugar refining, cigar and tobacco making, and brewing.
Mannheim is the seat of the central board for the navigation of the
Rhine, of a high court of justice, and of the grand ducal commissioner
for north Baden.
_History._--The name of Mannheim was connected with its present site in
the 8th century, when a small village belonging to the abbey of Lorsch
lay in the marshy district between the Neckar and the Rhine. To the
south of this village, on the Rhine, was the castle of Eicholzheim,
which acquired some celebrity as the place of confinement assigned to
Pope John XXIII. by the council of Constance. The history of modern
Mannheim begins, however, with the opening of the 17th century, when the
elector palatine Frederick IV. founded a town here, which was peopled
chiefly with Protestant refugees from Holland. The strongly fortified
castle which he erected at the same time had the unfortunate result of
making the infant town an object of contention in the Thirty Years' War,
during which it was five times taken and retaken. In 1688 Mannheim,
which had in the meantime recovered from its former disasters, was
captured by the French, and in 1689 it was burned down. Ten years later
it was rebuilt on an extended scale, and provided with fortifications by
the elector John William. For its subsequent importance it was indebted
to the elector Charles Philip, who, owing to ecclesiastical disputes,
transferred his residence from Heidelberg to Mannheim in 1720. It
remained the capital of the Palatinate for nearly sixty years, being
especially flourishing under the elector Charles Theodore. In 1794
Mannheim fell into the hands of the French, and in the following year it
was retaken by the Austrians after a severe bombardment, which left
scarcely a single building uninjured. In 1803 it was assigned to the
grand duke of Baden, who caused the fortifications to be razed. Towards
the end of the 18th century Mannheim attained great celebrity in the
literary world as the place where Schiller's early plays were performed
for the first time. It was at Mannheim that Kotzebue was assassinated in
1819. During the revolution in Baden in 1849 the town was for a time in
the hands of the insurgents, and was afterwards occupied by the
Prussians.
See Feder, _Geschichte der Stadt Mannheim_ (1875-1877, 2 vols., new
ed. 1903); Pichler, _Chronik des Hof- und National Theaters in
Mannheim_ (Mannheim, 1879); Landgraf, _Mannheim und Ludwigshafen_
(Zürich, 1890); _Die wirtschaftliche Bedeutung Mannheims_, published
by the Mannheim Chamber of Commerce (Mannheim, 1905); the _Forschungen
zur Geschichte Mannheims und der Pfalz_, published by the _Mannheimer
Altertumsverein_ (Leipzig, 1898); and the annual _Chronik der
Hauptstadt Mannheim_ (1901 seq.).
MANNING, HENRY EDWARD (1808-1892), English Roman Catholic cardinal, was
born at Totteridge, Hertfordshire, on the 15th of July 1808,[1] being
the third and youngest son of William Manning, a West India merchant,
who was a director of the Bank of England and governor, 1812-1813, and
who sat in Parliament for some thirty years, representing in the Tory
interest Plympton Earle, Lymington, Evesham, and Penryn consecutively.
His mother, Mary, daughter of Henry Leroy Hunter, of Beech Hill,
Reading, was of a family said to be of French extraction. Manning's
boyhood was mainly spent at Coombe Bank, Sundridge, Kent, where he had
for companions Charles and Christopher Wordsworth, afterwards bishops of
St Andrews and of Lincoln. He was educated at Harrow, 1822-1827, Dr G.
Butler being then the head master, but obtained no distinction beyond
being in the cricket eleven in 1825. He matriculated at Balliol College,
Oxford, in 1827, and soon made his mark as a debater at the Union, where
Gladstone succeeded him as president in 1830. At this date he was
ambitious of a political career, but his father had sustained severe
losses in business, and in these circumstances Manning, having graduated
with first-class honours in 1830, obtained the year following, through
Viscount Goderich, a post as supernumerary clerk in the colonial office.
This, however, he resigned in 1832, his thoughts having been turned
towards a clerical career under Evangelical influences, which affected
him deeply throughout life. Returning to Oxford, he was elected a fellow
of Merton College, and was ordained; and in 1833 he was presented to the
rectory of Lavington-with-Graffham in Sussex by Mrs Sargent, whose
granddaughter Caroline he married on the 7th of November 1833, the
ceremony being performed by the bride's brother-in-law, Samuel
Wilberforce, afterwards bishop of Oxford and of Winchester. Manning's
married life was of brief duration. His young and beautiful wife was of
a consumptive family, and died childless (July 24, 1837). The lasting
sadness that thus early overshadowed him tended to facilitate his
acceptance of the austere teaching of the Oxford Tracts; and though he
was never an acknowledged disciple of Newman, it was due to the latter's
influence that from this date his theology assumed an increasingly High
Church character, and his printed sermon on the "Rule of Faith" was
taken as a public profession of his alliance with the Tractarians. In
1838 he took a leading part in the Church education movement, by which
diocesan boards were established throughout the country; and he wrote an
open letter to his bishop in criticism of the recent appointment of the
ecclesiastical commission. In December of that year he paid his first
visit to Rome, and called on Dr Wiseman in company with W. E. Gladstone.
In January 1841 Shuttleworth, bishop of Chichester, appointed him
archdeacon, whereupon he began a personal visitation of each parish
within his district, completing the task in 1843. In 1842 he published a
treatise on _The Unity of the Church_, and his reputation as an eloquent
and earnest preacher being by this time considerable, he was in the same
year appointed select preacher by his university, thus being called upon
to fill from time to time the pulpit which Newman, as vicar of St
Mary's, was just ceasing to occupy. Four volumes of his sermons appeared
between the years 1842 and 1850, and these had reached the 7th, 4th, 3rd
and 2nd editions respectively in 1850, but were not afterwards
reprinted. In 1844 his portrait was painted by Richmond, and the same
year he published a volume of university sermons, in which, however, was
not included the one on the Gunpowder Plot. This sermon had much annoyed
Newman and his more advanced disciples, but it was a proof that at that
date Manning was loyal to the Church of England as Protestant. Newman's
secession in 1845 placed Manning in a position of greater
responsibility, as one of the High Church leaders, along with Pusey and
Keble and Marriott; but it was with Gladstone and James Hope (afterwards
Hope-Scott) that he was at this time most closely associated. In the
spring of 1847 he was seriously ill, and that autumn and the following
winter he spent abroad, chiefly in Rome, where he saw Newman "wearing
the Oratorian habit and dead to the world." He had public and private
audiences with the pope on the 9th of April and the 11th of May 1848,
but recorded next to nothing in his diary concerning them, though
numerous other entries show an eager interest in everything connected
with the Roman Church, and private papers also indicate that he
recognized at this time grave defects in the Church of England and a
mysterious attractiveness in Roman Catholicism, going so far as to
question whether he might not one day be a Roman Catholic himself.
Returning to England, he protested, but with moderation, against the
appointment of Hampden as bishop of Hereford, and continued to take an
active part in the religious education controversy. Through the
influence of Samuel Wilberforce, he was offered the post of sub-almoner
to Queen Victoria, always recognized as a stepping-stone to the
episcopal bench, and his refusal of it was honourably consonant with all
else in his career as an Anglican dignitary, in which he united pastoral
diligence with an asceticism that was then quite exceptional. In 1850
the decision of the privy council, that the bishop of Exeter was bound
to institute the Rev. G. C. Gorham to the benefice of Brampford Speke in
spite of the latter's acknowledged disbelief in the doctrine of
baptismal regeneration, brought to a crisis the position within the
Church of England of those who believed in that Church as a legitimate
part of the infallible _Ecclesia docens_. Manning made it clear that he
regarded the matter as vital, though he did not act on this conviction
until no hope remained of the decision being set aside or practically
annulled by joint action of the bishops. In July he addressed to his
bishop an open letter on "The Appellate Jurisdiction of the Crown in
Matters Spiritual," and he also took part in a meeting in London which
protested against the decision. In the autumn of this year (1850) was
the great popular outcry against the "Papal aggression" (see WISEMAN),
and Manning, feeling himself unable to take part in this protest,
resigned, early in December his benefice and his archdeaconry; and
writing to Hope-Scott, who a little later became a Roman Catholic with
him, stated his conviction that the alternative was "either Rome or
licence of thought and will." He was received into the Roman Catholic
Church by Father Brownbill, S.J., at the church in Farm Street, on
Passion Sunday, the 6th of April 1851. On the following Sunday he was
confirmed and received to communion by Cardinal Wiseman, who also,
within ten weeks of his reception, ordained him priest. Manning
thereupon proceeded to Rome to pursue his theological studies, residing
at the college known as the "Academy for Noble Ecclesiastics," and
attending lectures by Perrone and Passaglia among others. The pope
frequently received him in private audience, and in 1854 conferred on
him the degree of D.D. During his visits to England he was at the
disposal of Cardinal Wiseman, who through him, at the time of the
Crimean War, was enabled to obtain from the government the concession
that for the future Roman Catholic army chaplains should not be regarded
as part of the staff of the Protestant chaplain-general. In 1857 the
pope, _proprio motu_, appointed him provost (or head of the chapter) of
Westminster, and the same year he took up his residence in Bayswater as
superior of a community known as the "Oblates of St Charles," an
association of secular priests on the same lines as the institute of the
Oratory, but with this difference, that they are by their constitution
at the beck and call of the bishop in whose diocese they live. The
community was thus of the greatest service to Cardinal Wiseman, whose
right-hand man Manning thenceforward became. During the eight years of
his life at Bayswater he was most active in all the duties of the
priesthood, preaching, hearing confessions, and receiving converts; and
he was notably zealous to promote in England all that was specially
Roman and papal, thus giving offence to old-fashioned Catholics, both
clerical and lay, many of whom were largely influenced by Gallican
ideas, and had with difficulty accepted the restoration of the hierarchy
in 1850. In 1860 he delivered a course of lectures on the pope's
temporal power, at that date seriously threatened, and shortly
afterwards he was appointed a papal domestic prelate, thus becoming a
"Monsignor," to be addressed as "Right Reverend." He was now generally
recognized as the able and effective leader of the Ultramontane party
among English Roman Catholics, acting always, however, in subordination
to Cardinal Wiseman; and on the latter's death (Feb. 15, 1865) it was
felt that, if Manning should succeed to the vacant archbishopric, the
triumph of Ultramontanism would be secured. Such a consummation not
being desired by the Westminster chapter, they submitted to the pope
three names, and Manning's was not one of them. Great efforts were made
to secure the succession for the titular archbishop Errington, who at
one time had been Wiseman's coadjutor with that right reserved to him,
but who had been ousted from that position by the pope acting under
Manning's influence. In such circumstances Pius IX. could hardly do
otherwise than ignore Errington's nomination, as he also ignored the
nomination of Clifford, bishop of Clifton, and of Grant, bishop of
Southwark; and, by what he humorously described as "the Lord's own _coup
d'état_," he appointed Manning to the archiepiscopal see. Consecrated at
the pro-cathedral at Moorfields (since destroyed) by Dr Ullathorne,
bishop of Birmingham (June 8, 1865), and enthroned there (Nov. 6), after
receiving the _pallium_ in Rome, Manning began his work as archbishop by
devoting himself especially to the religious education of the poor and
to the establishment of Catholic industrial and reformatory schools. He
steadily opposed whatever might encourage the admission of Catholics to
the national universities, and so put his foot down on Newman's project
to open a branch house of the Oratory at Oxford with himself as
superior. He made an unsuccessful and costly effort to establish a
Catholic university at Kensington, and he also made provision for a
diocesan seminary of strictly ecclesiastical type. Jealous of the
exclusive claims of the Roman Church, he procured a further condemnation
at Rome of the "Association for the Promotion of the Unity of
Christendom," which advocated prayers for the accomplishment of a kind
of federal union between the Roman, Greek and Anglican Churches, and in
a pastoral letter he insisted on the heretical assumption implied in
such an undertaking. He also worked for the due recognition of the
dignity of the secular or pastoral clergy, whose position seemed to be
threatened by the growing ascendancy of the regulars, and especially of
the Jesuits, whom, as a practically distinct organization within the
Church, he steadily opposed. In addition to his diocesan synods, he
presided in 1873 over the fourth provincial synod of Westminster, which
legislated on "acatholic" universities, church music, mixed marriages,
and the order of a priest's household, having previously taken part, as
theologian, in the provincial synods of 1853 and 1859, with a hand in
the preparation of their decrees. But it was chiefly through his
strenuous advocacy of the policy of defining papal infallibility at the
Vatican council (1869-1870) that Manning's name obtained world-wide
renown. In this he was instant in season and out of season. He brought
to Rome a petition in its favour from his chapter at Westminster, and
during the progress of the council he laboured incessantly to overcome
the opposition of the "inopportunists." And he never ceased to regard it
as one of the chief privileges of his life that he had been able to take
an active part in securing the definition, and in having heard with his
own ears that doctrine proclaimed as a part of divine revelation. In
1875 he published a reply to Gladstone's attack on the Vatican decrees;
and on the 15th of March in that year he was created cardinal, with the
title of SS. Andrew and Gregory on the Coelian. He was present at the
death of Pius IX. (Feb. 7, 1878); and in the subsequent conclave, while
some Italian cardinals were prepared to vote for his election to fill
the vacant chair, he himself supported Cardinal Pecci, afterwards known
as Leo XIII. With him, however, Manning found less sympathy than with
his predecessor, though Manning's advocacy of the claims of labour
attracted Leo's attention, and influenced the encyclical which he issued
on the subject. After the Vatican council, and more especially after the
death of Pius IX., Manning devoted his attention mainly to social
questions, and with these his name was popularly associated during the
last fifteen years of his life. From 1872 onwards he was a strict
teetotaller, not touching alcohol even as a medicine, and there was some
murmuring among his clergy that his teaching on this subject verged on
heresy. But his example and his zeal profoundly influenced for good the
Irish poor forming the majority of his flock; and the "League of the
Cross" which he founded, and which held annual demonstrations at the
Crystal Palace, numbered nearly 30,000 members in London alone in 1874.
He sat on two royal commissions, the one on the housing of the working
classes (1884), and the other on primary education (1886); and in each
case the report showed evident marks of his influence, which his
fellow-commissioners recognized as that of a wise and competent social
reformer. In the cause of labour he was active for many years, and in
1872 he set an example to the clergy of all the churches by taking a
prominent part in a meeting held in Exeter Hall on behalf of the newly
established Agricultural Labourers' Union, Joseph Arch and Charles
Bradlaugh being among those who sat with him on the platform. In later
years his strenuous advocacy of the claims of the working classes, and
his declaration that "every man has a right to work or to bread" led to
his being denounced as a Socialist. That he was such he denied more than
once (Lemire, _Le Cardinal Manning et son action sociale_, Paris, 1893,
p. 210), nor was he ever a Socialist in principle; but he favoured some
of the methods of Socialism, because they alone seemed to him
practically to meet the case of that pressing poverty which appealed to
his heart. He took a leading part in the settlement of the dockers'
strike in the autumn of 1889, and his patient and effectual action on
this and on similar occasions secured for him the esteem and affection
of great numbers of working men, so that his death on the 14th of
January 1892, and his funeral a week later, were the occasion for a
remarkable demonstration of popular veneration. The Roman Catholic
Cathedral at Westminster is his joint memorial with his predecessor,
Cardinal Wiseman.
Whatever may have been the value of Manning's services to the Roman
Catholic Church in England in bringing it, as he did, up to a high level
of what in earlier years was commonly denounced as Ultramontanism, it is
certain that by his social action, as well as by the earnestness and
holiness of his life, he greatly advanced, in the minds of his
countrymen generally, their estimate of the character and value of
Catholicism. Pre-eminently he was a devout ecclesiastic, a "great
priest"; and his sermons, both Anglican and Catholic, are marked by
fervour and dignity, by a conviction of his own authoritative mission as
preacher, and by an eloquent insistence on considerations such as warm
the heart and bend the will rather than on such as force the intellect
to assent. But many of his instincts were those of a statesman, a
diplomatist, a man of the world, even of a business man; and herein lay,
at least in part, the secret of his influence and success.
Intellectually he did not stand in the front rank. He was neither a
philosopher nor a literary genius. Among his many publications, written,
it is only fair to admit, amidst the urgent pressure of practical work,
there is barely a page or even a sentence that bears the stamp of
immortality. But within a somewhat narrower field he worked with
patience, industry, and self-denying zeal; his ambition, which seemed to
many personal, was rather the outcome of his devotion to the cause of
the Church; and in the later years of his life especially he showed that
he loved righteousness and hated iniquity, and that he realized as
clearly as any one that the service of God was incomplete without the
service of man.
The publication in 1896 of Manning's _Life_, by Purcell, was the
occasion for some controversy on the ethics of biography. Edward
Purcell was an obscure Catholic journalist, to whom Manning, late in
life, had entrusted, rather by way of charitable bequest, his private
diaries and other confidential papers. It thus came to pass that in
Purcell's voluminous biography much that was obviously never intended
for the public eye was, perhaps inadvertently, printed, together with
a good deal of ungenerous comment. The facts disclosed which mainly
attracted attention were: (1) that Manning, while yet formally an
Anglican, and while publicly and privately dissuading others from
joining the Roman Catholic Church, was yet within a little convinced
that it was his own duty and destiny to take that step himself; (2)
that he was continually intriguing at the back-stairs of the Vatican
for the furtherance of his own views as to what was desirable in
matters ecclesiastical; (3) that his relations with Newman were very
unfriendly; and (4) that, while for the most part he exhibited towards
his own clergy a frigid and masterful demeanour, he held privately
very cordial relations with men of diverse religions or of no
theological beliefs at all. And certainly Manning does betray in these
autobiographical fragments an unheroic sensitiveness to the verdict of
posterity on his career. But independent critics (among whom may
specially be named François de Pressensé) held that Manning came well
through the ordeal, and that Purcell's _Life_ had great value as an
unintentionally frank revelation of character. (A. W. Hu.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Purcell's assertion that the year of his birth was 1807 rests on
no trustworthy evidence.
MANNY, SIR WALTER DE MANNY, BARON DE (d. 1372), soldier of fortune and
founder of the Charterhouse, younger son of Jean de Mauny, known as Le
Borgne de Mauny, by his wife Jeanne de Jenlain, was a native of Hainaut,
from whose counts he claimed descent. Manny--the name is thus spelt by
most English writers--was a patron and friend of Froissart, in whose
chronicles his exploits have a conspicuous and probably an exaggerated
place. He appears to have first come to England as an esquire of Queen
Philippa in 1327, and he took a distinguished part in the Scottish wars
of Edward III. In 1337 he was placed in command of an English fleet, and
in the following year accompanied Edward to the continent, where in the
campaigns of the next few years he proved himself one of the boldest and
ablest of the English king's military commanders. He was summoned to
parliament as a baron by writ from the 12th of November 1347 to the 8th
of January 1371. In 1359 he was made a knight of the Garter; and at
various times he received extensive grants of land both in England and
in France. He was frequently employed by King Edward in the conduct of
diplomatic negotiations as well as in military commands. He was one of
those charged with the safe custody of the French king John when a
prisoner at Calais in 1360; in 1369 he was second in command under John
of Gaunt in his invasion of France.
But Manny is chiefly remembered for his share in the foundation of the
Charterhouse in London. In 1349 he bought some acres of land near
Smithfield, which were consecrated as a burying-place where large
numbers of the victims of the Black Death were interred; and here he
built a chapel, from which the place obtained the name of
"Newchurchhaw." The chapel and ground were bought from Manny by the
bishop of London, Michael de Northburgh, who died in 1361 and by his
will bequeathed a large sum of money to found there a Carthusian
convent. It is not clear whether this direction was ever carried out;
for in 1371 Manny obtained letters patent from King Edward III.
permitting him to found, apparently on the same site, a Carthusian
monastery called "La Salutation Mère Dieu," where the monks were to pray
for the soul of Northburgh as well as for the soul of Manny himself. The
bishop's bequest may have contributed to the building and endowment of
the house; or possibly, as seems to be implied by a bull granted by
Urban VI. in 1378, there were originally two kindred establishments
owing their foundation to Northburgh and Manny respectively. At all
events Manny, who died early in 1372, left instructions that he was to
be buried in the church of the Carthusian monastery founded by himself.
About 1335 he married Margaret, daughter and heiress of Thomas
Plantagenet, earl of Norfolk, son of King Edward I., whose first husband
had been John, Lord Segrave. This lady, who outlived Manny by many
years, was countess of Norfolk in her own right, and she was created
duchess of Norfolk in 1397. Manny left no surviving son. His daughter
Anne, Baroness de Manny in her own right, married John Hastings, 2nd
earl of Pembroke; and on the death of her only son unmarried in 1389,
the barony of Manny became extinct.
See _Oeuvres de Froissart, I. Chroniques_, edited by Baron Kervyn de
Lettenhove (Brussels, 1867-1877), and the Globe edition of
_Froissart's Chronicles_ (Eng. trans., London, 1895); G. F. Beltz,
_Memorials of the Most Noble Order of the Garter_ (London, 1841);
_Chronicon Angliae 1323-1388_, edited by E. Maunde Thompson (Rolls
series 64, London, 1874); Philip Bearcroft, _An Historical Account of
Thomas Sutton and of his Foundation in Charterhouse_ (London, 1737).
MANNYNG, ROBERT (ROBERT OF BRUNNE) (c. 1264-1340?), English poet, was a
native of Brunne, now Bourne, in Lincolnshire. About 6 m. from Bourne
was the Gilbertine monastery of Sempringham, founded by Sir Gilbert de
Sempringham in 1139. The foundation provided for seven to thirteen
canons, with a number of lay brothers and a community of nuns. No books
were allowed to the lay brothers and nothing could be written in the
monastery without the prior's consent. Mannyng entered this house in
1288, when, according to the rules, he must have been at least 24 years
of age, if, as is supposed, he was a lay brother. He says he was at
Cambridge with Robert de Bruce and his two brothers, Thomas and
Alexander, but this does not necessarily imply that he was a
fellow-student. There was a Gilbertine monastery at Cambridge, and
Mannyng may have been there on business connected with his order. When
he wrote _Handlyng Synne_ he had been (11. 63-76) fifteen years in the
priory, beginning to write in "englysch rime in 1303." Thirty-five years
later he began his _Story of Inglande_, and had removed (11. 139, &c.)
to the monastery of Sixille (now Sixhills), near Market Rasen, in north
Lincolnshire.
_Handlyng Synne_, a poem of nearly 13,000 lines, is a free translation,
with many additions and amplifications, from William of Waddington's
_Manuel des Pechiez_. It is a series of metrical homilies on the Ten
Commandments, the Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Sacraments,
illustrated by a number of amusing stories from various sources. The
_Cursor Mundi_ had turned religious history into something not very
different from a romance of chivalry, and in the stories of _Handlyng
Synne_ the influence of the _fabliaux_ is not far to seek. Mannyng wrote
in the English tongue not for learned but for "lewd" men, "that talys
and ryme wyl blethly here," to occupy the leisure hours during which
they might otherwise fall into "vylanye, dedly synne or other folye."
Each of his twenty-four topics has its complement of stories. He tells
of the English observance of Saturday afternoon as holy to the Virgin,
and has much to say of popular amusements, which become sins when they
keep people away from church. Tournaments in particular are fertile
occasions of all the deadly sins; and mystery plays, except those of the
birth and resurrection of Christ performed in the churches, also lead
men into transgression. He inveighs against the oppression of the poor
by the rich, reproves those who, weary of matins or mass, spend their
time in church "jangling," telling tales, and wondering where they will
get the best ale, and revives the legend of the dancers at the church
door during mass who were cursed by the priest and went on dancing for a
twelvemonth without cessation. He loved music himself, and justified
this profane pleasure by the example of Bishop Grosseteste, who lodged
his harper in the chamber next his own; but he holds up as a warning to
gleemen the fate of the minstrel who sang loud while the bishop said
grace, and was miserably killed by a falling stone in consequence. The
old monk's keen observation makes the book a far more valuable
contribution to history than his professed chronicle. It is a storehouse
of quaint stories and out-of-the-way information on manners and customs.
His chronicle, _The Story of Inglande_, was also written for the solace
and amusement of the unlearned when they sit together in fellowship (11.
6-10). The earlier half is written in octosyllabic verse, and begins
with the story of the Deluge. The genealogy of Locrine, king of Britain,
is traced back to Noah, through Aeneas, and the chronicler relates the
incidents of the Trojan war as told by Dares the Phrygian. From this
point he follows closely the _Brut_ of Wace. He loved stories for their
own sake, and found fault with Wace for questioning the miraculous
elements in the legend of Arthur. In the second half of his chronicle,
which is less simple in style, he translates from the French of Pierre
de Langtoft. He writes in rhyming alexandrines, and in the latter part
of the work uses middle rhymes. Mannyng's _Chronicle_ marks a change in
national sentiment. Though he regards the Norman domination as a
"bondage," he is loud in his praises of Edward I., "Edward of Inglond."
The linguistic importance of Mannyng's work is very great. He used very
few of those Teutonic words which, though still in use, were eventually
to drop out of the language, and he introduced a great number of French
words destined to be permanently adopted in English. Moreover, he
employed comparatively few obsolete inflexions, and his work no doubt
furthered the adoption of the Midland dialect as the acknowledged
literary instrument. T. L. Kington-Oliphant (_Old and Middle English_,
1878) regards his work as the definite starting point of the New English
which with slight changes was to form the language of the Book of Common
Prayer.
A third work, usually ascribed to Mannyng, chiefly on the ground of its
existing side by side with the _Handlyng Synne_ in the Harleian and
Bodleian MSS., is the _Medytacyuns of the Soper of oure lorde Jhesu, And
also of hys passyun And eke of the peynes of hys swete modyr, Mayden
marye_, a free translation of St Bonaventura's _De coena et passione
Domini..._.
Robert of Brunne's _Chronicle_ exists in two MSS.: Petyt MS. 511,
written in the Northern dialect, in the Inner Temple library; and
Lambeth MS. 131 in a Midland dialect. The first part was edited _The
Story of England ..._ (1887) for the Rolls Series, with an
introductory essay by F. J. Furnivall; the second part was published
by Thomas Hearne as _Peter Langtoft's Chronicle ..._ (1725). Peter
Langtoft's French version was edited by Thomas Wright for the "Rolls
Series" in 1866. Of _Handlyng Synne_ there are complete MSS. in the
Bodleian library (MS. 415) and in the British Museum (Harleian MS.
1701), and a fragment in the library of Dulwich College (MS. 24). It
was edited, with Waddington's text in parallel columns, by F. J.
Furnivall for the Roxburghe Club (1862), and for the Early English
Text Society (1901-1903). The _Meditacyun_ was edited from the
Bodleian and Harleian MSS. by J. Meadow Cooper for the same society
(1875). See also Gerhard Hellmers, _Ueber die Sprache Robert Mannyngs
of Brunne und über die Autorschaft der ihm zugeschriebenen Meditations
..._ (Göttingen, 1885), which contains an analysis of the dialectic
peculiarities of Mannyng's work; O. Boerner, "Die Sprache Robert
Mannyngs" ... in _Studien zur engl. Philologie_ (vol. xii., Halle,
1904) and Oskar Preussner, _Robert Mannyng of Brunne's Übersetzung von
Pierre de Langtofts Chronicle_ (Breslau, 1891). All accounts of his
life are based on his own work. For the Sempringham priory see
Dugdale, _Monasticon_ vi. 947 seq., and Miss Rose Graham's _S. Gilbert
of Sempringham and the Gilbertines_ (1901).
MANOEUVRES, MILITARY. Manoeuvres may be defined as the higher training
for war of troops of all arms in large bodies, and have been carried out
in most countries ever since the first formation of standing armies. In
England no manoeuvres or camps of exercise appear to have been held till
the beginning of the 19th century, when Sir John Moore trained the
famous Light Brigade at Shorncliffe camp. In France, however, under
Louis XIV., large camps of instruction were frequently held, the
earliest recorded being that of 18,000 troops at Compiègne in 1666; and
these were continued at intervals under his successor. At these French
camps much time was devoted to ceremonial, and the manoeuvres performed
were of an elementary description. Still their effect upon the training
of the army for war was far-reaching, and bore fruit in the numerous
wars in the first half of the 18th century. Moreover, experiments were
made with proposed tactical systems and technical improvements, as in
the case of the contest between _l'ordre mince_ and _l'ordre profonde_
(see INFANTRY) between 1785 and 1790. Other countries followed suit, but
it was reserved for Frederick the Great to inaugurate a system of real
manoeuvres and to develop on the training-ground the system of tactics
which bore such good fruit in his various campaigns. The numbers of
troops assembled were large; for example, at Spandau in 1753, when
36,000 men carried out manoeuvres for twelve days. The king laid the
greatest stress on these exercises, and took immense pains to turn to
account the experience gained in his campaigns. Great secrecy was
observed, and before the Seven Years' War no stranger was allowed to be
present. The result of all this careful training was shown in the Seven
Years' War, and after it the Prussian manoeuvres gained a reputation
which they have maintained to this day. But with the passing away of the
great king they became more and more pedantic, and the fatal results
were shown in 1806. After the Napoleonic wars yearly manoeuvres became
the custom in every large Continental army. Great Britain alone thought
she could dispense with them, perhaps because of the constant practical
training her troops and officers received in the various Indian and
colonial wars; and it was not till 1853 that, by the advice of the
Prince Consort, a body of troops were gathered together for a camp of
exercise on Chobham Common, and that eventually a standing camp of
exercise was evolved out of the temporary camp formed during the Crimean
War at Aldershot.
Most continental armies have, since the great successes of the Germans
in 1870, copied more or less their system of military training; hence
it is appropriate to consider their methods first. The whole training
of the army is based on a yearly programme of gradual progression,
from the joining of the recruits in October to the training by squads,
companies, battalions and regiments, the latter finishing their field
training about the middle of August, when the manoeuvre period begins.
First of all, the brigades go through five working days of drills on
flat ground, to get them under the hand of their commanders and
prepare them for manoeuvres. Then follow ten working days of
manoeuvres in new and varied ground, of which four are "brigade," four
"divisional" and two "corps" manoeuvres, in each case the unit named
being divided into two portions of all arms, which manoeuvre against
one another. Each year two or more army corps carry out manoeuvres
before the emperor, working against one another. The chief feature of
the German manoeuvres is the free hand allowed to leaders of sides. Of
course, for reasons of supply and transport, it is necessary to keep
the troops within a certain area, but the general and special ideas[1]
are so framed that, while retaining their own initiative, the leaders
of sides have to give such orders as will suit the arrangements made
by the director of manoeuvres for supply. The faculty of quartering
troops on private individuals to any extent, and the fact of the
troops being provided with portable tent equipment, give great
latitude to the German leaders in their choice of quarters for troops,
and so increase the similitude of manoeuvres to war. The Austrian and
Italian manoeuvres are a close copy of the German, but those of the
French present the peculiarity of a certain amount of prearrangement,
especially at grand manoeuvres, when it is frequently laid down
beforehand which side is to be victorious. Thus a series of pictures
of war is presented, but the manoeuvres are hardly a test of the skill
of the rival leaders. But, just as in recent years in France this
practice has been modified, so also the entire liberty given to
commanders in the German manoeuvres in 1906-7 had to be curtailed in
the following years owing to the strain of forced marches which it
entailed on the troops.
In Russia the climatic and social conditions, and the distribution of
the army, necessitate a quite peculiar system. The troops leave their
barracks and move into standing camps, generally in May, and in these
for about three months their training up to that in battalions is
carried out on the drill ground. Camps of mixed units are then formed
for a month, and from them, but always over the same ground, the
manoeuvres of regiments, brigades and divisions are performed. Then
follow the so-called mobile manoeuvres, which last for ten days or a
fortnight. Of all European manoeuvres these are perhaps the nearest
approach to war, for the sides start a great distance apart, and ample
time is allowed for cavalry reconnaissance. Besides, the Russian
soldier does not require elaborate arrangements for supply; hence the
director is not so tied down by consideration of this matter as in
other armies. A political colour is sometimes given to such large
assemblages of troops, especially when the manoeuvres take place in
frontier districts.
In England the military authorities have long been hampered in the
organization of manoeuvres by the necessity of carrying them out on
very limited portions of government land or on areas lent as a favour
by, or hired from, private individuals. There has been no want of
recognition by the military authorities of the necessity for, and
value of, manoeuvres, and the training at the camps of instruction has
been supplemented as far as possible by small manoeuvres on such
portions of country as could be made available. But, with the
exception of spasmodic efforts in 1871 and 1872, it was not until 1897
that the government allowed itself to be convinced by its military
advisers, and passed a Military Manoeuvres Act, by which certain
districts could be "proclaimed" for purposes of manoeuvres, and troops
in consequence could traverse all ground. In 1898 the first manoeuvres
under this Act were held in Wilts and Dorset, and were intended to be
repeated at fixed intervals in future years. In addition, every effort
was made to add to the existing permanent training grounds for troops,
and ground was acquired on Salisbury Plain with the intention of
developing it into a second Aldershot. But the training on those
well-known grounds, excellent as it is in itself as a preparation, is
not "manoeuvres," and never can do away with the necessity for them,
with a more or less free hand given to the leaders over fresh country.
Much misconception prevails as to the nature and limitation of the
military instruction to be imparted at manoeuvres. Manoeuvres are a
school for the leaders, in a less degree for the led, and
consequently the minor details of instruction must be completed, and
the troops fully trained as units, before they can take part in them
with advantage. The time during which large bodies of troops can be
kept together for manoeuvres is too short, and the expense too great,
to justify time being spent on exercises which might as well be
carried out in the ordinary stations or at the great training camps.
Therefore it may be laid down as a principle that manoeuvres, properly
so-called, should be begun with units not smaller than a brigade of
infantry on each side, with a due proportion of the other arms
attached. It is useful if these can precede the manoeuvres of larger
bodies, as the training is then progressive and the result more
satisfactory.[2]
The choice of ground is of great importance. Its extent should be
proportionate to the force to be employed and the nature of the
instruction to be imparted. It should not be too hilly nor yet too
flat, but both descriptions should be judiciously combined; and regard
must be had to the water supply and the road and railway net for the
convenience of the supply service. Once the ground has been selected,
the general and special ideas must be so framed that the troops are
thereby confined to the chosen ground without seeming to tie the hands
of the leaders of sides. It is of great advantage if the same idea can
be maintained throughout each series of operations, as thereby the
interest of all concerned and the likeness to actual warfare are
increased; and, if possible, the "state of war" should be continuous
also. Within the limits of the special idea, the utmost latitude
should be left to leaders; but if the orders of one or both sides seem
to render a collision unlikely, the director should so modify the
special idea as to compel one or other to re-cast his orders in such a
way that contact is brought about. Such interference will scarcely be
necessary after the first issues of orders in each series. In war the
number of marching days vastly outnumbers those of fighting, but in
manoeuvres this must not be allowed; tactical instruction is what is
desired, and a manoeuvre day in which none is imparted is not fully
utilized. It is not necessary that all the troops should be engaged,
but at least the advanced bodies must come into contact, and the rest
must carry out marches as on active service. Each action should be
fought to its end, "Cease firing" being sounded when the crisis has
been reached; and on a decision being given by the director, one side
should retire and the fight be broken off in a proper military manner.
The troops should place outposts each day, and act in all respects as
if on active service.
The quartering and supply of troops are the chief difficulties in the
arrangement of manoeuvres, and afford ample opportunity for the
practising of the officers and departments responsible for these
matters. In England, where in peace it is not possible to billet
troops on private individuals, quartering must be replaced by
encampments or bivouacs, and the selection of ground for them affords
invaluable practice. If possible, their position should be selected to
conform to the military situation; but if it is found necessary, for
reasons of water or food supply, to withdraw troops to positions other
than such as they would occupy in real warfare, time should be allowed
them on the following day to regain the positions they would otherwise
have occupied. It is next to impossible, for various reasons,
financial and other, to organize the food supply in manoeuvres as it
would be in war. Sufficient transport cadres cannot be kept up in
peace, and consequently recourse must be had to hired transport, which
cannot be treated as a military body. Again, food cannot be
requisitioned, and local purchase at the time cannot be trusted to; so
dépôts of supplies must be formed beforehand in the manoeuvres area,
which more or less tie the hands of the supply service. Still, with a
judicious choice of the points at which these are formed, much may be
done to approximate to service conditions, and the more nearly these
are realized the more instructive for the supply will the manoeuvres
become.
Finally, a word must be said as to the umpire staff, which represents
the bullets. The most careful selection of officers for this important
duty is necessary, and they must have sufficient authority and be in
sufficient number to make their influence everywhere felt. Their
principal object should be to come to a decision quickly, so as to
prevent the occurrence of unreal situations; and by constant
intercommunication they must ensure uniformity in their decisions, and
so maintain continuity of the action all over the manoeuvres
battlefield. (J. M. Gr.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The "general idea" is a document, communicated to both sides,
containing such general information of the war--the supposed
frontiers, previous battles, &c.--as would be matters of common
knowledge. The "special idea" of each side comprises the instructions
upon which it is acting.
[2] Manoeuvres incidentally afford an excellent opportunity of
testing new patterns of equipment, transport or other matériel under
conditions approximating to those of active service.
MANOMETER (Gr. [Greek: manos], thin or loose; [Greek: metron], a
measure), an instrument for measuring the pressures exerted by gases or
vapours. An alternative name is pressure gauge, but this term may
conveniently be restricted to manometers used in connexion with
steam-boilers, &c. The principle of hydrostatics suggest the most common
forms. Suppose we have a U tube (fig. 1), containing a liquid: if the
pressures on the surfaces of the liquid be equal, then the surfaces will
be at the same height. If, on the other hand, the pressure in one limb
be greater than the pressure in the other, the surfaces will be at
different heights, the difference being directly proportional to the
difference of pressures and inversely as the specific gravity of the
liquid used.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
Two forms are in use: (1) the "open-tube," in which the pressure in
one limb is equal to the atmospheric pressure, and (2) the
"closed-tube," in which the experimental pressure is balanced against
the liquid column and the air compressed into the upper part of a
closed limb of the tube. In the "open tube" form (fig. 1) the pressure
on the surface a is equal to the pressure on the surface at b (one
atmosphere) _plus_ the hydrostatic pressure exerted by the liquid
column of height a b. The liquid commonly used is mercury. If a scale
be placed behind the limbs of the tube, so that the difference a b can
be directly determined, then the pressure in a is at once expressible
as P + a b in millimetres or inches of mercury, where P is the
atmospheric pressure, known from an ordinary barometric observation.
In the "closed tube" form (fig. 2) the calculation is not so simple,
for the variation of pressure on the mercury surface in the closed
limb has to be taken into account. Suppose the length of the air
column in the closed limb be h when the mercury is at the same height
in both tubes. Applying the experimental pressure to the open end, if
this be greater than atmospheric pressure the mercury column will rise
and the air column diminish in the closed limb. Let the length of the
air column be h´, then its pressure is h/h´ atmospheres. The
difference in height of the mercury columns in the two limbs is 2(h -
h´), and the pressure in the open limb is obviously equal to that of a
column of mercury of length 2(h - h´), plus h/h´ atmospheres. These
instruments are equally serviceable for determining pressures less
than one atmosphere. In laboratory practice, e.g. when it is required
to determine the degree of exhaust of a water pump, a common form
consists of a vertical glass tube having its lower end immersed in a
basin of mercury, and its upper end connected by means of an
intermediate vessel to the exhaust. The mercury rises in the tube, and
the difference between the barometric height and the length of the
mercury column gives the pressure attained.
MANOR. Any definition of a manor, in land tenure, must take note of two
elements--economic and political. The manor has an estate for its basis,
although it need not coincide with an estate, but may be wider. It is
also a political unit, a district formed for purposes of government,
although the political functions made over to it may greatly vary. As a
lordship based on land tenure, the manor necessarily comprises a ruler
and a population dependent on him, and the characteristic trait of such
dependence consists not in ownership extending over persons, as in
slave-holding communities, nor in contractual arrangements, as in a
modern economic organization, but in various forms and degrees of
subjection, chiefly regulated by custom. In the sense mentioned the
manor is by no means a peculiarly English institution; it occurs in
every country where feudalism got a hold. Under other names we find it
not only in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, but also, to a certain
extent, in the Byzantine Empire, Russia, Japan, &c. It is especially
representative of an aristocratic stage in the development of European
nations. When tribal notions and arrangements ceased to be sufficient
for upholding their commonwealths, when social and political life had to
be built up on the basis of land-tenure, the type of manorial
organization came forward in natural course. It was closely connected
with natural economy, and was suited to a narrow horizon of economic
wants and political requirements. At the same time it provided links for
a kind of national federation of military estates. We shall only speak
of the course of manorial evolution in France and Germany, because this
presents the clearest expression of the fundamental principles of
manorial life and the best material for comparison with English facts.
One problem common to the entire European world has to be considered
from the very beginning. Does the manor date from the Roman Empire, or
not? Can its chief features be traced in Roman institutions? There can
be no doubt that at the end of the Roman period certain traits are
noticeable which might, under favourable conditions, develop into a
manorial combination. Great estates with political functions,
populations subjected to the political lordship of landowners, appear in
the closing centuries of the empire, and have to be reckoned with as
precursors of medieval manorial life. The original organization of the
ancient world was built up on the self-government of cities and on the
sharp distinction between citizens and slaves. Both features were
gradually modified by the Roman Empire. Self-government was atrophied by
bureaucratic interference; the economy based on the exploitation of
slaves began to give way before relations in which the elements of
freedom and serfdom were oddly mixed. During the last centuries of its
existence the Western Empire became more and more a conglomerate of
barbaric and half-civilized populations, and it is not strange that the
characteristic germs of feudalism began to show themselves within its
territory as well as outside it. As far as political institutions are
concerned, we notice that the central power, after claiming an absolute
sway over its subjects, is obliged more and more to lean on private
forces in order to maintain itself. One of its favourite resources in
the 4th and 5th centuries consists in making great landowners
responsible for the good behaviour of their tenants and even of their
less important neighbours. The _saltus_, the great domain, is
occasionally recognized as a separate district exempt from the ordinary
administration of the city, subordinated to its owner in respect of
taxes and police. Even in ordinary estates (_fundi_) there is a tendency
to make the landowner responsible for military conscription, for the
presentation of criminals to justice. On the other hand the incumbents
of ecclesiastical offices are nominated in accordance with the wishes of
patrons among the landowners; in the administration of justice the
influence of this same class makes itself felt more and more. Nor are
signs of a convergent evolution wanting on the economic side. Slaves are
used more and more as small householders provided with rural tenements
and burdened with rents and services. Free peasant farmers holding by
free agreement get more and more reduced to a status of half-free
settlers occupying their tenancies on the strength of custom and
traditional ascription to the glebe. Eventually this status is
recognized as a distinct class by imperial legislation. Ominous symptoms
of growing political disruption and of an aristocratic transformation of
society were visible everywhere at the close of the empire. Yet there
could be no talk of a manorial system as long as the empire and the
commercial intercourse protected by it continued to exist.
The fall of the empire hastened the course of evolution. It brought into
prominence barbaric tribes who were unable to uphold either the
political power or the economic system of the Romans. The Germans had
from old certain manorial features in the constitution of their
government and husbandry. The owner of a house had always been possessed
of a certain political power within its precincts, as well as within the
fenced area surrounding it: the peace of the dwelling and the peace of
the hedged-in yard were recognized by the legal customs of all the
German tribes. The aristocratic superiority of warriors over all classes
engaged in base peaceful work was also deeply engraved in the minds of
the fighting and conquering tribes. On the other hand the downfall of
complicated forms of civilization and civil intercourse rendered
necessary a kind of subjection in which tributary labourers were left to
a certain extent to manage their own affairs. The Germanic conqueror was
unable to move slaves about like draughts: he had no scope for a
complicated administration of capital and work. The natural outcome was
to have recourse to serfdom with its convenient system of tribute and
services.
But, as in the case of the Roman Empire, the formation of regular manors
was held back for a time in the early Germanic monarchies by the
lingering influence of tribal organization. In the second period of
medieval development in continental Europe, in the Carolingian epoch,
the features of the estate as a political unit are more sharply marked.
Notwithstanding the immense efforts of Charles Martel, Pippin and
Charlemagne to strengthen the tottering edifice of the Frankish Empire,
public authority had to compromise with aristocratic forces in order to
ensure regular government. As regards military organization this is
expressed in the recognition of the power of _seniores_, called upon to
lead their vassals in the host; as regards jurisdiction, in the increase
of the numbers of commended freemen who seek to interpose the powerful
patronage of lay and secular magnates between themselves and the Crown.
Great estates arose not only on the lands belonging to the king, but on
that of churches and of lay potentates, and the constitution of these
estates, as described for instance in the Polyptique of St Germain des
Près or in the "Brevium exempla ad describendas res ecclesiasticas et
fiscales" (_Capitularia_, ed. Boretius, i. 250), reminds us forcibly of
that of later feudal estates. They contain a home-farm, with a court and
a _casa indominicata_, or manor-house, some holdings (_mansi_) of free
men (_ingenuiles_), of serfs (_serviles_), and perhaps of half-free
people (_lidiles_). The rents and services of this dependent population
are stated in detail, as in later custumals, and there is information
about the agricultural implements, the stores and stock on the
home-farm. Thus the economic basis of the manor exists in more or less
complete order, but it cannot be said as yet to form the prevailing type
of land tenure in the country. Holdings of independent free men and
village organizations of ancient type still surround the great estates,
and in the case of ecclesiastical possessions we are often in a position
to watch their gradual extension at the expense of the neighbouring free
settlers, by way of direct encroachment, and by that of surrender and
commendation on the part of the weaker citizens. Another factor which
plays a great part in the gradual process of infeudation is the rise of
private jurisdictions, which falls chiefly into the 10th and 11th
centuries. The struggle against Northmen, Magyars and Slavs gave a
crowning touch to the process of localization of political life and of
the aristocratic constitution of society.
In order to describe the full-grown continental manor of the 11th
century it is better to take French examples than German, Italian or
Spanish. Feudalism in France attained the greatest extension and utmost
regularity, while in other European countries it was hampered and
intermixed with other institutional features. The expression best
corresponding to the English "manor," in the sense of an organized
district, was _seigneurie_. _Manoir_ is in use, and is, of course, a
French word corresponding to _manerium_, but it meant strictly "mansion"
or chief homestead in France. _Baronie_ is another term which might be
employed in some instances as an equivalent of the English manor, but,
in a sense, it designates only one species of a larger genus, the estate
of a full baron in contrast to a mere knight's fee, as well as to a
principality. Some of the attributes of a baron are, however, typical,
as the purest expression of manorial rights, and may be used in a
general characterization of the latter.
The _seigneurie_ may be considered from three points of view--as a
unit of administration, as an economic unit, and as a union of social
classes.
(a) In principle the disruption of political life brought about by
feudalism ought to have resulted in the complete administrative
independence of the manor. _Chaque baron est souverain dans sa
baronie_ is a proverb meant to express this radical view of manorial
separatism. As a matter of fact this separatism was never completely
realized, and even at the time of the greatest prevalence of feudalism
the little sovereigns of France were combined into a loose federation
of independent fiefs. Still, the proverb was not a mere play of words,
and it took a long time for the kings of France to break in
potentates, like the little Sire de Coucy in the immediate vicinity of
Paris, who sported in his crest the self-complacent motto: _Je ne suis
ni comte, ni marquis, je suis le sire de Coucy_. The institutional
expression of this aspect of feudalism in the life of the _seigneurie_
was the jurisdiction combined with the latter. The principal origin of
this jurisdiction was the dismemberment of royal justice, the
acquisition by certain landowners of the right of holding royal pleas.
The assumption of authority over public tribunals of any kind was
naturally considered as equivalent to such a transmission of royal
right. But other sources may be noticed also. It was assumed by French
feudal law that in all cases when land was granted by a _seigneur_ in
subinfeudation the recipients would be bound to appear as members of a
court of tenants for the settlement of conflicts in regard to land. A
third source may be traced in the extension of the patrimonial justice
of a person over his serfs and personal dependents to the classes of
free and half-free population connected with the _seigneurie_ in one
way or another. There arose in consequence of these assumptions of
jurisdiction a most bewildering confusion of tribunals and judicial
rights. It happened sometimes that the question as to who should be
the judge in some particular contest was decided by matter-of-fact
seizure--the holder of pleas who was the first on the spot to proclaim
himself judge in a case was deemed entitled to jurisdiction. In other
cases one _seigneur_ held the pleas in a certain place for six days in
the week, while some competitor of his possessed jurisdiction during
the seventh. A certain order was brought into this feudal chaos by the
classification of judiciary functions according to the four categories
of high, middle, low and tenurial justice. The scope of the first
three subdivisions is sufficiently explained by their names; the
fourth concerned cases arising from subinfeudation. As a rule the
baron or _seigneur_ sat in justice with a court of assessors or peers,
but the constitution of such courts varied a great deal. They
represented partly the succession of the old popular courts with their
_scabini_, partly courts of vassals and tenants. In strict feudal law
an appeal was allowed from a lower to a higher court only in a case of
a denial of justice (_dénie de justice_), not in error or revision of
sentence. This rule was, however, very often infringed, and gave way
ultimately before the restoration of royal justice.
(b) The economic fabric of the French _seigneurie_ varied greatly,
according to localities. In the north of France it was not unlike that
of the English manor. The capital messuage, or castle, and the
home-farm of the lord, were surrounded by dependent holdings,
_censives_, paying rent, and villein tenements burdened with services.
Between these tenancies there were various ties of neighbourhood and
economic solidarity recalling the open-field cultivation in England
and Germany. When the harvest was removed from the open strips they
returned to a state of undivided pasture in which the householders of
the village exercised rights of common with their cattle. Wild pasture
and woods were used more or less in the same fashion as in England
(_droit de pacage de vaine pâture_). The inhabitants often formed
courts and held meetings in order to settle the by-laws, and to
adjudicate as to trespasses and encroachments (_courts colongères_).
In the south, individual property was more prevalent and the villagers
were not so closely united by ties of neighbourhood. Yet even there
the dependent households were arranged into _mansi_ or _colonicae_,
subjected to approximately equal impositions in respect of rents and
services. In any case the characteristic dualism of manorial life, the
combined working of a central home-farm, and of its economic
satellites providing necessary help in the way of services, and
contributing towards the formation of manorial stores, is quite as
much a feature of French as of English medieval husbandry.
(c) The social relations between the manorial lord and his subjects
are marked by various forms of the exploitation of the latter by the
former. Apart from jurisdictional profits, rents and agricultural
services, dues of all kinds are exacted from the rural population.
Some of these dues have to be traced to servile origins, although they
were evidently gradually extended to groups of people who were not
descended from downright serfs but had lapsed into a state of
considerable subjection. The _main morte_ of rustic tenants meant that
they had no goods of their own, but held movable property on
sufferance without the right of passing it on to their successors. As
a matter of fact, sons were admitted to inheritance after their
fathers, and sometimes succession was extended to other relatives, but
the person taking inheritance paid a heavy fine for entering into
possession, or gave up a horse, an ox, or some other especially
valuable piece of property. The _formariage_ corresponded to the
English _merchetum_, and was exacted from rustics on the marriage of
their daughters. Although this payment assumed very different shapes,
and sometimes only appeared in case consorts belonged to different
lords, it was considered a badge of serfdom. _Chevage_ (_capitagium_)
might be exacted as a poll-tax from all the unfree inhabitants of a
_seigneurie_, or, more especially, from those who left it to look for
sustenance abroad. The power of the lord as a landowner was more
particularly expressed in his right of pre-emption (_retrait
seigneurial_), and in taxes on alienation (_lods et ventes_). As a
person wielding political authority, a kind of sovereignty, the lord
enjoyed divers rights which are commonly attributed to the state--the
right of coining money, of levying direct taxes and toll (_tallagium,
tolneta_) and of instituting monopolies. These latter were of common
occurrence, and might take the shape, for instance, of forcing the
inhabitants to make use of the lord's mill (_moulin banal_), or of his
oven (_four banal_), or of his bull (_taureau banal_).
In Germany the history of the manorial system is bound up with the
evolution of the _Grundherrschaft_ (landlordship) as opposed to
_Gutsherrschaft_ (estate-ownership). The latter need not include any
elements of public authority and aristocratic supremacy: the former is
necessarily connected with public functions and aristocratic standing.
The centre of the _Grundherrschaft_ was the _Hof_, the court or hall of
the lord, from which the political and economic rights of the lord
radiated. The struggle of the military aristocracy and of
ecclesiastical institutions with common freedom was more protracted than
in France or England; the lordships very often took the shape of
disparate rights over holdings and groups of population scattered over
wide tracts of country and intermixed with estates and inhabitants
subjected to entirely different authority. Therefore the aspect of
German manorialism is more confused and heterogeneous than that of the
French or English systems. One remarkable feature of it is the
consistent separation of criminal justice from other kinds of
jurisdiction on Church property. Episcopal sees and abbeys delegated
their share of criminal justice to lay magnates in the neighbourhood
(_Vogtei_), and this division of power became a source of various
conflicts and of many entangled relations. The main lines of German
manorialism are not radically different from those of France and
England. The communal element, the _Dorfverband_, is usually more
strongly developed than in France, and assumes a form more akin to the
English township. But there were regions, e.g. Westphalia, where the
population had settled in separate farms (_Hofsystem_), and where the
communal solidarity was reduced to a union for administrative purposes
and for the use of pasture.
It need hardly be added that every step in the direction of more active
economic intercourse and more efficient public authority tended to
lessen the influence of the manorial system in so far as the latter was
based on the localization of government, natural husbandry and
aristocratic authority.
See Fustel de Coulanges, _Histoire des institutions de la France_,
especially the volumes "L'Alleu et le domaine rural" and "L'Invasion
germanique"; Beaudouin, "Les Grands domaines dans l'empire romain"
(_Nouvelle revue de droit français et étranger_, 1898); T. Flach, _Les
Origines de l'ancienne France_, I., II., III. (1886); Paul Viollet,
_Histoire des institutions de la France_, I., II. (1890, 1898); A.
Luchaire, _Manuel des institutions françaises_ (1892); G. Waitz,
_Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte_, I.-VIII. (1865-1883); K. T. von
Inama-Sternegg, _Deutsche Wirtschaftsgeschichte_, I., II. (1879-1891);
K. Lamprecht, _Deutsches Wirtschaftsleben_, I.-IV. (1885); A. Meitzen,
_Ansiedelungen, Wanderungen und Agrarwesen der Völker Europas_, I.-IV.
(1895 ff.); W. Wittich, _Die Grundherrschaft in Nordwestdeutschland_
(1896); G. F. von Maurer, _Geschichte der Mark-, Dorf- und
Hofverfassung in Deutschland_; and F. Seebohm, _The English Village
Community_ (1883). (P. Vi.)
Rights of Lord and Tenants.
Rights of Villeins.
Cotters.
_The Manor in England._--It will be most convenient to describe a
typical English manor in its best known period, the 13th century, and to
indicate briefly the modifications of the type which varying conditions
may produce. Topographically such a manor consisted partly of the houses
of the inhabitants more or less closely clustered together, and
surrounded by arable land divided into large fields, two or three in
number. Each of these fields was divided again into shots or furlongs,
and each of the shots was broken up into cultivated strips a pole wide,
each containing an acre, separated by narrow balks of turf. There were
also certain meadows for supplying hay; and beyond the cultivated land
lay the wood and waste of the manor. Portions of arable or meadow land
might be found apart from the organization of the remainder; the lord of
the manor might have a park, and each householder a garden, but the land
of the manor was the open fields, the meadows and the wastes or common.
The condition of the inhabitants of such a manor is as complex as its
geography. At the head of the society came the lord of the manor, with
his hall, court, or manor-house, and the land immediately about it, and
his demesne both in the fields and in the meadow land. The arable
demesne consisted of certain of the acre strips lying scattered over the
various furlongs; his meadow was a portion assigned to him each year by
the custom of the manor. He had also rights over the surrounding waste
paramount to those enjoyed by the other inhabitants. Part of his demesne
land would be granted out to free tenants to hold at a rent or by
military or other service; part would be in the lord's own hands, and
cultivated by him. Each part so granted out will carry with it a share
in the meadow land and in the profits of the waste. These rights of the
free tenants over the waste limited the lord's power over it. He could
not by enclosure diminish their interest in it. The statute of Merton in
1236 and the second statute of Westminster in 1285 marked the utmost
limit of enclosure allowed in the 13th century. Below the lord and the
free tenants came the villeins, natives, bondmen, or holders of virgates
or yard-lands, each holding a house, a fixed number of acre strips, a
share of the meadow and of the profits of the waste. The number of
strips so held was usually about thirty; but virgates of fifteen acres
or even eighty are not unknown. In any one manor, however, the holdings
of all the villeins were equal. Normally the holder of a virgate was
unfree; he had no rights in the eye of the law against his lord, who was
protected from all suits by the _exceptio villenagii_; he could not
without leave quit the manor, and could be reclaimed by process of law
if he did; the strict contention of law deprived him of all right to
hold property; and in many cases he was subject to certain degrading
incidents, such as _merchet_ (_merchetum_), a payment due to the lord
upon the marriage of a daughter, which was regarded as a special mark of
unfree condition. But there are certain limitations to be made. Firstly,
all these incidents of tenure, even merchet, might not affect the
personal status of the tenant; he might still be free, though holding by
an unfree tenure; secondly, even if unfree, he was not exposed to the
arbitrary will of his lord but was protected by the custom of the manor
as interpreted by the manor court. Moreover, he was not a slave, he was
not bought and sold apart from his holding. The hardship of his
condition lay in the services due from him. As a rule a villein paid for
his holding in money, in labour and in kind. In money he paid, firstly,
a small fixed rent called rent of assize; and, secondly, dues under
various names, partly in lieu of services commuted into money payments,
and partly for the privileges and profits enjoyed by him on the waste of
the manor. In labour he paid more heavily. Week by week he had to come
with his own plough and oxen to plough the lord's demesne; when
ploughing was done he had to harrow, to reap the crops, to thresh and
carry them, or do whatever might be required of him, until his allotted
number of days labour in the year was done. Beyond this his lord might
request of him extra days in harvest or other seasons of emergency, and
these requests could not be denied. Further, all the carriage of the
manor was provided by the villeins, even to places as much as a hundred
miles away from the manor. The mending of the ploughs, hedging,
ditching, sheepshearing and other miscellaneous work also fell upon him,
and it is sometimes hard to see what time remained to him to work upon
his own holding. In kind he usually rendered honey, eggs, chickens and
perhaps a ploughshare, but these payments were almost always small in
value. Another class of inhabitants remains to be mentioned--the
cotters. These are the poor of the manor, who hold a cottage and garden,
or perhaps one acre or half an acre in the fields. They were unfree in
condition, and in most manors their services were modelled upon those of
the villeins. From their ranks were usually drawn the shepherd of the
manor, the bee-keeper and other minor officials of the manor.
Staff.
A complicated organization necessarily involves administrators. Just as
the services of the tenants and even their names vary from manor to
manor, so does the nature of the staff. Highest in rank came the
steward; he was attached to no manor in particular, but controlled a
group, travelling from one to another to take accounts, to hold the
courts, and generally represent the lord. Under him are the officers of
the several manors. First came the bailiff or beadle, the representative
of the lord in the manor; his duty was to collect the rents and
services, to gather in the lord's crops and account for the receipts and
expenditure of the manor. Closely connected with him was the "messor" or
reaper; in many cases, indeed, "reaper" seems to have been only another
name for the bailiff. But the villeins were not without their own
officer, the provost or reeve. His duty was to arrange the distribution
of the services due from the tenants, and, as their representative, to
assist the bailiff in the management of the manor. Sometimes the same
man appears to have united both offices, and we find the reeve
accounting to the lord for the issues of the manor. To these important
officials may be added a number of smaller ones, the shepherd, the
swineherd, the bee-keeper, the cowherd, the ploughman and so on, mostly
selected from the cotters, and occupying their small holdings by the
services expressed in their titles. The number varies with the
constitution and needs of each estate, and they are often replaced by
hired labour.
Manor Court.
The most complicated structure in the system is the manor court. The
complication is, indeed, partly the work of lawyers interpreting
institutions they did not understand by formulae not adapted to describe
them. But beyond this there remain the facts that the court was the
meeting-point of the lord and the tenants both free and unfree, that any
question touching on the power and constitution of the court was bound
to affect the interests of the lord and the tenants, and that there was
no external power capable of settling such questions as did arise. Amid
this maze a few clear lines can be laid down. In the first place, so far
as the 13th century goes, all the discussion that has collected about
the terms court leet, court baron and court customary may be put aside;
it relates to questions which in the 13th century were only just
emerging. The manor court at that date exercised its criminal, civil, or
manorial jurisdiction as one court; its names may differ, the parties
before it may be free or unfree, but the court is the same. Its
president was the lord's steward; the bailiff was the lord's
representative and the public prosecutor; and the tenants of the manor,
both free and unfree, attended at the court and gave judgment in the
cases brought before it. To modern ears the constitution sounds
unfamiliar. The president of the court settled the procedure of the
court, carried it out, and gave the final sentence, but over the law of
the court he had no power. All that is comprised in the word "judgment"
was settled by the body of tenants present at the court. This attendance
was, indeed, compulsory, and absence subjected to a fine any tenant
owing and refusing the service known as "suit of court." It may be asked
who in these courts settled questions of fact. The answer must be that
disputed questions of fact could only be settled in one way, by ordeal;
and that in most manorial courts the method employed was the wager of
law. The business of the court may be divided into criminal, manorial
and civil. Its powers under the first head depended on the franchises
enjoyed by the lord in the particular manor; for the most part only
petty offences were triable, such as small thefts, breaches of the
assize of bread and ale, assaults, and the like; except under special
conditions, the justice of great offences remained in the king. But
offences against the custom of the manor, such as bad ploughing,
improper taking of wood from the lord's woods, and the like, were of
course the staple criminal business of the court. Under the head of
manorial business the court dealt with the choice of the manorial
officers, and had some power of making regulations for the management of
the manor; but its most important function was the recording of the
surrenders and admittances of the villein tenants. Into the history and
meaning of this form of land transfer it is not necessary to enter here.
But it must be noted that the conveyance of a villein's holding was
effected by the vendor surrendering his land to the lord, who thereupon
admitted the purchaser to the holding. The same procedure was employed
in all cases of transfer of land, and the transaction was regularly
recorded upon the rolls of the court among the records of all the other
business transacted there. Finally, the court dealt with all suits as to
land within the manor, questions of dower and inheritance, and with
civil suits not connected with land. But it need hardly be said that in
an ordinary rural manor very few of these would occur.
It will be clear on consideration that the manor court as here described
consisted of conflicting elements of very different origin and history.
Founded partly on express grants of franchises, partly on the inherent
right of a feudal lord to hold a court for his free tenants, partly on
the obscure community traceable among the unfree inhabitants of the
manor, it is incapable of strict legal definition. All these elements,
moreover, contain in themselves reasons for the decay which gradually
came over the system. The history of the decay of the manorial
jurisdictions in England has not yet been written. On the one hand were
the king's courts, with new and improved processes of law; on the other
hand the gradual disintegration which marks the history of the manor
during the 14th and 15th centuries. The criminal jurisdiction was the
first to disappear, and was closely followed by the civil jurisdiction
over the free tenants; and in modern times all that is left is the
jurisdiction over the customary tenants and their holdings, and that in
an attenuated form.
A few words must be given to the legal theories of the 15th century on
the manor court. It would seem to have become the law that to the
existence of the manor two courts were necessary--a court customary
for customary tenants, and a court baron for free tenants. In the
court customary the lord's steward is the judge; in the court baron
the freeholders are the judges. If the freeholders in the manor
diminish to less than two in number the court baron cannot be held,
and the manor perishes. Nor can it be revived by the grant of new
freehold tenures, because under the statute of _Quia Emptores_ such
new freeholders would hold not of the lord of the manor, but of his
lord. The customary tenants and the court customary may survive, but
the manor is only a reputed manor. Of the 13th century all this is
untrue, but even at that date the existence of free tenants was in a
measure essential to the existence of the manor court. If there were
none the jurisdiction of the court over free tenants of course
collapsed; but in addition to this the lord also lost his power of
exercising the highest criminal franchises, even if he otherwise
possessed them; he could, for instance, no longer hang a murderer on
his own gallows. Perhaps it may be said that to the exercise of the
feudal power and of the royal franchises the presence of free tenants
was necessary. But it is clear that no such condition was necessary to
the existence of the manor.
Apart from the change in the court of the manor, the most important
thread in its history is the process which converted the villein into
the copyholder. Here again the subject is imperfectly explored, and
part of it is still subject to controversy. In the strict view of
contemporary lawyers the holding of the villein tenant of the 13th
century was at the will of the lord, and the king's courts of law
would not protect him in his possession. If, however, the villein were
a tenant on the king's ancient demesne his condition was improved. The
writs of _monstraverunt_ and the little writ of right close protected
him from the improper exaction of services and from ejection by the
lord. But in ordinary manors there was no such immunity. That ejection
was common cannot be believed, but it was legally possible; and it was
not until the well-known decision of Danby, C. J., and Bryan, C. J.,
in 7 Edw. IV., that the courts of law would entertain an action of
trespass brought against his lord by a customary tenant. From that
date the courts, both of law and equity, begin to intervene; and the
records of the Courts of Star Chamber and Requests show that in the
Tudor period equitable suits brought by tenants against their lords
are not infrequent. Side by side with the alteration in the legal
condition of the manor there went on an economic change. The labour
rents and other services slowly disappeared, and were replaced by
money payments. The field divisions gave way before inclosures,
effected sometimes by the lords and sometimes by the tenants. Change
in legal and agricultural practice went on side by side, and finally
the manor ceased to be an important social form, and became only a
peculiar form of land tenure and the abode of antiquarian curiosities.
See G. L. von Maurer, _Einleitung in die Geschichte der Hof-, Mark-,
Dorf- und Stadtverfassung in Deutschland_ (Erlangen, 1856); G. Nasse,
_Zur Geschichte der mittelälterlichen Feldgemeinschaft in England_
(Bonn, 1869); H. S. Maine, _Village Communities in the East and West_
(Cambridge, 1872); F. Seebohm, _The English Village Community_ (1883);
W. J. Ashley, _English Economic History_, pts. i. ii. (1888-1893); F.
W. Maitland, _Select Pleas in Manorial Courts_ (London, Selden
Society, 1888); P. Vinogradoff, _Villainage in England_ (Cambridge,
1892); _The Growth of the Manor_ (1905) and _English Society in the
11th Century_ (1908); A. Meitzen, _Siedelung und Agrarwesen der
Westgermanen und Ostgermanen_ (Berlin, 1896); W. Cunningham, _Growth
of English Industry and Commerce_ (Cambridge, 1896); F. Pollock and F.
W. Maitland, _History of English Law_ (Cambridge, 1896); F. W.
Maitland, _Doomsday Book and Beyond_ (Cambridge, 1897); and C. M.
Andrews, _The Old English Manor_ (1892). (C. G. Cr.)
MANOR-HOUSE (Lat. _manerium_; Fr. _manoir_), in architecture, the name
given to the dwelling-house of the lord of the manor. The manor-house
was generally arranged for defence against robbers and thieves and was
often surrounded by a moat with drawbridge, but was not provided with a
keep or with towers or lofty curtain walls so as to stand a siege. The
early buildings were comparatively small, square in plan, comprising a
hall with one or two adjacent chambers; at a later period wings were
added, thus forming three sides of a quadrangle, like the house designed
by John Thorpe as his residence, the plan of which is among his drawings
in the Soane Museum. One of the most ancient examples is the
manor-house built by Richard Coeur de Lion at Southampton as a
rendezvous when he was about to cross into France. This consisted of a
hall and chapel on the first floor, with cellars on the ground floor;
the walls of this structure, with the chimney-piece, are still in
existence. The distinction between the "manor-house" and "castle" is not
always very clearly defined; in France such buildings as the castles of
Aydon (Northumberland) and of Stokesay (Shropshire) would be regarded as
manor-houses in that they were built as country houses and not as
fortresses, like Coucy and Pierrefonds; some of the smaller castles in
France were, in the 16th century, transformed into manor-houses by the
introduction of windows on the second floors of their towers and the
partial destruction of their curtain walls, as in the manor-houses of
Sedières (Corrèze), Nantouillet and Compiègne; and in the same century,
as at Chenonceaux, Blois and Chambord, though angle towers and
machicolated parapets still formed part of the design, they were
considered to be purely decorative features. The same is found in
England; thus in Thornbury and Hurstmonceaux castles, and in Cowdray
House, the fortifications were more for show than for use. There is an
interesting example of a French manor-house near Dieppe, known as the
Manoir-d'Ango, built in 1525, of which a great portion still exists,
where the proprietor Ango received François I., so that it must have
been of considerable size.
In England the principal examples of which remains exist are the
manor-houses of Appleton, Berkshire, with a moat; King John's house at
Warnford (Hampshire); Boothby Ragnell, Lincolnshire, with traces of
moat; Godmersham, Kent; Little Wenham Hall, Suffolk, built partly in
brick and flint, and one of the earliest in which the bricks, probably
imported from Flanders, are found; Charney Hall, Berkshire (T-shaped
in plan in two storeys); Longthorpe House, near Peterborough;
Stokesay, Shropshire, already referred to; Cottesford, Oxfordshire;
Woodcraft, Northamptonshire; Acton Burnell, Shropshire; Old Soar,
Plaxtol, Kent, in two storeys, the ground storey vaulted and used as
cellar and storehouse, and the upper floor with hall, solar and
chapel. The foundation of all these dates from the 13th century.
Ightham Mote, Kent, portions of which, with the moat, date from the
14th century, is one of the best preserved manor-houses; then follow
Norborough Hall, Northamptonshire; Creslow manor-house, Bucks, with
moat; Sutton Courtenay, Berkshire; the Court Lodge, Great Chart, Kent;
Stanton St Quentin, Great Chalfield, and South Wraxhall, all in Wilts;
Meare manor-house, Somerset; Ockwell, Berks; Kingfield manor-house,
Derbyshire; Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire; Stoke Albany,
Northamptonshire; and, in the 16th century, Large Marney Hall, Essex
(1520); Sutton Place, Surrey (1530); the Vyne, Hampshire, already
influenced by the first Renaissance. In the 17th and 18th centuries
the manor-house is generally rectangular in plan, and, though well and
solidly built, would seem to have been erected more with a view to
internal comfort than to exterior embellishments. There is one other
type of manor-house, which partakes of the character of the castle in
its design, and takes the form of a tower, rectangular or square, with
angle turrets and in several storeys; in France it is represented by
the manor-houses of St Medard near Bordeaux and Camarsae (Dordogne),
and in England by Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire and Middleton
Tower, Norfolk, both being in brick. (R. P. S.)
MANRESA, a town of north-eastern Spain, in the province of Barcelona, on
the river Cardoner and the Barcelona-Lérida railway. Pop. (1900),
23,252. Manresa is the chief town of the highlands watered by the
Cardoner and upper Llobregat, which meet below the town, and are also
connected by a canal 18 m. long. Two bridges, one built of stone and
dating from the Roman period, the other constructed of iron in 1804,
unite the older and larger part of Manresa with the modern suburbs on
the right bank of the river. The principal buildings are the collegiate
church of Santa Maria de la Séo, the Dominican monastery, and the church
of San Ignazio, built over the cavern (_cueva santa_) where Ignatius de
Loyola spent most of the year 1522 in penitentiary exercises and the
composition of his _Exercitia spiritualia_. Santa Maria is a fine
example of Spanish Gothic, and consists, like many Catalan churches, of
nave and chancel, aisles and ambulatory, without transepts. One of its
chief treasures is an exquisite 15th-century Florentine altar-frontal,
preserved in the sacristy. The Dominican monastery, adjoining the _cueva
santa_, commands a magnificent view of the Montserrat (q.v.), and is
used for the accommodation of the pilgrims who yearly visit the cavern
in thousands. Manresa has important iron-foundries and manufactures of
woollen, cotton and linen goods, ribbons, hats, paper, soap, chemicals,
spirits and flour. Building-stone is quarried near the town.
Manresa is probably the _Munorisa_ of the Romans, which was the capital
of the Jacetani or Jaccetani, an important tribe of the south-eastern
Pyrenees. A large portion of the town was burned by the French in 1811.
MANRIQUE, GÓMEZ (1412?-1490?), Spanish poet, soldier, politician and
dramatist, was born at Amusco. The fifth son of Pedro Manrique,
_adelantado mayor_ of León, and nephew of Santillana (q.v.), Gómez
Manrique was introduced into public life at an early age, took a
prominent part against the constable Álvaro de Luna during the reign of
John II., went into opposition against Miguel Lucas de Iranzo in the
reign of Henry IV., and declared in favour of the infanta Isabel, whose
marriage with Ferdinand he promoted. Besides being a distinguished
soldier, he acted as a moderating political influence and, when
appointed _corregidor_ of Toledo, was active in protecting the converted
Jews from popular resentment. His will was signed on the 31st of May
1490, and he is known to have died before the 16th of February 1491. He
inherited the literary taste of his uncle Santillana, and was greatly
esteemed in his own age; but his reputation was afterwards eclipsed by
that of his nephew Jorge Manrique (q.v.), whose _Coplas_ were
continually reproduced. Gómez Manrique's poems were not printed till
1885, when they were edited by Antonio Paz y Melia. They at once
revealed him to be a poet of eminent merit, and it seems certain that
his _Consejos_, addressed to Diego Arias de Avila, inspired the more
famous _Coplas_ of his nephew. His didactic verses are modelled upon
those of Santillana, and his satires are somewhat coarse in thought and
expression; but his place in the history of Spanish literature is secure
as the earliest Spanish dramatist whose name has reached posterity. He
wrote the _Representación del nascimiento de Nuestro Señor_, a play on
the Passion, and two _momos_, or interludes, played at court.
MANRIQUE, JORGE (1440?-1478), Spanish poet and soldier, was born
probably at Paredes de Nava. The fourth son of Rodrigo Manrique, count
de Paredes, he became like the rest of his family a fervent partisan of
Queen Isabel, served with great distinction in many engagements, and was
made _comendador_ of Montizón in the order of Santiago. He was killed in
a skirmish near the fortress of Garci-Muñoz in 1478, and was buried in
the church attached to the convent of Uclés. His love-songs, satires,
and acrostic verses are merely ingenious compositions in the taste of
his age; he owes his imperishable renown to a single poem, the _Coplas
por la muerte de su padre_, an elegy of forty stanzas on the death of
his father, which was apparently first printed in the _Cancionero
llamado de Fray Inigo de Mendoza_ about the year 1482. There is no
foundation for the theory that Manrique drew his inspiration from an
Arabic poem by Abu 'l-Baka Salih ar-Rundi; the form of the _Coplas_ is
influenced by the _Consejos_ of his uncle, Gómez Manrique, and the
matter derives from the Bible, from Boethius and from other sources
readily accessible. The great sonorous commonplaces on death are
vitalized by the intensely personal grief of the poet, who lent a new
solemnity and significance to thoughts which had been for centuries the
common property of mankind. It was given to Jorge Manrique to have one
single moment of sublime expression, and this isolated achievement has
won him a fame undimmed by any change of taste during four centuries.
The best edition of the _Coplas_ is that issued by R. Foulché-Delbosc
in the _Bibliotheca hispanica_; the poem has been admirably translated
by Longfellow. Manrique's other verses were mostly printed in Hernando
del Castillo's _Cancionero general_ (1511).
MANSE (Med. Lat. _mansa_, _mansus_ or _mansum_, from _manere_, to dwell,
remain), originally a dwelling-house together with a portion of land
sufficient for the support of a family. It is defined by Du Cange
(_Glossarium, s.v. Mansus_) as _... certam agri portionem quae coleretur
et in qua coloni aedes esset_. The term was particularly applied, in
ecclesiastical law, to the house and glebe to which every church was
entitled by common right, the rule of canon law being _sancitum est ut
unicuique ecclesiae unus mansus integer absque ullo servitio tribuatur_
(Phillimore, _Eccles. Law_, 1895, ii. 1125). The word is now chiefly
used for the residence of a minister of the Established Church of
Scotland; to this every minister of a rural parish is entitled, and the
landed proprietors must build and keep it up. "Manse" is also loosely
used for the residence of a minister of various Free Church
denominations (see GLEBE).
MANSEL, HENRY LONGUEVILLE (1820-1871), English philosopher, was born at
Cosgrove, Northamptonshire (where his father, also Henry Longueville
Mansel, fourth son of General John Mansel, was rector), on the 6th of
October 1820. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and St John's
College, Oxford. He took a double first in 1843, and became tutor of his
college. He was appointed reader in moral and metaphysical philosophy at
Magdalen College in 1855, and Waynflete professor in 1859. He was a
great opponent of university reform and of the Hegelianism which was
then beginning to take root in Oxford. In 1867 he succeeded A. P.
Stanley as professor of ecclesiastical history, and in 1868 he was
appointed dean of St Paul's. He died on the 31st of July 1871.
The philosophy of Mansel, like that of Sir William Hamilton, was mainly
due to Aristotle, Kant and Reid. Like Hamilton, Mansel maintained the
purely formal character of logic, the duality of consciousness as
testifying to both self and the external world, and the limitation of
knowledge to the finite and "conditioned." His doctrines were developed
in his edition of Aldrich's _Artis logicae rudimenta_ (1849)--his chief
contribution to the reviving study of Aristotle--and in his _Prolegomena
logica: an Inquiry into the Psychological Character of Logical
Processes_ (1851, 2nd ed. enlarged 1862), in which the limits of logic
as the "science of formal thinking" are rigorously determined. In his
Bampton lectures on _The Limits of Religious Thought_ (1858, 5th ed.
1867; Danish trans. 1888) he applied to Christian theology the
metaphysical agnosticism which seemed to result from Kant's criticism,
and which had been developed in Hamilton's _Philosophy of the
Unconditioned_. While denying all knowledge of the supersensuous, Mansel
deviated from Kant in contending that cognition of the ego as it really
is is itself a fact of experience. Consciousness, he held--agreeing thus
with the doctrine of "natural realism" which Hamilton developed from
Reid--implies knowledge both of self and of the external world. The
latter Mansel's psychology reduces to consciousness of our organism as
extended; with the former is given consciousness of free will and moral
obligation. A summary of his philosophy is contained in his article
"Metaphysics" in the 8th edition of the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_
(separately published, 1860). Mansel wrote also _The Philosophy of the
Conditioned_ (1866) in reply to Mill's criticism of Hamilton; _Letters,
Lectures, and Reviews_ (ed. Chandler, 1873), and _The Gnostic Heresies_
(ed. J. B. Lightfoot, 1875, with a biographical sketch by Lord
Carnarvon). He wrote a commentary on the first two gospels in the
_Speaker's Commentary_.
See J. W. Burgon, _Lives of Twelve Good Men_ (1888-1889); James
Martineau, _Essays, Reviews and Addresses_ (London, 1891), iii. 117
seq.; A. W. Benn, _History of Rationalism_ (1906), ii. 100-112;
Masson, _Recent British Philosophy_ (3rd ed., London, 1877), pp. 252
seq.; Sir Leslie Stephen in _Dict. Nat. Biog._
MANSFELD, the name of an old and illustrious German family which took
its name from Mansfeld in Saxony, where it was seated from the 11th to
the 18th century. One of its earliest members was Hoyer von Mansfeld (d.
1115), a partisan of the emperor Henry V. during his struggles with the
Saxons; he fought for Henry at Warnstädt and was killed in his service
at Welfesholz. Still more famous was Albert, count of Mansfeld
(1480-1560), an intimate friend of Luther and one of the earliest and
staunchest supporters of the Reformation. He helped to crush the rising
of the peasants under Thomas Munzer in Thuringia in 1525; he was a
member of the league of Schmalkalden, and took part in all the movements
of the Protestants against Charles V. With Albert was associated his
brother Gebhard, and another member of the family was Johann Gebhard,
elector of Cologne from 1558 to 1562. A scion of another branch of the
Mansfelds was Peter Ernst, Fürst von Mansfeld (1517-1604), governor of
Luxemburg, who unlike his kinsmen was loyal to Charles V. He went with
the emperor to Tunis and fought for him in France. He was equally loyal
to his son, Philip II. of Spain, whom he served at St Quentin and in the
Netherlands. He distinguished himself in the field and found time to
lead a body of troops to aid the king of France against the Huguenots.
In this capacity he was present in 1569 at the battle of Moncontour,
where another member of his family, Count Wolrad of Mansfeld (d. 1578)
was among the Huguenot leaders. The Mansfeld family became extinct in
1780 on the death of Josef Wenzel Nepomuk, prince of Fondi, the lands
being divided between Saxony and Prussia.
See L. F. Niemann, _Geschichte der Grafen von Mansfeld_ (Aschersleben,
1834).
MANSFELD, ERNST, GRAF VON (c. 1580-1626), German soldier, was an
illegitimate son of Peter Ernst, Fürst von Mansfeld, and passed his
early years in his father's palace at Luxemburg. He gained his earliest
military experiences in Hungary, where his half-brother Charles
(1543-1595,) also a soldier of renown, held a high command in the
imperial army. Later he served under the Archduke Leopold, until that
prince's ingratitude, real or fancied, drove him into the arms of the
enemies of the house of Habsburg. Although remaining a Roman Catholic he
allied himself with the Protestant princes, and during the earlier part
of the Thirty Years' War he was one of their foremost champions. He was
despatched by Charles Emmanuel, duke of Savoy, at the head of about 2000
men to aid the revolting Bohemians when war broke out in 1618. He took
Pilsen, but in the summer of 1619 he was defeated at Zablat; after this
he offered his services to the emperor Ferdinand II. and remained
inactive while the titular king of Bohemia, Frederick V., elector
palatine of the Rhine, was driven in headlong rout from Prague.
Mansfeld, however, was soon appointed by Frederick to command his army
in Bohemia, and in 1621 he took up his position in the Upper Palatinate,
successfully resisting the efforts made by Tilly to dislodge him. From
the Upper he passed into the Rhenish Palatinate. Here he relieved
Frankenthal and took Hagenau; then, joined by his master, the elector
Frederick, he defeated Tilly at Wiesloch in April 1622 and plundered
Alsace and Hesse. But Mansfeld's ravages were not confined to the lands
of his enemies; they were ruinous to the districts he was commissioned
to defend. At length Frederick was obliged to dismiss Mansfeld's troops
from his service. Then joining Christian of Brunswick the count led his
army through Lorraine, devastating the country as he went, and in August
1622 defeating the Spaniards at Fleurus. He next entered the service of
the United Provinces and took up his quarters in East Friesland,
capturing fortresses and inflicting great hardships upon the
inhabitants. A mercenary and a leader of mercenaries, Mansfeld often
interrupted his campaigns by journeys made for the purpose of raising
money, or in other words of selling his services to the highest bidder,
and in these diplomatic matters he showed considerable skill. About 1624
he paid three visits to London, where he was hailed as a hero by the
populace, and at least one to Paris. James I. was anxious to furnish him
with men and money for the recovery of the palatinate, but it was not
until January 1625 that Mansfeld and his army of "raw and poor rascals"
sailed from Dover to the Netherlands. Later in the year, the Thirty
Years' War having been renewed under the leadership of Christian IV.,
king of Denmark, he re-entered Germany to take part therein. But on the
25th of April 1626 Wallenstein inflicted a severe defeat upon him at the
bridge of Dessau. Mansfeld, however, quickly raised another army, with
which he intended to attack the hereditary lands of the house of
Austria, and pursued by Wallenstein he pressed forward towards Hungary,
where he hoped to accomplish his purpose by the aid of Bethlem Gabor,
prince of Transylvania. But when Gabor changed his policy and made peace
with the emperor, Mansfeld was compelled to disband his troops. He set
out for Venice, but when he reached Rakowitza he was taken ill, and
here he died on the 29th of November 1626. He was buried at Spalato.
See F. Stieve, _Ernst von Mansfeld_ (Munich, 1890); R. Reuss, _Graf
Ernst von Mansfeld im böhmischen Kriege_ (Brunswick, 1865); A. C. de
Villermont, _Ernest de Mansfeldt_ (Brussels, 1866); L. Graf Uetterodt
zu Schaffenberg, _Ernst Graf zu Mansfeld_ (Gotha, 1867); J. Grossmann,
_Des Grafen Ernst von Mansfeld letzte Pläne und Thaten_ (Breslau,
1870); E. Fischer, _Des Mansfelders Tod_ (Berlin, 1873); S. R.
Gardiner, _History of England_, vols. iv. and v. (1901); J. L. Motley,
_Life and Death of John of Barneveld_ (ed. 1904; vol. ii.).
MANSFIELD, RICHARD (1857-1907), American actor, was born on the 24th of
May 1857, in Berlin, his mother being Madame [Erminia] Rudersdorff
(1822-1882), the singer, and his father, Maurice Mansfield (d. 1861), a
London wine merchant. He first appeared on the stage at St George's
Hall, London, and then drifted into light opera, playing the
Major-General in _The Pirates of Penzance_, and the Lord High
Executioner in _The Mikado_, both in the English provinces and in
America. In 1883 he joined A. M. Palmer's Union Square theatre company
in New York, and made a great hit as Baron Chevrial in _A Parisian
Romance_. He appeared successfully in several plays adapted from
well-known stories, and his rendering (1887) of the doubled title-parts
in R. L. Stevenson's _Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde_ created a
profound impression. It was with this play that he made his London
reputation during a season (1888) at the Lyceum theatre, by invitation
of Henry Irving. He produced Richard III. the next year at the Globe.
Among his other chief successes were _Prince Karl_, _Cyrano de Bergerac_
and _Monsieur Beaucaire_. He was one of the earliest to produce G.
Bernard Shaw's plays in America, appearing in 1894 as Bluntschli in
_Arms and the Man_, and as Dick Dudgeon in _The Devil's Disciple_ in
1897. As a manager and producer of plays Mansfield was remarkable for
his lavish staging. He died in New London, Connecticut, on the 30th of
August 1907.
See the lives by Paul Wilstach (1908) and William Winter (1910).
MANSFIELD, WILLIAM MURRAY, 1ST EARL OF (1705-1793), English judge, was
born at Scone in Perthshire, on the 2nd of March 1705. He was a younger
son of David Murray, 5th Viscount Stormont (c. 1665-1731), the dignity
having been granted in 1621 by James I. to his friend and helper, Sir
David Murray (d. 1631), a Scottish politician of some note. Lord
Stormont's family was Jacobite in its politics, and his second son James
(c. 1690-1728), being apparently mixed up in some of the plots of the
time, joined the court of the exiled Stuarts and in 1721 was created
earl of Dunbar by James Edward, the Old Pretender.
William Murray was educated at Perth grammar school and Westminster
School, of which he was a king's scholar. Entering Christ Church,
Oxford, he graduated in 1727. A friend of the family, Lord Foley,
provided the funds for his legal training, and he became a member of
Lincoln's Inn on his departure from Oxford, being called to the bar in
1730. He was a good scholar and mixed with the best literary society,
being an intimate friend of Alexander Pope. His appearance in some
important Scottish appeal cases brought him into notice, and in Scotland
at least he acquired an immense reputation by his appearance for the
city of Edinburgh when it was threatened with disfranchisement for the
affair of the Porteous mob. His English practice had as yet been scanty,
but in 1737 a single speech in a jury trial of note placed him at the
head of the bar, and from this time he had all he could attend to. In
1738 he married Lady Elizabeth Finch, daughter of the earl of
Winchelsea. His political career began in 1742 with his appointment as
solicitor-general. During the next fourteen years he was one of the most
conspicuous figures in the parliamentary history of the time. By birth a
Jacobite, by association a Tory, he was nevertheless a Moderate, and his
politics were really dominated by his legal interests. Although holding
an office of subordinate rank, he was the chief defender of the
government in the House of Commons, and during the time that Pitt was in
opposition had to bear the brunt of his attacks. In 1754 he became
attorney-general, and for the next two years acted as leader of the
House of Commons under the administration of the duke of Newcastle. But
in 1756, when the government was evidently approaching its fall, an
unexpected vacancy occurred in the chief justiceship of the king's
bench, and he claimed the office, being at the same time raised to the
peerage as Baron Mansfield.
From this time the chief interest of his career lies in his judicial
work, but he did not wholly dissever himself from politics. He became by
a singular arrangement, only repeated in the case of Lord Ellenborough,
a member of the cabinet, and remained in that position through various
changes of administration for nearly fifteen years, and, although he
persistently refused the chancellorship, he acted as Speaker of the
House of Lords while the Great Seal was in commission. During the time
of Pitt's ascendancy he took but little part in politics, but while Lord
Bute was in power his influence was very considerable, and seems mostly
to have been exerted in favour of a more moderate line of policy. He was
on the whole a supporter of the prerogative, but within definite limits.
Macaulay terms him, justly enough, "the father of modern Toryism, of
Toryism modified to suit an order of things in which the House of
Commons is the most powerful body in the state." During the stormy
session of 1770 he came into violent collision with Chatham and Camden
in the questions that arose out of the Middlesex election and the trials
for political libel; and in the subsequent years he was made the subject
of the bitter attacks of Junius, in which his early Jacobite connexions,
and his apparent leanings to arbitrary power, were used against him with
extraordinary ability and virulence. In 1776 he was created earl of
Mansfield. In 1783, although he declined to re-enter the cabinet, he
acted as Speaker of the House of Lords during the coalition ministry,
and with this his political career may be said to have closed. He
continued to act as chief justice until his resignation in June 1788,
and after five years spent in retirement died on the 20th of March 1793.
He left no family, but his title had been re-granted in 1792 with a
direct remainder to his nephew David Murray, 7th Viscount Stormont
(1727-1796). The 2nd earl was ambassador to Vienna and then to Paris; he
was secretary of state for the southern department from 1779 to 1782,
and lord president of the council in 1783, and again from 1794 until his
death. In 1906 his descendant Alan David Murray (b. 1864) became 6th
earl of Mansfield.
Lord Mansfield's great reputation rests chiefly on his judicial career.
The political trials over which he presided, although they gave rise to
numerous accusations against him, were conducted with singular fairness
and propriety. He was accused with especial bitterness of favouring
arbitrary power by the law which he laid down in the trials for libel
which arose out of the publications of Junius and Horne Tooke, and which
at a later time he reaffirmed in the case of the dean of St Asaph (see
LIBEL). But we must remember that his view of the law was concurred in
by the great majority of the judges and lawyers of that time, and was
supported by undoubted precedents. In other instances, when the
government was equally concerned, he was wholly free from suspicion. He
supported Lord Camden's decision against general warrants, and reversed
the outlawry of Wilkes. He was always ready to protect the rights of
conscience, whether they were claimed by Dissenters or Catholics, and
the popular fury which led to the destruction of his house during the
Gordon riots was mainly due to the fact that a Catholic priest, who was
accused of saying Mass, had escaped the penal laws by his charge to the
jury. His chief celebrity, however, is founded upon the consummate
ability with which he discharged the civil duties of his office. He has
always been recognized as the founder of English mercantile law. The
common law as it existed before his time was wholly inadequate to cope
with the new cases and customs which arose with the increasing
development of commerce. The facts were left to the jury to decide as
best they might, and no principle was ever extracted from them which
might serve as a guide in subsequent cases. Mansfield found the law in
this chaotic state, and left it in a form that was almost equivalent to
a code. He defined almost every principle that governed commercial
transactions in such a manner that his successors had only to apply the
rules he had laid down. His knowledge of Roman and foreign law, and the
general width of his education, freed him from the danger of relying too
exclusively upon narrow precedents, and afforded him a storehouse of
principles and illustrations, while the grasp and acuteness of his
intellect enabled him to put his judgments in a form which almost always
commanded assent. A similar influence was exerted by him in other
branches of the common law; and although, after his retirement, a
reaction took place, and he was regarded for a while as one who had
corrupted the ancient principles of English law, these prejudices passed
rapidly away, and the value of his work in bringing the older law into
harmony with the needs of modern society has long been fully recognized.
See Holliday's _Life_ (1797); Campbell's _Chief Justices_; Foss's
_Judges_; Greville's _Memoirs, passim_; Horace Walpole's _Letters_;
and other memoirs and works on the period.
MANSFIELD, a market town and municipal borough in the Mansfield
parliamentary division of Nottinghamshire, England, on the small river
Mann or Maun; the junction of several branches of the Midland railway,
by which it is 142 m. N.N.W. from London. Pop. (1891), 13,094; (1901),
15,250. Area, 7068 acres. The church of St Peter is partly Early Norman,
and partly Perpendicular. There is a grammar school founded by Queen
Elizabeth in 1561, occupying modern buildings. Twelve almshouses were
founded by Elizabeth Heath in 1693, and to these six were afterwards
added. There are a number of other charities. The industries are the
manufacture of lace, thread, boots and machinery, iron-founding and
brewing. In the neighbourhood, as at Mansfield Woodhouse to the north,
there are quarries of limestone, sandstone and freestone. The town is
governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors. During the heptarchy
Mansfield was occasionally the residence of the Mercian kings, and it
was afterwards a favourite resort of Norman sovereigns, lying as it does
on the western outskirts of Sherwood Forest. By Henry VIII. the manor
was granted to the earl of Surrey. Afterwards it went by exchange to the
duke of Newcastle, and thence to the Portland family. The town obtained
a fair from Richard II. in 1377. It became a municipal borough in 1891.
MANSFIELD, a city and the county-seat of Richland county, Ohio, U.S.A.,
about 65 m. S.W. of Cleveland. Pop. (1890), 13,473; (1900), 17,640, of
whom 1781 were foreign-born; (1910 census), 20,768. It is served by the
Pennsylvania (Pittsburg, Ft Wayne & Chicago division), the Erie, and the
Baltimore & Ohio railways. It is built on an eminence (1150 ft.), and
has two public parks, a substantial court-house, a soldiers' and
sailors' memorial building, a public library, a hospital and many fine
residences. It is the seat of the Ohio state reformatory. Mansfield has
an extensive trade with the surrounding agricultural country, but its
largest interests are in manufactures. The total factory product in 1905
was valued at $7,353,578. There are natural gas wells in the vicinity.
The waterworks and the sewage disposal plant are owned and operated by
the municipality. Mansfield was laid out in 1808, and was named in
honour of Lieut.-Colonel Jared Mansfield (1759-1830), United States
surveyor of Ohio and the North-west Territory in 1803-1812, and
professor of natural and experimental philosophy at West Point from 1812
to 1828. Mansfield was incorporated as a village in 1828 and was first
chartered as a city in 1857. It was the home of John Sherman from 1840
until his death.
MANSION (through O. Fr. _mansion_, mod. _maison_, from Lat. _mansio_,
dwelling-place, stage on a journey; _manere_, to remain), a term applied
in early English use to the principal house of the lord of a manor. By
the Settled Land Act 1890, § 10, subsec. 2, repealing § 15 of the act of
1882, "the principal mansion house ... on any settled land shall not be
sold or exchanged or leased by the tenant for life without the consent
of the trustees of the settlement or an order of the court." The
principles guiding an English court of law for making or refusing such
an order are laid down in _In re the Marquess of Ailesbury's Settled
Estate_ (1892), 1 Ch. 506, 546; A.C. 356. In general usage, the term
"mansion" is given to any large and important house in town or country;
and "mansion house" to the official residence, when provided, of the
mayor of a borough, particularly to that of the lord mayors of London
and Dublin. From the general meaning of a conspicuously large
dwelling-place comes the modern employment of the term "mansions," in
London and elsewhere, for large buildings composed of "flats."
MANSLAUGHTER (O. Eng., _mannslaeht_, from _mann_, man, and _slaeht_, act
of slaying, _sleán_, to slay, properly to smite; cf. Ger. _schlagen_,
_Schlacht_, battle), a term in English law signifying "unlawful homicide
without malice aforethought" (Stephen, _Digest of the Criminal Law_,
Art. 223). The distinction between manslaughter and murder and other
forms of homicide is treated under HOMICIDE.
MANSON, GEORGE (1850-1876), Scottish water-colour painter, was born in
Edinburgh on the 3rd of December 1850. When about fifteen he was
apprenticed as a woodcutter with W. & R. Chambers, with whom he remained
for over five years, diligently employing all his spare time in the
study and practice of art, and producing in his morning and evening
hours water-colours of much delicacy and beauty. In 1871 he devoted
himself exclusively to painting. His subjects were derived from humble
Scottish life--especially child-life, varied occasionally by
portraiture, by landscape, and by views of picturesque architecture. In
1873 he visited Normandy, Belgium and Holland; in the following year he
spent several months in Sark; and in 1875 he resided at St Lô, and in
Paris, where he mastered the processes of etching. Meanwhile in his
water-colour work he had been adding more of breadth and power to the
tenderness and richness of colour which distinguished his early
pictures, and he was planning more complex and important subjects. But
his health had been gradually failing, and he was ordered to Lympstone
in Devonshire, where he died on the 27th of February 1876.
A volume of photographs from his water-colours and sketches, with a
memoir by J. M. Gray, was published in 1880. For an account of
Manson's technical method as a wood engraver see P. G. Hamerton's
_Graphic Arts_, p. 311.
MANSUR (Arab. "victorious"), a surname (_laqab_) assumed by a large
number of Mahommedan princes. The best known are: (1) ABU JA'FAR IBN
MAHOMMED, second caliph of the Abbasid house, who reigned A.D. 754-775
(see CALIPHATE: § C, §2); (2) ABU TAHIR ISMA'IL IBN AL-QAIM, the third
Fatimite caliph of Africa (946-953) (see FATIMITES); (3) ABU YUSUF YA
'QUB IBN YUSUF, often described as Jacob Almanzor, of the Moorish
dynasty of the Almohades, conqueror of Alfonso III. in the battle of
Alarcos (1195); (4) IBN ABI 'AMIR MAHOMMED, commonly called Almanzor by
European writers, of an ancient but not illustrious Arab family, which
had its seat at Torrox near Algeciras. The last-named was born A.D. 939,
and began life as a lawyer at Cordova. In 967 he obtained a place at the
court of Hakam II., the Andalusian caliph, and by an unusual combination
of the talents of a courtier with administrative ability rapidly rose to
distinction, enjoying the powerful support of Subh, the favourite of the
caliph and mother of his heir Hisham. The death of Hakam (976) and the
accession of a minor gave fresh scope to his genius, and in 978 he
became chief minister. The weak young caliph was absorbed in exercises
of piety, but at first Mansur had to share the power with his
father-in-law Ghalib, the best general of Andalusia, and with the mother
of Hisham. At last a rupture took place between the two ministers.
Ghalib professed himself the champion of the caliph and called in the
aid of the Christians of Leon; but Mansur, anticipating the struggle,
had long before remodelled the army and secured its support. Ghalib fell
in battle (981); a victorious campaign chastised the Leonese; and on his
return to Cordova the victor assumed his regal surname of _al-Mansur
billah_, and became practically sovereign of Andalusia. The caliph was a
mere prisoner of state, and Mansur ultimately assumed the title as well
as the prerogatives of king (996). Unscrupulous in the means by which he
rose to power, he wielded the sovereignty nobly. His strict justice and
enlightened administration were not less notable than the military
prowess by which he is best known. His arms were the terror of the
Christians, and raised the Moslem power in Spain to a pitch it had never
before attained. In Africa his armies were for a time hard pressed by
the revolt of Ziri, viceroy of Mauretania, but before his death this
enemy had also fallen. Mansur died at Medinaceli on the 10th of August
1002, and was succeeded by his son Mozaffar.
MANSURA, the capital of the province of Dakahlia, Lower Egypt, near the
west side of Lake Menzala, and on the Cairo-Damietta railway. Pop.
(1907), 40,279. It dates from 1221, and is famous as the scene of the
battle of Mansura, fought on the 8th of February 1250, between the
crusaders commanded by the king of France, St Louis, and the Egyptians.
The battle was drawn, but it led to the retreat of the crusaders on
Damietta, and to the surrender of St Louis. Mansura has several
cotton-ginning, cotton, linen and sail-cloth factories.
MANT, RICHARD (1776-1848), English divine, was born at Southampton on
the 12th of February 1776, and was educated at Winchester and Trinity
College, Oxford. He was elected fellow of Oriel in 1798, and after
taking orders held a curacy at Southampton (1802), and then the vicarage
of Coggeshall, Essex (1810). In 1811 he was Bampton lecturer, in 1816
was made rector of St Botolph's, and in 1820 bishop of Killaloe and
Kilfenoragh (Ireland). In 1823 he was translated to Down and Connor, to
which Dromore was added in 1842. In connexion with the Rev. George
D'Oyly he wrote a commentary on the whole Bible. Other works by him were
the _Psalms in an English Metrical Version_ (1842) and a _History of the
Church of Ireland_ (1839-1841; 2 vols.).
MANTEGAZZA, PAOLO (1831-1910), Italian physiologist and anthropologist,
was born at Monza on the 31st of October 1831. After spending his
student-days at the universities of Pisa and Milan, he gained his M.D.
degree at Pavia in 1854. After travelling in Europe, India and America,
he practised as a doctor in the Argentine Republic and Paraguay.
Returning to Italy in 1858 he was appointed surgeon at Milan Hospital
and professor of general pathology at Pavia. In 1870 he was nominated
professor of anthropology at the Instituto di Studii Superiori,
Florence. Here he founded the first Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology
in Italy, and later the Italian Anthropological Society. From 1865 to
1876 he was deputy for Monza in the Italian parliament, subsequently
being elected to the senate. He became the object of bitter attacks on
the ground of the extent to which he carried the practice of
vivisection. His published works include _Fisiologia del dolore_ (1880);
_Fisiologia dell' amore_ (1896); _Elementi d' igiene_ (1875); _Fisonomia
e mimica_ (1883); _Le Estasi umane_ (1887).
MANTEGNA, ANDREA (1431-1506), one of the chief heroes in the advance of
painting in Italy, was born in Vicenza, of very humble parentage. It is
said that in his earliest boyhood Andrea was, like Giotto, put to
shepherding or cattle-herding; this is not likely, and can at any rate
have lasted only a very short while, as his natural genius for art
developed with singular precocity, and excited the attention of
Francesco Squarcione, who entered him in the gild of painters before he
had completed his eleventh year.
Squarcione, whose original vocation was tailoring, appears to have had a
remarkable enthusiasm for ancient art, and a proportionate faculty for
acting, with profit to himself and others, as a sort of artistic
middleman; his own performances as a painter were merely mediocre. He
travelled in Italy, and perhaps in Greece also, collecting antique
statues, reliefs, vases, &c., forming the largest collection then extant
of such works, making drawings from them himself, and throwing open his
stores for others to study from, and then undertaking works on
commission for which his pupils no less than himself were made
available. As many as one hundred and thirty-seven painters and
pictorial students passed through his school, established towards 1440,
which became famous all over Italy. Mantegna was, as he deserved to be,
Squarcione's favourite pupil. Squarcione adopted him as his son, and
purposed making him the heir of his fortune. Andrea was only seventeen
when he painted, in the church of S. Sofia in Padua, a Madonna picture
of exceptional and recognized excellence. He was no doubt fully aware of
having achieved no common feat, as he marked the work with his name and
the date, and the years of his age. This painting was destroyed in the
17th century.
As the youth progressed in his studies, he came under the influence of
Jacopo Bellini, a painter considerably superior to Squarcione, father of
the celebrated painters Giovanni and Gentile, and of a daughter
Nicolosia; and in 1454 Jacopo gave Nicolosia to Andrea in marriage. This
connexion of Andrea with the pictorial rival of Squarcione is generally
assigned as the reason why the latter became alienated from the son of
his adoption, and always afterwards hostile to him. Another suggestion,
which rests, however, merely on its own internal probability, is that
Squarcione had at the outset used his pupil Andrea as the unavowed
executant of certain commissions, but that after a while Andrea began
painting on his own account, thus injuring the professional interests of
his chief. The remarkably definite and original style formed by Mantegna
may be traced out as founded on the study of the antique in Squarcione's
atelier, followed by a diligent application of principles of work
exemplified by Paolo Uccello and Donatello, with the practical guidance
and example of Jacopo Bellini in the sequel.
Among the other early works of Mantegna are the fresco of two saints
over the entrance porch of the church of S. Antonio in Padua, 1452, and
an altar-piece of St Luke and other saints for the church of S.
Giustina, now in the Brera Gallery in Milan, 1453. It's probable,
however, that before this time some of the pupils of Squarcione,
including Mantegna, had already begun that series of frescoes in the
chapel of S. Cristoforo, in the church of S. Agostino degli Eremitani,
by which the great painter's reputation was fully confirmed, and which
remain to this day conspicuous among his finest achievements.[1] The now
censorious Squarcione found much to carp at in the earlier works of this
series, illustrating the life of St James; he said the figures were like
men of stone, and had better have been coloured stone-colour at once.
Andrea, conscious as he was of his own great faculty and mastery, seems
nevertheless to have felt that there was something in his old
preceptor's strictures; and the later subjects, from the legend of St
Christopher, combine with his other excellences more of natural
character and vivacity. Trained as he had been to the study of marbles
and the severity of the antique, and openly avowing that he considered
the antique superior to nature as being more eclectic in form, he now
and always affected precision of outline, dignity of idea and of figure,
and he thus tended towards rigidity, and to an austere wholeness rather
than gracious sensitiveness of expression. His draperies are tight and
closely folded, being studied (as it is said) from models draped in
paper and woven fabrics gummed. Figures slim, muscular and bony, action
impetuous but of arrested energy, tawny landscape, gritty with littering
pebbles, mark the athletic hauteur of his style. He never changed,
though he developed and perfected, the manner which he had adopted in
Padua; his colouring, at first rather neutral and undecided,
strengthened and matured. There is throughout his works more balancing
of colour than fineness of tone. One of his great aims was optical
illusion, carried out by a mastery of perspective which, though not
always impeccably correct, nor absolutely superior in principle to the
highest contemporary point of attainment, was worked out by himself with
strenuous labour, and an effect of actuality astonishing in those times.
Successful and admired though he was in Padua, Mantegna left his native
city at an early age, and never afterwards resettled there; the
hostility of Squarcione has been assigned as the cause. The rest of his
life was passed in Verona, Mantua and Rome--chiefly Mantua; Venice and
Florence have also been named, but without confirmation.
It may have been in 1459 that he went to Verona; and he painted, though
not on the spot, a grand altar-piece for the church of S. Zeno, a
Madonna and angels, with four saints on each side. The Marquis Lodovico
Gonzaga of Mantua had for some time been pressing Mantegna to enter his
service; and the following year, 1460, was perhaps the one in which he
actually established himself at the Mantuan court, residing at first
from time to time at Goito, but, from December 1466 onwards, with his
family in Mantua itself. His engagement was for a salary of 75 lire
(about £30) a month, a sum so large for that period as to mark
conspicuously the high regard in which his art was held. He was in fact
the first painter of any eminence ever domiciled in Mantua. He built a
stately house in the city, and adorned it with a multitude of paintings.
The house remains, but the pictures have perished. Some of his early
Mantuan works are in that apartment of the Castello which is termed the
Camera degli Sposi--full compositions in fresco, including various
portraits of the Gonzaga family, and some figures of genii, &c. In 1488
he went to Rome at the request of Pope Innocent VIII., to paint the
frescoes in the chapel of the Belvedere in the Vatican; the marquis of
Mantua (Federigo) created him a cavaliere before his departure. This
series of frescoes, including a noted "Baptism of Christ," was
ruthlessly destroyed by Pius VI. in laying out the Museo Pio-Clementino.
The pope treated Mantegna with less liberality than he had been used to
at the Mantuan court; but on the whole their connexion, which ceased in
1490, was not unsatisfactory to either party. Mantegna then returned to
Mantua, and went on with a series of works--the nine tempera-pictures,
each of them 9 ft. square, of the "Triumph of Caesar"--which he had
probably begun before his leaving for Rome, and which are now in Hampton
Court. These superbly invented and designed compositions, gorgeous with
all splendour of subject-matter and accessory, and with the classical
learning and enthusiasm of one of the master-spirits of the age, have
always been accounted of the first rank among Mantegna's works. They
were sold in 1628 along with the bulk of the Mantuan art treasures, and
were not, as is commonly said, plundered in the sack of Mantua in 1630.
They are now greatly damaged by patchy repaintings. Another work of
Mantegna's later years was the so-called "Madonna della Vittoria," now
in the Louvre. It was painted in tempera about 1495, in commemoration of
the battle of Fornovo, which Gianfrancesco Gonzaga found it convenient
to represent to his lieges as an Italian victory, though in fact it had
been a French victory; the church which originally housed the picture
was built from Mantegna's own design. The Madonna is here depicted with
various saints, the archangel Michael and St Maurice holding her mantle,
which is extended over the kneeling Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, amid a
profusion of rich festooning and other accessory. Though not in all
respects of his highest order of execution, this counts among the most
obviously beautiful and attractive of Mantegna's works--from which the
qualities of beauty and attraction are often excluded, in the stringent
pursuit of those other excellences more germane to his severe genius,
tense energy passing into haggard passion.
Vasari eulogizes Mantegna for his courteous, distinguished and
praiseworthy deportment, although there are indications of his having
been not a little litigious in disposition. With his fellow-pupils at
Padua he had been affectionate; and for two of them, Dario da Trevigi
and Marco Zoppo, he retained a steady friendship. That he had a high
opinion of himself was natural, for no artist of his epoch could produce
more manifest vouchers of marked and progressive attainment. He became
very expensive in his habits, fell at times into difficulties, and had
to urge his valid claims upon the marquis's attention. After his return
to Mantua from Rome his prosperity was at its height, until the death of
his wife. He then formed some other connexion, and became at an advanced
age the father of a natural son, Giovanni Andrea; and at the last,
although he continued launching out into various expenses and schemes,
he had serious tribulations, such as the banishment from Mantua of his
son Francesco, who had incurred the marquis's displeasure. Perhaps the
aged master and connoisseur regarded as barely less trying the hard
necessity of parting with a beloved antique bust of Faustina. Very soon
after this transaction he died in Mantua, on the 13th of September 1506.
In 1517 a handsome monument was set up to him by his sons in the church
of S. Andrea, where he had painted the altar-piece of the mortuary
chapel.
Mantegna was no less eminent as an engraver, though his history in
that respect is somewhat obscure, partly because he never signed or
dated any of his plates, unless in one single disputed instance, 1472.
The account which has come down to us is that Mantegna began engraving
in Rome, prompted by the engravings produced by Baccio Baldini of
Florence after Sandro Botticelli; nor is there anything positive to
invalidate this account, except the consideration that it would
consign all the numerous and elaborate engravings made by Mantegna to
the last sixteen or seventeen years of his life, which seems a scanty
space for them, and besides the earlier engravings indicate an earlier
period of his artistic style. It has been suggested that he began
engraving while still in Padua, under the tuition of a distinguished
goldsmith, Niccolò. He engraved about fifty plates, according to the
usual reckoning; some thirty of them are mostly accounted
indisputable--often large, full of figures, and highly studied. Some
recent connoisseurs, however, ask us to restrict to seven the number
of his genuine extant engravings--which appears unreasonable. Among
the principal examples are "Roman Triumphs" (not the same compositions
as the Hampton Court pictures), "A Bacchanal Festival," "Hercules and
Antaeus," "Marine Gods," "Judith with the Head of Holophernes," the
"Deposition from the Cross," the "Entombment," the "Resurrection," the
"Man of Sorrows," the "Virgin in a Grotto." Mantegna has sometimes
been credited with the important invention of engraving with the burin
on copper. This claim cannot be sustained on a comparison of dates,
but at any rate he introduced the art into upper Italy. Several of his
engravings are supposed to be executed on some metal less hard than
copper. The technique of himself and his followers is characterized by
the strongly marked forms of the design, and by the oblique formal
hatchings of the shadows. The prints are frequently to be found in two
states, or editions. In the first state the prints have been taken off
with the roller, or even by hand-pressing, and they are weak in tint;
in the second state the printing press has been used, and the ink is
stronger.
The influence of Mantegna on the style and tendency of his age was
very marked, and extended not only to his own flourishing Mantuan
school, but over Italian art generally. His vigorous perspectives and
trenchant foreshortenings pioneered the way to other artists: in solid
antique taste, and the power of reviving the aspect of a remote age
with some approach to system and consistency, he distanced all
contemporary competition. He did not, however, leave behind him many
scholars of superior faculty. His two legitimate sons were painters of
only ordinary ability. His favourite pupil was known as Carlo del
Mantegna; Caroto of Verona was another pupil, Bonsignori an imitator.
Giovanni Bellini, in his earlier works, obviously followed the lead of
his brother-in-law Andrea.
The works painted by Mantegna, apart from his frescoes, are not
numerous; some thirty-five to forty are regarded as fully
authenticated. We may name, besides those already specified--in the
Naples Museum, "St Euphemia," a fine early work; in Casa Melzi, Milan,
the "Madonna and Child with Chanting Angels" (1461); in the Tribune of
the Uffizi, Florence, three pictures remarkable for scrupulous finish;
in the Berlin Museum, the "Dead Christ with two Angels"; in the
Louvre, the two celebrated pictures of mythic allegory--"Parnassus"
and "Minerva Triumphing over the Vices"; in the National Gallery,
London, the "Agony in the Garden," the "Virgin and Child Enthroned,
with the Baptist and the Magdalen," a late example; the monochrome of
"Vestals," brought from Hamilton Palace; the "Triumph of Scipio" (or
Phrygian Mother of the Gods received by the Roman Commonwealth), a
tempera in chiaroscuro, painted only a few months before the master's
death; in the Brera, Milan, the "Dead Christ, with the two Maries
weeping," a remarkable _tour de force_ in the way of foreshortening,
which, though it has a stunted appearance, is in correct technical
perspective as seen from all points of view. With all its exceptional
merit, this is an eminently ugly picture. It remained in Mantegna's
studio unsold at his death, and was disposed of to liquidate debts.
Not to speak of earlier periods, a great deal has been written
concerning Mantegna of late years. See the works by Maud Crutwell
(1901), Paul Kristeller (1901), H. Thode (1897), Paul Yriarte (1901),
Julia Cartwright, _Mantegna and Francia_ (1881). (W. M. R.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] His fellow-workers were Bono of Ferrara, Ansuino of Forlì, and
Niccolò Pizzolo, to whom considerable sections of the
fresco-paintings are to be assigned. The acts of St James and St
Christopher are the leading subjects of the series. St James
Exorcizing may have been commenced by Pizzolo, and completed by
Mantegna. The Calling of St James to the Apostleship appears to be
Mantegna's design, partially carried out by Pizzolo; the subjects of
St James baptizing, his appearing before the judge, and going to
execution, and most of the legend of St Christopher, are entirely by
Mantegna.
MANTELL, GIDEON ALGERNON (1790-1852), English geologist and
palaeontologist, was born in 1790 at Lewes, Sussex. Educated for the
medical profession, he first practised in his native town, afterwards in
1835 in Brighton, and finally at Clapham, near London. He found time to
prosecute researches on the palaeontology of the Secondary rocks,
particularly in Sussex--a region which he made classical in the history
of discovery. While he was still a country doctor at Lewes his eminence
as a geological investigator was fully recognized on the publication of
his work on _The Fossils of the South Downs_ (1822). His most remarkable
discoveries were made in the Wealden formations. He demonstrated the
fresh-water origin of the strata, and from them he brought to light and
described the remarkable Dinosaurian reptiles known as _Iguanodon_,
_Hylaeosaurus_, _Pelorosaurus_ and _Regnosaurus_. For these researches
he was awarded the Wollaston medal by the Geological Society and a Royal
medal by the Royal Society. He was elected F.R.S. in 1825. Among his
other contributions to the literature of palaeontology was his
description of the Triassic reptile _Telerpelon elginense_. Towards the
end of his life Dr Mantell retired to London, where he died on the 10th
of November 1852. His eldest son, WALTER BALDOCK DURRANT MANTELL
(1820-1895), settled in New Zealand, and there attained high public
positions, eventually being secretary for Crown-lands. He obtained
remains of the _Notornis_, a recently extinct bird, and also brought
forward evidence to show that the moas were contemporaries of man.
In addition to the works above mentioned Dr Mantell was author of
_Illustrations of the Geology of Sussex_ (4to, 1827); _Geology of the
South-east of England_ (1833); _The Wonders of Geology_, 2 vols.
(1838; ed. 7, 1857); _Geological Excursions round the Isle of Wight,
and along the Adjacent Coast of Dorsetshire_ (1847; ed. 3, 1854);
_Petrifactions and their Teachings_ (1851); _The Medals of Creation_
(2 vols., 1854).
MANTES-SUR-SEINE, a town of northern France, capital of an
arrondissement in the department of Seine-et-Oise on the left bank of
the Seine, 34 m. W.N.W. of Paris by rail. Pop. (1906), 8113. The chief
building in Mantes is the celebrated church of Notre-Dame which dates in
the main from the end of the 12th century. A previous edifice was burnt
down by William the Conqueror together with the rest of the town, at the
capture of which he lost his life in 1087; he is said to have bequeathed
a large sum for the rebuilding of the church. The plan, which bears a
marked resemblance to that of Notre-Dame at Paris, includes a nave,
aisles and choir, but no transepts. Three portals open into the church
on the west, the two northernmost, which date from the 12th century,
being decorated with fine carving; that to the south is of the 14th
century and still more ornate. A fine rose-window and an open gallery,
above which rise the summits of the western towers, occupy the upper
part of the façade. In the interior, chapels dating from the 13th and
14th centuries are of interest. The tower of St Maclou (14th century),
relic of an old church and the hôtel de ville (15th to 17th centuries),
are among the older buildings of the town, and there is a fountain of
the Renaissance period. Modern bridges and a medieval bridge unite
Mantes with the opposite bank of the Seine on which the town of Limay is
built. The town has a sub-prefecture and a tribunal of first instance.
Mantes was occupied by the English from 1346 to 1364, and from 1416 to
1449.
MANTEUFFEL, EDWIN, FREIHERR VON (1809-1885), Prussian general field
marshal, son of the president of the superior court of Magdeburg, was
born at Dresden on the 24th of February 1809. He was brought up with his
cousin, Otto von Manteuffel (1805-1882), the Prussian statesman, entered
the guard cavalry at Berlin in 1827, and became an officer in 1828.
After attending the War Academy for two years, and serving successively
as aide-de-camp to General von Müffling and to Prince Albert of Prussia,
he was promoted captain in 1843 and major in 1848, when he became
aide-de-camp to Frederick William IV., whose confidence he had gained
during the revolutionary movement in Berlin. Promoted lieutenant-colonel
in 1852, and colonel to command the 5th Uhlans in 1853, he was sent on
important diplomatic missions to Vienna and St Petersburg. In 1857 he
became major-general and chief of the military cabinet. He gave hearty
support to the prince regent's plans for the reorganization of the army.
In 1861 he was violently attacked in a pamphlet by Karl Twesten
(1820-1870), a Liberal leader, whom he wounded in a duel. He served as
lieutenant-general (to which rank he was promoted on the coronation of
William I., Oct. 18, 1861) in the Danish war of 1864, and at its
conclusion was appointed civil and military governor of Schleswig. In
the Austrian War of 1866 he first occupied Holstein and afterwards
commanded a division under Vogel von Falkenstein in the Hanoverian
campaign, and succeeded him, in July, in command of the Army of the Main
(see SEVEN WEEKS' WAR). His successful operations ended with the
occupation of Würzburg, and he received the order _pour le mérite_. He
was, however, on account of his monarchist political views and almost
bigoted Roman Catholicism, regarded by the parliament as a reactionary,
and, unlike the other army commanders, he was not granted a money reward
for his services. He then went on a diplomatic mission to St Petersburg,
where he was _persona grata_, and succeeded in gaining Russia's assent
to the new position in north Germany. On returning he was gazetted to
the colonelcy of the 5th Dragoons. He was appointed to the command of
the IX. (Schleswig-Holstein) army corps in 1866. But having formerly
exercised both civil and military control in the Elbe duchies he was
unwilling to be a purely military commander under one of his late civil
subordinates, and retired from the army for a year. In 1868, however, he
returned to active service. In the Franco-German War of 1870-71 he
commanded the I. corps under Steinmetz, distinguishing himself in the
battle of Colombey-Neuilly, and in the repulse of Bazaine at Noisseville
(see FRANCO-GERMAN WAR; and METZ). He succeeded Steinmetz in October in
the command of the I. army, won the battle of Amiens against General
Farre, and occupied Rouen, but was less fortunate against Faidherbe at
Pont Noyelles and Bapaume. In January 1871 he commanded the newly formed
Army of the South, which he led, in spite of hard frost, through the
Côte d'Or and over the plateau of Langres, cut off Bourbaki's army of
the east (80,000 men), and, after the action of Pontarlier, compelled it
to cross the Swiss frontier, where it was disarmed. His immediate reward
was the Grand Cross of the order of the Iron Cross, and at the
conclusion of peace he received the Black Eagle. When the Southern Army
was disbanded Manteuffel commanded first the II. army, and, from June
1871 until 1873, the army of occupation left in France, showing great
tact in a difficult position. On leaving France at the close of the
occupation, the emperor promoted Manteuffel to the rank of general field
marshal and awarded him a large grant in money, and about the same time
Alexander II. of Russia gave him the order of St Andrew. After this he
was employed on several diplomatic missions, was for a time governor of
Berlin, and in 1879, perhaps, as was commonly reported, because he was
considered by Bismarck as a formidable rival, he was appointed
governor-general of Alsace-Lorraine; and this office he exercised--more
in the spirit, some said, of a Prussian than of a German official--until
his death at Carlsbad, Bohemia, on the 17th of June 1885.
See lives by v. Collas (Berlin, 1874), and K. H. Keck (Bielefeld and
Leipzig, 1890).
MANTINEIA, or MANTINEA, an ancient city of Arcadia, Greece, situated in
the long narrow plain running north and south, which is now called after
the chief town Tripolitsa. Tegea was in the same valley, about 10 m. S.
of Mantineia, and the two cities continually disputed the supremacy of
the district. In every great war we find them ranged on opposite sides,
except when superior force constrained both. The worship and mysteries
of Cora at Mantineia were famous. The valley in which the city lies has
no opening to the coast, and the water finds its way, often only with
much care and artificial aid, through underground passages
(_katavothra_) to the sea. It is bounded on the west by Mount Maenalus,
on the east by Mount Artemision.
Mantineia is mentioned in the Homeric catalogue of ships, but in early
Greek times existed only as a cluster of villages inhabited by a purely
agricultural community. In the 6th century it was still insignificant as
compared with the neighbouring city of Tegea, and submitted more readily
to Spartan overlordship. The political history of Mantineia begins soon
after the Persian wars, when its five constituent villages, at the
suggestion of Argos, were merged into one city, whose military strength
forthwith secured it a leading position in the Peloponnesus. Its policy
was henceforth guided by three main considerations. Its democratic
constitution, which seems to have been entirely congenial to the
population of small freeholders, and its ambition to gain control over
the Alpheus watershed and both the Arcadian high roads to the isthmus,
frequently estranged Mantineia from Sparta and threw it into the arms of
Argos. But the chronic frontier disputes with Tegea, which turned the
two cities into bitter enemies, contributed most of all to determine
their several policies. About 469 B.C. Mantineia alone of Arcadian
townships refused to join the league of Tegea and Argos against Sparta.
Though formally enrolled on the same side during the Peloponnesian War
the two cities used the truce of 423 to wage a fierce but indecisive war
with each other. In the time following the peace of Nicias the
Mantineians, whose attempts at expansion beyond Mount Maenalus were
being foiled by Sparta, formed a powerful alliance with Argos, Elis and
Athens (420), which the Spartans, assisted by Tegea, broke up after a
pitched battle in the city's territory (418). In the subsequent years
Mantineia still found opportunity to give the Athenians covert help, and
during the Corinthian War (394-387) scarcely disguised its sympathy with
the anti-Spartan league. In 385 the Spartans seized a pretext to besiege
and dismantle Mantineia and to scatter its inhabitants among four
villages. The city was reconstituted after the battle of Leuctra and
under its statesman Lycomedes played a prominent part in organizing the
Arcadian League (370). But the long-standing jealousy against Tegea, and
a recent one against the new foundation of Megalopolis, created
dissensions which resulted in Mantineia passing over to the Spartan
side. In the following campaign of 362 Mantineia, after narrowly
escaping capture by the Theban general Epaminondas, became the scene of
a decisive conflict in which the latter achieved a notable victory but
lost his own life. After the withdrawal of the Thebans from Arcadia
Mantineia failed to recover its pre-eminence from Megalopolis, with
which city it had frequent disputes. In contrast with the Macedonian
sympathies of Megalopolis Mantineia joined the leagues against Antipater
(322) and Antigonus Gonatas (266). A change of constitution, imposed
perhaps by the Macedonians, was nullified (about 250) by a revolution
through which democracy was restored. About 235 B.C. Mantineia entered
the Achaean League, from which it had obtained protection against
Spartan encroachments, but soon passed in turn to the Aetolians and to
Cleomenes III. of Sparta. A renewed defection, inspired apparently by
aversion to the aristocratic government of the Achaeans and jealousy of
Megalopolis, was punished in 222 by a thorough devastation of the city,
which was now reconstituted as a dependency of Argos and renamed
Antigoneia in honour of the Achaeans' ally Antigonus Doson. Mantineia
regained its autonomous position in the Achaean League in 192, and its
original name during a visit of the emperor Hadrian in A.D. 133. Under
the later Roman Empire the city dwindled into a mere village, which
since the 6th century bore the Slavonic name of Goritza. It finally
became a prey to the malaria which arose when the plain fell out of
cultivation, and under Turkish rule disappeared altogether.
(M. O. B. C.)
[Illustration: Plan of Agora of Mantineia.]
The site was excavated by M. Fougères, of the French School at Athens,
in 1888. The plan of the agora and adjacent buildings has been
recovered, and the walls have been completely investigated. The town was
situated in an unusual position for a Greek city, on a flat marshy
plain, and its walls form a regular ellipse about 2½ m. in
circumference. When the town was first formed in 470 B.C. by the
"synoecism" of the neighbouring villages, the river Ophis flowed through
the midst of it, and the Spartan king Agesipolis dammed it up below the
town and so flooded out the Mantineians and sapped their walls, which
were of unbaked brick. Accordingly, when the city was rebuilt in 370
B.C., the river Ophis was divided into two branches, which between them
encircled the walls; and the walls themselves were constructed to a
height of about 3 to 6 feet of stone, the rest being of unbaked brick.
These are the walls of which the remains are still extant. There are
towers about every 80 ft.; and the gates are so arranged that the
passage inwards usually runs from right to left, and so an attacking
force would have to expose its right or shieldless side. Within the
walls the most conspicuous landmark is the theatre, which, unlike the
majority of Greek theatres, consists entirely of an artificial mound
standing up from the level plain. Only about a quarter of its original
height remains. Its _scena_ is of rather irregular shape, and borders
one of the narrow ends of the agora. Close to it are the foundations of
several temples, one of them sacred to the hero Podaros. The agora is of
unsymmetrical form; its sides are bordered by porticoes, interrupted by
streets, like the primitive agora of Elis as described by Pausanias, and
unlike the regular agoras of Ionic type. Most of these porticoes were of
Roman period--the finest of them were erected, as we learn from
inscriptions, by a lady named Epigone: one, which faced south, had a
double colonnade, and was called the [Greek: Baitê]: close to it was a
large exedra. The foundations of a square market-hall of earlier date
were found beneath this. On the opposite side of the agora was an
extensive Bouleuterion or senate-house. Traces remain of paved roads
both within the agora and leading out of it; but the whole site is now a
deserted and feverish swamp. The site is interesting for comparison with
Megalopolis; the nature of its plan seems to imply that its main
features must survive from the earlier "synoecism" a century before the
time of Epaminondas.
See Strabo viii. 337; Pausanias viii. 8; Thucyd. iv. 134, v.;
Xenophon, _Hellenica_, iv.-vii.; Diodorus xv. 85-87; Polybius ii. 57
sqq., vi. 43; D. Worenka, _Mantineia_ (1905); B. V. Head, _Historia
numorum_ (Oxford, 1887), pp. 376-377; G. Fougères in _Bulletin de
correspondance hellénique_ (1890), id. _Mantinée et l'Arcadie
orientale_ (Paris, 1898). Consult also TEGEA; ARCADIA.
Five battles are recorded to have been fought near Mantineia; 418, 362
(see above), 295 (Demetrius Poliorcetes defeats Archidamus of Sparta),
242 (Aratus beats Agis of Sparta), 207 (Philopoemen beats Machanidas
of Sparta). The battles of 362 and 207 are discussed at length by J.
Kromayer, _Antike Schtachtfelder in Griechenland_ (Berlin, 1903),
27-123, 281-314; _Wiener Studien_ (1905), pp. 1-16. (E. Gr.)
MANTIS, an insect belonging to the order _Orthoptera_. Probably no other
insect has been the subject of so many and widespread legends and
superstitions as the common "praying mantis," _Mantis religiosa_, L. The
ancient Greeks endowed it with supernatural powers ([Greek: mantis], a
diviner); the Turks and Arabs hold that it prays constantly with its
face turned towards Mecca; the Provençals call it _Prega-Diou_
(_Prie-Dieu_); and numerous more or less similar names--preacher, saint,
nun, mendicant, soothsayer, &c.--are widely diffused throughout southern
Europe. In Nubia it is held in great esteem, and the Hottentots, if not
indeed worshipping the local species (_M. fausta_), as one traveller has
alleged, at least appear to regard its alighting upon any person both as
a token of saintliness and an omen of good fortune.
Yet these are "not the saints but the tigers of the insect world." The
front pair of limbs are very peculiarly modified--the coxa being greatly
elongated, while the strong third joint or femur bears on its curved
underside a channel armed on each edge by strong movable spines. Into
this groove the stout tibia is capable of closing like the blade of a
pen-knife, its sharp, serrated edge being adapted to cut and hold. Thus
armed, with head raised upon the much-elongated and semi-erect
prothorax, and with the half-opened fore-limbs held outwards in the
characteristic devotional attitude, it rests motionless upon the four
posterior limbs waiting for prey, or occasionally stalks it with slow
and silent movements, finally seizing it with its knife-blades and
devouring it. Although apparently not daring to attack ants, these
insects destroy great numbers of flies, grasshoppers and caterpillars,
and the larger South-American species even attack small frogs, lizards
and birds. They are very pugnacious, fencing with their sword-like limbs
"like hussars with sabres," the larger frequently devouring the smaller,
and the females the males. The Chinese keep them in bamboo cages, and
match them like fighting-cocks.
The common species fixes its somewhat nut-like egg capsules on the stems
of plants in September. The young are hatched in early summer, and
resemble the adults, but are without wings.
[Illustration: Praying Mantis (_Mantis religiosa_).]
The green coloration and shape of the typical mantis are procryptic,
serving to conceal the insect alike from its enemies and prey. The
passage from leaf to flower simulation is but a step which, without
interfering with the protective value of the coloration so far as
insectivorous foes are concerned, carries with it the additional
advantage of attracting flower-feeding insects within reach of the
raptorial limbs. This method of allurement has been perfected in certain
tropical species of _Mantidae_ by the development on the prothorax and
raptorial limbs of laminate expansions so coloured on the under side as
to resemble papilionaceous or other blossoms, to which the likeness is
enhanced by a gentle swaying kept up by the insect in imitation of the
effect of a lightly blowing breeze. As instances of this may be cited
_Idalum diabolicum_, an African insect, and _Gongylus gongyloides_,
which comes from India. Examples of another species (_Empusa eugena_)
when standing upon the ground deceptively imitate in shape and hue a
greenish white anemone tinted at the edges with rose; and Bates records
what appears to be a true case of aggressive mimicry practised by a
Brazilian species which exactly resembles the white ants it preys upon.
MANTIS-FLY, the name given to neuropterous insects of the family
_Mantispidae_, related to the ant-lions, lace-wing flies, &c., and named
from their superficial resemblance to a _Mantis_ owing to the length of
the prothorax and the shape and prehensorial nature of the anterior
legs. The larva, at first campodeiform, makes its way into the egg-case
of a spider or the nest of a wasp to feed upon the eggs or young.
Subsequently it changes into a fat grub with short legs. When full grown
it spins a silken cocoon in which the transformation into the pupa is
effected. The latter escapes from its double case before moulting into
the mature insect.
MANTLE, a long flowing cloak without sleeves, worn by either sex.
Particularly applied to the long robe worn over the armour by the
men-at-arms of the middle ages, the name is still given to the robes of
state of kings, peers, and the members of an order of knights. Thus the
"electoral mantle" was a robe of office worn by the imperial electors,
and the Teutonic knights were known as the _orde alborum mantellorum_
from their white mantles. As an article of women's dress a mantle now
means a loose cloak or cape, of any length, and made of silk, velvet, or
other rich material. The word is derived from the Latin _mantellum_ or
_mantelum_, a cloak, and is probably the same as, or another form of,
_mantelium_ or _mantele_, a table-napkin or table-cloth, from _manus_,
hand, and _tela_, a cloth. A late Latin _mantum_, from which several
Romance languages have taken words (cf. Ital. _manto_, and Fr. _mante_),
must, as the _New English Dictionary_ points out, be a "back-formation,"
and this will explain the diminutive form of the Spanish _mantilla_.
From the old French _mantel_ came the English compounds "mantel-piece,"
"mantel-shelf," for the stone or wood beam which serves as a support for
the structure above a fire-place, together with the whole framework,
whether of wood, stone, &c., that acts as an ornament of the same (see
CHIMNEYPIECE). The modern French form _manteau_ is used in English
chiefly as a dressmaker's term for a woman's mantle. "Mantua," much used
in the 18th century for a similar garment, is probably a corruption of
_manteau_, due to silk or other materials coming from the Italian town
of that name, and known by the trade name of "mantuas." The Spanish
_mantilla_ is a covering for the head and shoulders of white or black
lace or other material, the characteristic head-dress of women in
southern and central Spain. It is occasionally seen in the other parts
of Spain and Spanish countries, and also in Portugal.
"Mantle" is used in many transferred senses, all with the meaning of
"covering," as in zoology, for an enclosing sac or integument; thus it
is applied to the "tunic" or layer of connective-tissue forming the
body-wall of ascidians enclosing muscle-fibres, blood-sinuses and nerves
(see TUNICATA). The term is also used for a meshed cap of refractory
oxides employed in systems of incandescent lighting (see LIGHTING). The
verb is used for the creaming or frothing of liquids and of the
suffusing of the skin with blood. In heraldry "mantling," also known as
"panache," "lambrequin" or "contoise," is an ornamental appendage to an
escutcheon, of flowing drapery, forming a background (see HERALDRY).
MANTON, THOMAS (1620-1677), English Nonconformist divine, was born at
Laurence Lydiard, Somerset, in 1620, and was educated at Hart Hall,
Oxford. Joseph Hall, bishop of Norwich, ordained him deacon: he never
took priest's orders, holding that "he was properly ordained to the
ministerial office." He was one of the clerks at the Westminster
Assembly, one of Cromwell's chaplains and a "trier," and held livings at
Stoke Newington (1645) and St Paul's, Covent Garden (1656). He
disapproved of the execution of Charles I. In 1658 he assisted Baxter to
draw up the "Fundamentals of Religion." He helped to restore Charles II.
and became one of his chaplains, refusing the deanery of Rochester. In
1662 he lost his living under the Act of Uniformity and preached in his
own rooms and in other parts of London. For this he was arrested in
1670.
His works are best known in the collected edition by J. C. Ryle (22
vols. 1870-1875).
MAN-TRAPS, mechanical devices for catching poachers and trespassers.
They have taken many forms, the most usual being like a large rat-trap,
the steel springs being armed with teeth which met in the victim's leg.
Since 1827 they have been illegal in England, except in houses between
sunset and sunrise as a defence against burglars.
MANTUA (Ital. _Mantova_), a fortified city of Lombardy, Italy, the
capital of the province of Mantua, the see of a bishop, and the centre
of a military district, 25 m. S.S.W. of Verona and 100 m. E.S.E. of
Milan by rail. Pop. (1906), 31,783. It is situated 88 ft. above the
level of the Adriatic on an almost insular site in the midst of the
swampy lagoons of the Mincio. As the belt of marshy ground along the
south side can be laid under water at pleasure, the site of the city
proper, exclusive of the considerable suburbs of Borgo di Fortezza to
the north and Borgo di San Giorgio to the east, may still be said to
consist, as it formerly did more distinctly, of two islands separated by
a narrow channel and united by a number of bridges. On the west side
lies Lago Superiore, on the east side Lago Inferiore--the boundary
between the two being marked by the _Argine del Mulino_, a long mole
stretching northward from the north-west angle of the city to the
citadel.
On the highest ground in the city rises the cathedral, the interior of
which was built after his death according to the plans of Giulio Romano;
it has double aisles, a fine fretted ceiling, a dome-covered transept, a
bad baroque façade, and a large unfinished Romanesque tower. Much more
important architecturally is the church of St Andrea, built towards the
close of the 15th century, after plans by Leon Battista Alberti, and
consisting of a single, barrel-vaulted nave 350 ft. long by 62 ft. wide.
It has a noble façade with a deeply recessed portico, and a brick
campanile of 1414. The interior is decorated with 18th-century frescoes,
to which period the dome also belongs. Mantegna is buried in one of the
side chapels. S. Sebastiano is another work of Alberti's. The old ducal
palace--one of the largest buildings of its kind in Europe--was begun in
1302 for Guido Bonaccolsi, and probably completed in 1328 for Ludovico
Gonzaga; but many of the accessory apartments are of much later date,
and the internal decorations are for the most part the work of Giulio
Romano and his pupils. There are also some fine rooms of the early 19th
century. Close by are the Piazza dell' Erbe and the Piazza Sordello,
with Gothic palaces. The Castello di Corte here, the old castle of the
Gonzagas (1395-1406), erected by Bartolino da Novara, the architect of
the castle of Ferrara, now contains the archives, and has some fine
frescoes by Mantegna with scenes from the life of Ludovico Gonzaga.
Outside of the city, to the south of Porta Pusterla, stands the Palazzo
del Te, Giulio's architectural masterpiece, erected for Frederick
Gonzaga in 1523-1535; of the numerous fresco-covered chambers which it
contains, perhaps the most celebrated is the Sala dei Giganti, where, by
a combination of mechanical with artistic devices, the rout of the
Titans still contending with artillery of uptorn rocks against the
pursuit and thunderbolts of Jove appears to rush downwards on the
spectator. The architecture of Giulio's own house in the town is also
good.
Mantua has an academy of arts and sciences (_Accademia Vergiliana_),
occupying a fine building erected by Piermarini, a public library
founded in 1780 by Maria Theresa, a museum of antiquities dating from
1779, many of which have been brought from Sabbioneta, a small residence
town of the Gonzagas in the late 16th century, a mineralogical museum, a
good botanical garden, and an observatory. There are ironworks,
tanneries, breweries, oil-mills and flour-mills in the town, which also
has printing, furriery, doll-making and playing-card industries. As a
fortress Mantua was long one of the most formidable in Europe, a force
of thirty to forty thousand men finding accommodation within its walls;
but it had two serious defects--the marshy climate told heavily on the
health of the garrison, and effective sorties were almost impossible. It
lies on the main line of railway between Verona and Modena; and is also
connected by rail with Cremona and with Monselice, on the line from
Padua to Bologna, and by steam tramway with Brescia and other places.
S. Maria delle Grazie, standing some 5 m. outside the town, was
consecrated in 1399 as an act of thanksgiving for the cessation of the
plague, and has a curious collection of _ex voto_ pictures (wax
figures), and also the tombs of the Gonzaga family.
Mantua had still a strong Etruscan element in its population during the
Roman period. It became a Roman municipium, with the rest of Gallia
Transpadana; but Martial calls it little Mantua, and had it not been for
Virgil's interest in his native place, and in the expulsion of a number
of the Mantuans (and among them the poet himself) from their lands in
favour of Octavian's soldiers, we should probably have heard almost
nothing of its existence. In 568 the Lombards found Mantua a walled town
of some strength; recovered from their grasp in 590 by the exarch of
Ravenna, it was again captured by Agilulf in 601. The 9th century was
the period of episcopal supremacy, and in the 11th the city formed part
of the vast possessions of Bonifacio, marquis of Canossa. From him it
passed to Geoffrey, duke of Lorraine, and afterwards to the countess
Matilda, whose support of the pope led to the conquest of Mantua by the
emperor Henry IV. in 1090. Reduced to obedience by Matilda in 1113, the
city obtained its liberty on her death, and instituted a communal
government of its own, _salva imperiali justitia_. It afterwards joined
the Lombard League; and the unsuccessful attack made by Frederick II. in
1236 brought it a confirmation of its privileges. But after a period of
internal discord Ludovico Gonzaga attained to power (1328), and was
recognized as imperial vicar (1329); and from that time till the death
of Ferdinando Carbo in 1708 the Gonzagas were masters of Mantua (see
GONZAGA). Under Gian Francesco II., the first marquis, Ludovico III.,
Gian Francesco III. (whose wife was Isabella d'Este), and Federico II.,
the first duke of Mantua, the city rose rapidly into importance as a
seat of industry and culture. It was stormed and sacked by the Austrians
in 1630, and never quite recovered. Claimed in 1708 as a fief of the
empire by Joseph I., it was governed for the greater part of the century
by the Austrians. In June 1796 it was besieged by Napoleon; but in spite
of terrific bombardments it held out till February 1797. A three days'
bombardment in 1799 again placed Mantua in the hands of the Austrians;
and, though restored to the French by the peace of Lunéville (1801), it
became Austrian once more from 1814 till 1866. Between 1849 and 1859,
when the whole of Lombardy except Mantua was, by the peace of
Villafranca, ceded to Italy, the city was the scene of violent political
persecution.
See Gaet. Susani, _Nuovo prospetto delle pitture, &c., di Mantova_
(Mantua, 1830); Carlo d'Arco, _Delle arti e degli artefici di Mantova_
(Mantua, 1857); and _Storia di Mantova_ (Mantua, 1874).
MANU (Sanskrit, "man"), in Hindu mythology, the first man, ancestor of
the world. In the Satapatha-Brahmana he is represented as a holy man,
the chief figure in a flood-myth. Warned by a fish of the impending
disaster he built a ship, and when the waters rose was dragged by the
fish, which he harnessed to his craft, beyond the northern mountains.
When the deluge ceased, a daughter was miraculously born to him and this
pair became the ancestors of the human race. In the later scriptures the
fish is declared an incarnation of Brahma. See SANSKRIT LITERATURE;
INDIAN LAW (_Hindu_).
MANUAL, i.e. belonging to the hand (Lat. _manus_), a word chiefly used
to describe an occupation which employs the hands, as opposed to that
which chiefly or entirely employs the mind. Particular uses of the word
are: "sign-manual," a signature or autograph, especially one affixed to
a state document; "manual-exercise," in military usage, drill in the
handling of the rifle; "manual alphabet," the formation of the letters
of the alphabet by the fingers of one or both hands for communication
with the deaf and dumb; and "manual acts," the breaking of the bread,
and the taking of the cup in the hands by the officiating priest in
consecrating the elements during the celebration of the Eucharist. The
use of the word for tools and implements to be used by the hand, as
distinct from machinery, only survives in the "manual fire-engine." From
the late Latin use of _manuale_ as a substantive, meaning "handbook,"
comes the use of the word for a book treating a subject in a concise
way, but more particularly of a book of offices, containing the forms to
be used in the administration of the sacraments other than the Mass, but
including communion out of the Mass, also the forms for churching,
burials, &c. In the Roman Church such a book is usually called a
_rituale_, "manual" being the name given to it in the English Church
before the Reformation. The keyboard of an organ, as played by the
hands, is called the "manual," in distinction from the "pedal" keys
played by the feet.
MANUCODE, from the French, an abbreviation of _Manucodiata_, and the
Latinized form of the Malay _Manukdewata_, meaning, says Crawfurd
(_Malay and Engl. Dictionary_, p. 97), the "bird of the gods," and a
name applied for more than two hundred years apparently to
birds-of-paradise in general. In the original sense of its inventor,
Montbeillard (_Hist. nat. oiseaux_, iii. 163), _Manucode_ was restricted
to the king bird-of-paradise and three allied species; but in English it
has curiously been transferred[1] to a small group of species whose
relationship to the _Paradiseidae_ has been frequently doubted, and must
be considered uncertain. These manucodes have a glossy steel-blue
plumage of much beauty, but are distinguished from other birds of
similar coloration by the outer and middle toes being united for some
distance, and by the extraordinary convolution of the trachea, in the
males at least, with which is correlated the loud and clear voice of the
birds. The convoluted portion of the trachea lies on the breast, between
the skin and the muscles, much as is found in the females of the painted
snipes (_Rostratula_), in the males of the curassows (_Cracidae_), and
in a few other birds, but wholly unknown elsewhere among the _Passeres_.
The manucodes are peculiar to the Papuan sub-region (including therein
the peninsula of Cape York), and comprehend, according to R. B. Sharpe
(_Cat. B. Brit. Museum_, iii. 164), two genera, for the first of which,
distinguished by the elongated tufts on the head, he adopts R. P.
Lesson's name _Phonygama_, and for the second, having no tufts, but the
feathers of the head crisped, that of _Manucodia_; and W. A. Forbes
(_Proc. Zool. Soc._ 1882, p. 349) observed that the validity of the
separation was confirmed by their tracheal formation. Of _Phonygama_
Sharpe recognizes three species, _P. keraudreni_ (the type) and _P.
jamesi_, both from New Guinea, and _P. gouldi_, the Australian
representative species; but the first two are considered by D. G. Elliot
(_Ibis._ 1878, p. 56) and Count Salvadori (_Ornitol. della Papuasia_,
ii. 510) to be inseparable. There is a greater unanimity in regard to
the species of the so-called genus _Manucodia_ proper, of which four are
admitted--_M. chalybeata_ or _chalybea_ from north-western New Guinea,
_M. comriei_ from the south-eastern part of the same country, _M. atra_
of wide distribution within the Papuan area, and _M. jobiensis_ peculiar
to the island which gives it a name. Little is known of the habits of
these birds, except that they are, as already mentioned, remarkable for
their vocal powers, which, in _P. keraudreni_, Lesson describes (_Voy.
de la Coquille_, "Zoologie," i. 638) as enabling them to pass through
every note of the gamut. (A. N.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] _Manucodiata_ was used by M. J. Brisson (_Ornithologie_, ii. 130)
as a generic term equivalent to the Linnaean _Paradisea_. In 1783
Boddaert, when assigning scientific names to the birds figured by
Daubenton, called the subject of one of them (_Pl. enlum._ 634)
_Manucodia chalybea_, the first word being apparently an accidental
curtailment of the name of Brisson's genus to which he referred it.
Nevertheless some writers have taken it as evidence of an intention
to found a new genus by that name, and hence the importation of
_Manucodia_ into scientific nomenclature, and the English form to
correspond.
MANUEL I., COMNENUS (c. 1120-1180), Byzantine emperor (1143-1180), the
fourth son of John II., was born about 1120. Having distinguished
himself in his father's Turkish war, he was nominated emperor in
preference to his elder surviving brother. Endowed with a fine physique
and great personal courage, he devoted himself whole-heartedly to a
military career. He endeavoured to restore by force of arms the
predominance of the Byzantine empire in the Mediterranean countries, and
so was involved in conflict with his neighbours on all sides. In 1144 he
brought back Raymond of Antioch to his allegiance, and in the following
year drove the Turks out of Isauria. In 1147 he granted a passage
through his dominions to two armies of crusaders under Conrad III. of
Germany and Louis VII. of France; but the numerous outbreaks of overt or
secret hostility between the Franks and the Greeks on their line of
march, for which both sides were to blame, nearly precipitated a
conflict between Manuel and his guests. In the same year the emperor
made war upon Roger of Sicily, whose fleet captured Corfu and plundered
the Greek towns, but in 1148 was defeated with the help of the
Venetians. In 1149 Manuel recovered Corfu and prepared to take the
offensive against the Normans. With an army mainly composed of mercenary
Italians he invaded Sicily and Apulia, and although the progress of both
these expeditions was arrested by defeats on land and sea, Manuel
maintained a foothold in southern Italy, which was secured to him by a
peace in 1155, and continued to interfere in Italian politics. In his
endeavour to weaken the control of Venice over the trade of his empire
he made treaties with Pisa and Genoa; to check the aspirations of
Frederic I. of Germany he supported the free Italian cities with his
gold and negotiated with pope Alexander III. In spite of his
friendliness towards the Roman church Manuel was refused the title of
"Augustus" by Alexander, and he nowhere succeeded in attaching the
Italians permanently to his interests. None the less in a war with the
Venetians (1172-74), he not only held his ground in Italy but drove his
enemies out of the Aegean Sea. On his northern frontier Manuel reduced
the rebellious Serbs to vassalage (1150-52) and made repeated attacks
upon the Hungarians with a view to annexing their territory along the
Save. In the wars of 1151-53 and 1163-68 he led his troops into Hungary
but failed to maintain himself there; in 1168, however, a decisive
victory near Semlin enabled him to conclude a peace by which Dalmatia
and other frontier strips were ceded to him. In 1169 he sent a joint
expedition with King Amalric of Jerusalem to Egypt, which retired after
an ineffectual attempt to capture Damietta. In 1158-59 he fought with
success against Raymond of Antioch and the Turks of Iconium, but in
later wars against the latter he made no headway. In 1176 he was
decisively beaten by them in the pass of Myriokephalon, where he allowed
himself to be surprised in line of march. This disaster, though partly
retrieved in the campaign of the following year, had a serious effect
upon his vitality; henceforth he declined in health and in 1180
succumbed to a slow fever.
In spite of his military prowess Manuel achieved but in a slight degree
his object of restoring the East Roman empire. His victories were
counterbalanced by numerous defeats, sustained by his subordinates, and
his lack of statesmanlike talent prevented his securing the loyalty of
his subjects. The expense of keeping up his mercenary establishment and
the sumptuous magnificence of his court put a severe strain upon the
financial resources of the state. The subsequent rapid collapse of the
Byzantine empire was largely due to his brilliant but unproductive
reign. Manuel married, firstly, a sister-in-law of Conrad III. of
Germany; and secondly, a daughter of Raymond of Antioch. His successor,
Alexis II., was a son of the latter.
See John Cinnamus, _History of John and Manuel_ (ed. 1836, Bonn); E.
Gibbon, _The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_ (ed. Bury, London,
1896), v. 229 sqq., vi. 214 sqq.; G. Finlay, _History of Greece_ (ed.
1877, Oxford), iii. 143-197; H. v. Kap-Herr, _Die abendländische
Politik Kaiser Manuels_ (Strassburg, 1881). (M. O. B. C.)
MANUEL II. PALAEOLOGUS (1350-1425), Byzantine emperor from 1391 to 1425,
was born in 1350. At the time of his father's death he was a hostage at
the court of Bayezid at Brusa, but succeeded in making his escape; he
was forthwith besieged in Constantinople by the sultan, whose victory
over the Christians at Nicopolis, however (Sept. 28, 1396), did not
secure for him the capital. Manuel subsequently set out in person to
seek help from the West, and for this purpose visited Italy, France,
Germany and England, but without material success; the victory of Timur
in 1402, and the death of Bayezid in the following year were the first
events to give him a genuine respite from Ottoman oppression. He stood
on friendly terms with Mahommed I., but was again besieged in his
capital by Murad II. in 1422. Shortly before his death he was forced to
sign an agreement whereby the Byzantine empire undertook to pay tribute
to the sultan.
Manuel was the author of numerous works of varied
character--theological, rhetorical, poetical and letters. Most of
these are printed in Migne, _Patrologia graeca_, clvi.; the letters
have been edited by E. Legrand (1893). There is a special monograph,
by B. de Xivrey (in _Mémoires de l'Institut de France_, xix. (1853),
highly commended by C. Krumbacher, whose _Geschichte der
byzantinischen Litteratur_ (1897) should also be consulted.
MANUEL I. (d. 1263), emperor of Trebizond, surnamed the Great Captain
([Greek: ho stratêgikôtatos]), was the second son of Alexius I., first
emperor of Trebizond, and ruled from 1228 to 1263. He was unable to
deliver his empire from vassalage, first to the Seljuks and afterwards
to the Mongols. He vainly negotiated for a dynastic alliance with the
Franks, by which he hoped to secure the help of Crusaders.
MANUEL II., the descendant of Manuel I., reigned only a few months in
1332-1333. Manuel III. reigned from 1390 to 1417, but the only interest
attaching to his name arises from his connexion with Timur, whose vassal
he became without resistance.
See G. Finlay, _History of Greece_ (ed. 1877, Oxford), iv. 338-340,
340-341, 386; Ph. Fallmerayer, _Geschichte des Kaisertums Trapezunt_
(Munich, 1827), i. chs. 8, 14, ii. chs. 4, 5; T. E. Evangelides,
[Greek: Historia tês Trapezountos] (Odessa, 1898), 71-73, 87-88,
126-132.
MANUEL, EUGENE (1823-1901), French poet and man of letters, was born in
Paris, the son of a Jewish doctor, on the 13th of July 1823. He was
educated at the École Normale, and taught rhetoric for some years in
provincial schools and then in Paris. In 1870 he entered the department
of public instruction, and in 1878 became inspector-general. His works
include: _Pages intimes_ (1866), which received a prize from the
Academy; _Poèmes populaires_ (1874); _Pendant la guerre_ (1871),
patriotic poems, which were forbidden in Alsace-Lorraine by the German
authorities; _En voyage_ (1881), poems; _La France_ (4 vols.,
1854-1858); a school-book written in collaboration with his
brother-in-law, Lévi Alavarès; _Les Ouvriers_ (1870), a drama dealing
with social questions, which was crowned by the Academy; _L'Absent_
(1873), a comedy; _Poésies du foyer et de l'école_ (1889), and editions
of the works of J. B. Rousseau (1852) and André Chénier (1884). He died
in Paris in 1901.
His _Poésies complètes_ (2 vols., 1899) contained some fresh poems; to
his _Mélanges en prose_ (Paris, 1905) is prefixed an introductory note
by A. Cahen.
MANUEL, JACQUES ANTOINE (1775-1827), French politician and orator, was
born on the 10th of December 1775. When seventeen years old he entered
the army, which he left in 1797 to become a lawyer. In 1814 he was
chosen a member of the chamber of representatives, and in 1815 he urged
the claim of Napoleon's son to the French throne and protested against
the restoration of the Bourbons. After this event be actively opposed
the government, his eloquence making him the foremost orator among the
members of the Left. In February 1823 his opposition to the proposed
expedition into Spain to help Ferdinand VII. against his rebellious
subjects produced a tumult in the Assembly. Manuel was expelled, but he
refused to accept this sentence, and force was employed to remove him.
He died on the 20th of August 1827.
MANUEL, LOUIS PIERRE (1751-1793), French writer and Revolutionist, was
born at Montargis (Loiret). He entered the Congregation of the Christian
Doctrine, and became tutor to the son of a Paris banker. In 1783 he
published a pamphlet, called _Essais historiques, critiques,
littéraires, et philosophiques_, for which he was imprisoned in the
Bastille. He embraced the revolutionary ideas, and after the taking of
the Bastille became a member of the provisional municipality of Paris.
He was one of the leaders of the _émeutes_ of the 20th of June and the
10th of August 1792, played an important part in the formation of the
revolutionary commune which assured the success of the latter _coup_,
and was made _procureur_ of the commune. He was present at the September
massacres and saved several prisoners, and on the 7th of September 1792
was elected one of the deputies from Paris to the convention, where he
was one of the promoters of the proclamation of the republic. He
suppressed the decoration of the Cross of St Louis, which he called a
stain on a man's coat, and demanded the sale of the palace of
Versailles. His missions to the king, however, changed his sentiments;
he became reconciled to Louis, courageously refused to vote for the
death of the sovereign, and had to tender his resignation as deputy. He
retired to Montargis, where he was arrested, and was guillotined in
Paris on the 17th of November 1793. Besides the work cited above and his
political pamphlets, he was the author of _Coup d'oeil philosophique sur
le règne de St Louis_ (1786); _L'Année française_ (1788); _La Bastille
dévoilée_ (1789); _La Police de Paris dévoilée_ (1791); and _Lettres sur
la Révolution_ (1792). In 1792 he was prosecuted for publishing an
edition of the _Lettres de Mirabeau à Sophie_, but was acquitted.
MANUEL DE MELLO, DOM FRANCISCO (? 1611-1666), Portuguese writer, a
connexion on his father's side of the royal house of Braganza, was a
native of Lisbon. He studied the Humanities at the Jesuit College of S.
Antão, where he showed a precocious talent, and tradition says that at
the age of fourteen he composed a poem in _ottava rima_ to celebrate the
recovery of Bahia from the Dutch, while at seventeen he wrote a
scientific work, _Concordancias mathematicas_. The death of his father,
Dom Luiz de Mello, drove him early to soldiering, and having joined a
contingent for the Flanders war, he found himself in the historic storm
of January 1627, when the pick of the Portuguese fleet suffered
shipwreck in the Bay of Biscay. He spent much of the next ten years of
his life in military routine work in the Peninsula, varied by visits to
the court of Madrid, where he contracted a friendship with the Spanish
poet Quevedo and earned the favour of the powerful minister Olivares. In
1637 the latter despatched him in company with the conde de Linhares on
a mission to pacify the revolted city of Evora, and on the same occasion
the duke of Braganza, afterwards King John IV. (for whom he acted as
confidential agent at Madrid), employed him to satisfy King Philip of
his loyalty to the Spanish crown. In the following year he suffered a
short imprisonment in Lisbon. In 1639 he was appointed colonel of one of
the regiments raised for service in Flanders, and in June that year he
took a leading part in defending Corunna against a French fleet
commanded by the archbishop of Bordeaux, while in the following August
he directed the embarcation of an expeditionary force of 10,000 men when
Admiral Oquendo sailed with seventy ships to meet the French and Dutch.
He came safely through the naval defeat in the channel suffered by the
Spaniards at the hands of Van Tromp, and on the outbreak of the
Catalonian rebellion became chief of the staff to the commander-in-chief
of the royal forces, and was selected to write an account of the
campaign, the _Historia de la guerra de Cataluña,_ which became a
Spanish classic. On the proclamation of Portuguese independence in 1640
he was imprisoned by order of Olivares, and when released hastened to
offer his sword to John IV. He travelled to England, where he spent some
time at the court of Charles I., and thence passing over to Holland
assisted the Portuguese ambassador to equip a fleet in aid of Portugal,
and himself brought it safely to Lisbon in October 1641. For the next
three years he was employed in various important military commissions
and further busied himself in defending by his pen the king's title to
his newly acquired throne. An intrigue with the beautiful countess of
Villa Nova, and her husband's jealousy, led to his arrest on the 19th of
November 1644 on a false charge of assassination, and he lay in prison
about nine years. Though his innocence was clear, the court of his
Order, that of Christ, influenced by his enemies, deprived him of his
_commenda_ and sentenced him to perpetual banishment in India with a
heavy money fine, and the king would not intervene to save him. Owing
perhaps to the intercession of the queen regent of France and other
powerful friends, his sentence was finally commuted into one of exile to
Brazil. During his long imprisonment he finished and printed his history
of the Catalonian War, and also wrote and published a volume of Spanish
verses and some religious treatises, and composed in Portuguese a volume
of homely philosophy, the _Carta de Guia de Casados_ and a _Memorial_ in
his own defence to the king, which Herculano considered "perhaps the
most eloquent piece of reasoning in the language." During his exile in
Brazil, whither he sailed on the 17th of April 1655, he lived at Bahia,
where he wrote one of his _Epanaphoras de varia historia_ and two parts
of his masterpiece, the _Apologos dialogaes_. He returned home in 1659,
and from then until 1663 we find him on and off in Lisbon, frequenting
the celebrated _Academia dos Generosos_, of which he was five times
elected president. In the last year he proceeded to Parma and Rome, by
way of England, and France, and Alphonso VI. charged him to negotiate
with the Curia about the provision of bishops for Portuguese sees and to
report on suitable marriages for the king and his brother. During his
stay in Rome he published his _Obras morales_, dedicated to Queen
Catherine, wife of Charles II. of England, and his _Cartas familiares_.
On his way back to Portugal he printed his _Obras metricas_ at Lyons in
May 1665, and he died in Lisbon the following year.
Manuel de Mello's early Spanish verses are tainted with Gongorism, but
his Portuguese sonnets and _cartas_ on moral subjects are notable for
their power, sincerity and perfection of form. He strove successfully to
emancipate himself from foreign faults of style, and by virtue of his
native genius, and his knowledge of the traditional poetry of the
people, and the best Quinhentista models, he became Portugal's leading
lyric poet and prose writer of the 17th century. As with Camoens,
imprisonments and exile contributed to make Manuel de Mello a great
writer. His _Letters_, addressed to the leading nobles, ecclesiastics,
diplomats and literati of the time, are written in a conversational
style, lighted up by flashes of wit and enriched with apposite
illustrations and quotations. His commerce with the best authors appears
in the _Hospital das lettras_, a brilliant chapter of criticism forming
part of the _Apologos dialogaes_. His comedy in _redondilhas_, the _Auto
do Fidalgo Aprendiz_, is one of the last and quite the worthiest
production of the school of Gil Vicente, and may be considered an
anticipation of Molière's _Le Bourgeois gentilhomme_.
There is no uniform edition of his works, but a list of them will be
found in his _Obras morales_, and the various editions are set out in
Innocencio da Silva's _Diccionario bibliographico portugues_. See _Dom
Francisco Manuel de Mello, his Life and Writings_, by Edgar Prestage
(Manchester, 1905), "D. Francisco Manuel de Mello, documentos
biographicos" and "D. Francisco Manuel de Mello, obras autographas e
ineditas," by the same writer, in the _Archivo historico portuguez_
for 1909. Manuel de Mello's prose style is considered at length by G.
Cirot in _Mariana historien_ (Bordeaux, 1905). pp. 378 seq.
(E. Pr.)
MANUL (_Felis manul_), a long-haired small wild cat from the deserts of
Central Asia, ranging from Tibet to Siberia. The coat is long and soft,
pale silvery grey or light buff in hue, marked with black on the chest
and upper parts of the limbs, with transverse stripes on the loins and
rings on the tail of the same hue. The Manul preys upon small mammals
and birds. A separate generic name, _Trichaelurus_, has been proposed
for this species by Dr K. Satunin.
MANURES AND MANURING. The term "manure" originally meant that which was
"worked by hand" (Fr. _manoeuvre_), but gradually came to apply to any
process by which the soil could be improved. Prominent among such
processes was that of directly applying "manure" to the land, manure in
this sense being what we now call "farmyard manure" or "dung," the
excreta of farm animals mixed with straw or other litter. Gradually,
however, the use of the term spread to other materials, some of home
origin, some imported, some manufactured by artificial processes, but
all useful as a means of improving the fertility of the soil. Hence we
have two main classes of manures: (a) what may be termed "natural
manures," and (b) "artificial manures." Manures, again, may be divided
according to the materials from which they are made--e.g. "bone manure,"
"fish manure," "wool manure," &c.; or according to the constituents
which they mainly supply--e.g. "phosphatic manures," "potash manures,"
"nitrogenous manures," or there may be numerous combinations of these to
form mixed or "compound" manures. Whatever it be, the word "manure" is
now generally applied to anything which is used for fertilizing the
soil. In America the term "fertilizers" is more generally adopted, and
in Great Britain the introduction of the "Fertilizers and Feeding Stuffs
Act" has effected a certain amount of change in the same direction. The
modern tendency to turn attention less to the consideration of manurial
applications given to land and more to the physical and mechanical
changes introduced thereby in the soil itself, would seem to be carrying
the word "manure" back more to its original meaning.
The subject of manures and their application involves a prior
consideration of plant life and its requirements. The plant, growing in
the soil, and surrounded by the atmosphere, derives from these two
sources its nourishment and means of growth through the various stages
of its development.
Chemical analysis has shown that plants are composed of water, organic
or combustible matters, and inorganic or mineral matters. Water
constitutes by far the greater part of a living plant; a grass crop
will contain about 75% of water, a turnip crop 89 or 90%. The organic
or combustible matters are those which are lost, along with the water,
when the plant is burnt; the inorganic or mineral matters are those
which are left behind as an "ash" after the burning. The combustible
matter is composed of six elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen, sulphur and a little phosphorus. About one-half of the
combustible matter of plants is carbon. Along with hydrogen and oxygen
the carbon forms the cellulose, starch, sugar, &c., which plants
contain, and with these same elements and sulphur the carbon forms the
albuminoids of plants. The inorganic or mineral matters comprise a
comparatively small part of the plant, but they contain, as essential
constituents of plant life, the following elements: potassium,
calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and sulphur. In addition, other,
but not essential, elements are found in the ash e.g. sodium, silicon
and chlorine, together with small quantities of manganese and other
rarer elements.
The above constituents that have been classed as "essential," are
necessary for the growth of the plant, and absence of any one will
involve failure. This has been shown by growing plants in water
dissolved in which are salts of the elements present in plants. By
omitting in turn one or other of the elements aforesaid it is found
that the plants will not grow after they have used up the materials
contained in the seed itself. These elements are accordingly termed
"essential," and it therefore becomes necessary to inquire how they
are to be supplied.
The atmosphere is the great storehouse of organic plant food. The
leaves take up, through their stomata, the carbonic acid and other
gases of the atmosphere. The carbonic acid, under the influence of
light, is decomposed in the chlorophyll cells, oxygen is given off and
carbon is assimilated, being subsequently built up into the various
organic bodies forming the plant's structure. It would seem, too, that
plants can take up a small quantity of ammonia by their leaves, and
also water to some extent, but the free or uncombined nitrogen of the
air cannot be directly assimilated by the leaves of plants.
From the soil, on the other hand, the plant obtains, by means of its
roots, its mineral requirements, also sulphur and phosphorus, and
nearly all its nitrogen and water. Carbon, too, in the case of fungi,
is obtained from the decayed vegetable matter in the soil. The roots
are able not only to take up soluble salts that are presented to them,
but they can attack and render soluble the solid constituents of the
soil, thus transforming them into available plant food. In this way
important substances, such as phosphoric acid and potash, are supplied
to the plant, as also lime. Roots can further supply themselves with
nitrogen in the form of nitrates, the ammonia and other nitrogenous
bodies undergoing ready conversion into nitrates in the soil. These
various mineral constituents, being now transferred to the plant, go
to form new tissue, and ultimately seed, or else accumulate in the sap
and are deposited on the older tissue.
Whether the nitrogen of the air can be utilized by plants or not has
been long and strenuously discussed, Boussingault first, and then
Lawes, Gilbert and Pugh, maintaining that there was no evidence of
this utilization. But it was always recognized that certain plants,
clover for example, enriched the land with nitrogen to an extent
greater than could be accounted for by the mere supply to them of
nitrates in the soil. Ultimately Hellriegel supplied the explanation
by showing that, at all events, certain of the Leguminosae, by the
medium of swellings or "nodules" on their roots, were able to fix the
atmospheric nitrogen in the soil, and to convert it into nitrates for
the use of the plant. This was found to be the result of the action of
certain organisms within the nodules themselves, which in turn fed
upon the carbohydrates of the plant and were thus living in a state of
"symbiosis" with it. So far, however, this has not been shown to be
the case with any other plants than the Leguminosae, and, though it is
asserted by some that many other plants can take up the nitrogen of
the air directly through their leaves, there is no clear evidence as
yet of this.
We must now consider how the different requirements of the plant in
regard to the elements necessary to maintain its life and to build up
its structure affect the question of manuring.
Under conditions of natural growth and decay, when no crops are gathered
in, or consumed on the land by live stock, the herbage, on dying down
and decaying, returns to the atmosphere and the soil the elements taken
from them during life; but, under cultivation, a succession of crops
deprives the land of the constituents which are essential to healthy and
luxuriant growth. Without an adequate return to the land of the matters
removed in the produce, its fertility cannot be maintained for many
years. In newly opened countries, where old forests have been cleared
and the land brought under cultivation, the virgin soil often possesses
at first a high degree of fertility, but gradually its productive power
decreases from year to year. Where land is plentiful and easy to be
obtained it is more convenient to clear fresh forest land than to
improve more or less exhausted land by the application of manure, labour
and skill. But in all densely peopled countries, and where the former
mode of cultivation cannot be followed, it is necessary to resort to
artificial means to restore the natural fertility of the land and to
maintain and increase its productiveness. That continuous cropping
without return of manure ends in deterioration of the soil is well seen
in the case of the wheat-growing areas in America. Crops of wheat were
taken one after another, the straw was burned and nothing was returned
to the land; the produce began to fall off and the cultivators moved on
to fresh lands, there to meet, in time, with the same experience; and
now that the available land has been more or less intensely occupied, or
that new land is too far removed for ready transport of the produce, it
has been found necessary to introduce the system of manuring, and
America now manufactures and uses for herself large quantities of
artificial and other manures.
That the same exhaustion of soil would go on in Great Britain, if
unchecked by manuring, is known to every practical farmer, and, if
evidence were needed, it is supplied by the renowned Rothamsted
experiments of Lawes and Gilbert, on a heavy land, and also by the more
recent Woburn experiments of the Royal Agricultural Society of England,
conducted on a light sandy soil. The following table will illustrate
this point, and show also how under a system of manuring the fertility
is maintained:--
TABLE 1.--Showing Exhaustion of Land by continuous Cropping without
Manure, and the maintenance of fertility through manuring. (Rothamsted
50 years; Woburn 30 years.)
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 1. Rothamsted (heavy land). |
+------+-----+--------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| | | | Average yield of corn per acre. |
| | | +----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-------------+
|Crop. |Plot.| Treatment. | 8 years, | 10 years,| 10 years,| 10 years,| 10 years,| 10 years,| Average |
| | | |1844-1851.|1852-1861.|1862-1871.|1872-1881.|1882-1891.|1892-1901.| of 50 years,|
| | | | | | | | | | 1852-1901. |
+------+-----+--------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-------------+
| | | | Bush. | Bush. | Bush. | Bush. | Bush. | Bush. | Bush. |
|Wheat | 3 |Unmanured | | | | | | | |
| | | continuously | 17.2 | 15.9 | 14.5 | 10.4 | 12.6 | 12.3 | 43.1 |
| | 2 |Farm-yard | | | | | | | |
| | | manure yearly| 28.0 | 34.2 | 37.5 | 28.7 | 38.2 | 39.2 | 35.6 |
|Barley| 7-2 |Unmanured | | | | | | | |
| | | continuously | -- | 22.4 | 17.5 | 13.7 | 12.7 | 10.0 | 15.3 |
| | 1-0 |Farm-yard | | | | | | | |
| | | manure yearly| -- | 45.0 | 51.5 | 50.2 | 47.6 | 44.3 | 47.7 |
+------+-----+--------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-------------+
| 2. Woburn (light land). |
+------+-----+--------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| | | | Average yield of corn per acre. |
| | | +-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
|Crop. |Plot.| Treatment. | 10 years, | 10 years, | 10 years, | Average |
| | | | 1877-1886. | 1887-1896. | 1897-1906. | of 30 years, |
| | | | | | | 1877-1906. |
+------+-----+--------------+-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
| | | | Bush. | Bush. | Bush. | Bush. |
|Wheat | 7 |Unmanured | | | | |
| | | continuously | 17.4 | 14.5 | 10.8 | 14.2 |
| | 11b |Farm-yard | | | | |
| | | manure yearly| 26.7 | 27.8 | 24.0 | 26.2 |
|Barley| 7 |Unmanured | | | | |
| | | continuously | 23.0 | 18.1 | 13.3 | 18.1 |
| | 11b |Farm-yard | | | | |
| | | manure yearly| 40.0 | 39.9 | 36.6 | 38.8 |
+------+-----+--------------+-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
Whereas on the heavier and richer land of Rothamsted the produce of
unmanured wheat has fallen in 58 years from 17.2 bushels to 12.3
bushels, on the lighter and poorer soil of Woburn it has fallen in 30
years from 17.4 bushels to 10.8 bushels; barley has in 50 years at
Rothamsted gone from 22.4 bushels to 10 bushels, whilst at Woburn (which
is better suited for barley) it has fallen in 30 years from 23 bushels
to 13.3 bushels. At both Rothamsted and Woburn the application of
farm-yard manure has kept the produce of wheat and barley practically up
to what it was at the beginning, or even increased it. Similar
conclusions can be drawn from the use of artificial manures at each of
the experimental stations named, exemplifying the fact that with
suitable manuring crops of wheat or barley can be grown years after year
without the land undergoing deterioration, whereas if left unmanured it
gradually declines in fertility. Practical proof has further been given
of this in the well-known "continuous corn-growing" system pursued, in
his regular farming, by Mr John Prout of Sawbridgeworth, Herts, and
subsequently by his son, Mr W. A. Prout, since the year 1862. By
supplying, in the form of artificial manures, the necessary constituents
for his crops, Mr Prout was enabled to grow year after year, with only
an occasional interval for a clover crop and to allow of cleaning the
land, excellent crops of wheat, barley and oats, and without, it may be
added, the use of farm-yard manure at all.
In considering the economical use of manures on the land regard must be
had to the following points: (1) the requirements of the crops intended
to be cultivated; (2) the physical condition of the soil; (3) the
chemical composition of the soil; and (4) the composition of the manure.
Briefly stated, the guiding principle of manuring economically and
profitably is to meet the requirements of the crops intended to be
cultivated, by incorporating with the soil, in the most efficacious
states of combination, the materials in which it is deficient, or which
the various crops usually grown on the farm do not find in the land in a
sufficiently available condition to ensure an abundant harvest. Soils
vary greatly in composition, and hence it will be readily understood
that in one locality or on one particular field a certain manure may be
used with great benefit, while in another field the same manure has
little or no effect upon the produce.
For plant life to thrive certain elements are necessary, viz. carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, among the organic or
combustible matters, and among the inorganic or mineral matters,
potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and sulphur. We must now
examine the extent to which these necessary elements occur in either of
the two great storehouses, the atmosphere and the soil, and how their
removal in the form of crops may be made up for by the use of manures,
so that the soil may be maintained in a state of fertility. Further, we
must consider what functions these elements perform in regard to plant
life, and, lastly, the forms in which they can best be applied for the
use of crops.
Of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen there is no lack, the atmosphere
providing carbonic acid in abundance, and rain giving the elements
hydrogen and oxygen, so that these are supplied from natural sources.
Iron, magnesium and sulphur also are seldom or never deficient in soils,
and do not require to be supplemented by manuring. Accordingly, the
elements for which there is the greatest demand by plants, and which the
soil does not provide in sufficiency, are nitrogen, phosphorus,
potassium, and, possibly, calcium. Manuring, apart from the physical and
mechanical advantages which it confers upon soils, practically resolves
itself, therefore, into the supply of nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium, and it is with the supply of these that we shall accordingly
deal in particular.
1. _Nitrogen._--Though we are still far from knowing what are the
exact functions which nitrogen fulfils in plant life, there is no
doubt as to the important part which it plays in the vegetable growth
of the plant and in the formation of stem and leaf. Without a
sufficiency of nitrogen the plant would be stunted in growth. Its
growth, indeed, may be said to be measured by the supply of nitrogen,
for while mineral constituents like phosphoric acid and potash are
only taken up to the extent that the plant can use them i.e. according
to its rate of growth, this actual growth itself would seem to be
determined by the extent of the nitrogen supply. This it is which
causes the ready response given to a crop by the application of some
quickly-acting nitrogenous material like nitrate of soda, and which is
marked by the dark-green colour produced and the pushing-on of the
growth. Similarly, this use of nitrogen, by prolonging growth, defers
maturity, while over-use of nitrogen tends to produce increase of leaf
and lateness of ripening. Along with this growth of the vegetative
portions, and seen, in the case of corn crops, mainly in the straw,
there is a corresponding decrease, from the use of nitrogen in excess,
in the quality of the grain. In corn a smaller grain and lesser weight
per bushel are the result of over-nitrogen manuring. The composition
of the grain is likewise affected, becoming more nitrogenous. With
crops, however, where rapid green growth is required, nitrogen effects
the purpose well, though here, too, over-manuring with nitrogen will
tend to produce rankness and coarseness of growth. Experiments at
Rothamsted and elsewhere, as well as everyday practice of the farm,
bear testimony to the paramount importance of nitrogen-supply, and to
the crops it is capable of raising. This applies not only to corn
crops of all kinds, but to root crops, grass, potatoes, &c. Leguminous
crops alone seem to have no need of it. In view of this practical
experience, Liebig's "mineral theory"--according to which he laid down
that plants only needed to have mineral constituents, such as
phosphoric acid, potash and lime, supplied to them--reads strangely
nowadays. The use of mineral manures without nitrogen other than that
already present in the soil or supplied in rain has been shown, alike
at Rothamsted and Woburn, to produce crops of wheat and barley little
better than those from unmanured land. The lack of nitrogen in
ordinary cultivated soils is much more marked than is that of mineral
constituents, and consequently even with the application of nitrogen
alone (as by the use of nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia), good
crops have been grown for a large number of years. This has been shown
both at Rothamsted and at Woburn. On the other hand, experiments at
these stations have demonstrated that better and more lasting results
are obtained by the judicious use of nitrogenous materials in
conjunction with phosphates and potash.
The form in which nitrogen is taken up by plants is mainly, if not
wholly, that of nitrates, which are readily-soluble salts. Ammonia and
other nitrogenous bodies undergo in the soil, through the agency of
nitrifying organisms present in it (_Bacterium nitrificans_, &c.),
rapid conversion into nitrates, and as such are easily assimilable by
the plant. Similarly, they are the constituents which are most readily
removed in drainage, and hence the adequate supply of nitrogen for the
plant's use is a constant problem in agriculture. Experiments on the
rate of removal of nitrates from the soil by drainage showed that
every inch of rain passing through the drains caused a loss of 2½ lb.
of nitrogen per acre (Voelcker and Frankland). At the same time,
soils, as Way showed, have the power of absorbing, in different
degrees, ammonia from its solution in water, and when salts of ammonia
are passed through soils the ammonia alone is absorbed, the acids
passing, generally in combination with lime, into the drainage.
Other experiments at Rothamsted on drainage showed that, though large
quantities of ammonia salts were applied to the land, the drainage
water contained merely traces of ammonia, but, on the other hand,
nitrates in quantity, thus proving that it is as nitrates, and not as
ammonia, that plants mainly, if not entirely, take up their
nitrogenous food.
From these investigations it follows that much more nitrogen must be
added to the land than would be needed to produce a given increase in
the crop. Nitrogen, then, being so all-important, the question is,
where is it to come from? We have seen that the leaves take up only
minute quantities of ammonia, comparatively small amounts are supplied
in the rain, dew, snow, &c.,[1] and in the case of Leguminosae alone
have we any evidence of plants being able to provide themselves with
nitrogen from atmospheric sources. Some few organisms present in
fertile soils, e.g. _Azotobacter chroococcum_, have also the power,
under certain conditions, of fixing the free nitrogen of the
atmosphere without the intervention of a "host," but all these sources
would be very inadequate to meet the demands of an intensive
cultivation. An ordinary fertile arable soil will not show, on
analysis, much more than .15% of nitrogen, and it is evident that the
great source of supply of the needed nitrogen must be the direct
manuring of the soil with materials containing nitrogen. These
materials will be considered in detail later.
2. _Phosphorus._--This is the most important mineral element which has
to be supplied to the soil by the agency of manuring. It occurs in
ordinary fertile soils to the extent of only about .15%, reckoned as
phosphoric acid, and though its absence in sufficiency is not so
marked or so soon shown under prolonged cultivation as is that of
nitrogen, yet the fact that it is needed by all classes of crops, and
that its application in manurial form is attended with great benefits,
makes its supply one of great importance. From the time that Liebig,
in 1840, suggested the treatment of bones with sulphuric acid in order
to make them more readily available for the use of crops, and that the
late Sir John Lawes (in 1843) began the dissolving of mineral
phosphates for the purpose of manufacturing superphosphate, the
"artificial manure" trade took its rise, and ever since then the whole
globe has been exploited for the purpose of obtaining the raw
phosphatic materials which form the base of the artificial manures of
the past and of the present day. The functions which phosphoric acid
fulfils in plant life would appear to be connected rather with the
maturing of the plant than with the actual growth of the structure.
Phosphates are found concentrated in those parts of the plant where
cell growth and reproduction are most active. More especially is this
the case with the seed in which phosphates are present in greatest
quantity. While nitrogen delays maturity, phosphoric acid has just the
opposite effect, and cereal crops not sufficiently supplied with it
ripen much more tardily than do others. Moreover, the grain is formed
more early when phosphatic manures have been given than when they are
withheld. Phosphates increase the proportion of corn to straw, and, as
regards the grain itself, they render it less nitrogenous, richer in
phosphates, and altogether improve its quality.
While these are the principal functions of phosphates, they also
exercise an influence on the young plant in its early stages. This is
well seen in the almost universal practice of applying superphosphate
to the young turnip or swede crop in order to push it beyond the
attack of "fly." Undoubtedly phosphates in readily available form
stimulate the young seedling, enabling it to develop root growth, and,
later on, causing the plant to "tiller out" well. Phosphoric acid
occurs in the soil bound up with the oxides of iron and alumina, or,
it may be, with lime, and the extent to which it may become useful to
plants will depend largely upon the readiness with which it becomes
available. For the purpose of ascertaining this different analytical
methods have been suggested, the best known one being that of B. Dyer,
in which a 1% solution of citric acid is used as a solvent. As a
result of experimenting with Rothamsted soils of known capability it
has been put forward that if a soil shows, by this treatment, less
than .01% of phosphoric acid it is in need of phosphatic manuring.
Experiments carried on for many years at Rothamsted and Woburn have
clearly established the beneficial effects of phosphatic manuring on
corn crops, for though no material increase marks the application of
mineral manures in the absence of nitrogen, yet the results when
phosphates and nitrogen are used together are very much greater than
when nitrogen alone has been applied; and this is true as regards not
only the better ripening and quality of the grain, but also as regards
the actual crop increase.
With root crops phosphates are almost indispensable; and, owing to the
limited power which these crops have of utilizing the phosphoric acid
in the soil, the supply of a readily available phosphatic manure like
superphosphate is of the highest importance.
The assimilation of phosphoric acid goes on in a cereal crop after the
time of flowering and to a later date than does that of nitrogen and
potash, and it is ultimately stored in the seed. Soils possess a
retentive power for phosphoric acid which enables the latter to be
conserved and not removed to any extent by drainage. This function is
exercised mainly by the presence of oxide of iron. Alumina acts in a
similar way. In the case of soils that contain clay only traces of
phosphoric acid are found in the drainage water.
3. _Potassium._--The element third in importance, which requires to be
supplied by manuring, is potassium, or, as it is generally expressed,
potash. This in its functions resembles phosphoric acid somewhat,
being concerned rather with the mature development of the plant than
with its actual increase of growth. Like phosphoric acid, potash is
found concentrated throughout the plant in the early stages of its
growth, but, unlike it, is in the case of a cereal crop all taken up
by the time of full bloom, whereas with phosphoric acid the
assimilation continues later. Potash would appear to have an intimate
connexion with the quality of crops, and to be favourable to the
production of seed and fruit rather than to stem and leaf development.
Certain crops, such as vegetables, fruit, hops, as well as root crops
generally, make special demands upon potash supply, and, as checking
the tendency to over-development of leaf, &c., induced by nitrogenous
manures when used alone, potash has great practical importance. Potash
appears to be bound up in a special way with the process of
assimilation, for it has been clearly shown that whenever potash is
deficient the formation of the carbohydrates, such as sugar, starch
and cellulose, does not go on properly. Hellriegel and Wilfarth showed
by experiment the dependence of starch formation on an adequate supply
of potash. Cereal grains remained small and undeveloped when potash
was withheld, because the formation of starch did not go on. The same
effect has been strikingly shown in the Rothamsted experiments with
mangels, a plot receiving potash salts as manure giving a crop of
roots nearly 2½ times as heavy as that grown on a plot which has
received no potash. In this case the increase is due almost entirely
to the sugar and other carbohydrates elaborated in the leaves, and not
to any increase of mineral constituents.
The effect of potash on maturity is somewhat uncertain, inasmuch as in
the case of grain crops it would appear to delay maturity and to
hasten it in that of root crops.
The influence of potash on particular crops is very marked. On clovers
and other leguminous crops it is highly beneficial, while on grass
land it is of particular importance as inducing the spread of clovers
and other leguminous herbage. This is well seen in the Rothamsted
grass experiments, where with a mineral manure containing potash
one-half of the herbage is leguminous in nature, whereas the same
manure without potash gives only 15% of leguminous plants. Similarly,
where nitrogen is used by itself and no potash given there are no
leguminous plants at all to be found. Potash occurs in an ordinary
fertile soil to the extent of about .20%; a sandy soil will have less,
a clay soil may have considerably more. Potash, however, is mostly
bound up in the soil in the form of insoluble silicates, and these are
often in a far from available form, but require cultivation, the use
of lime and other means for getting them acted on by the air and
moisture, and so liberating the potash. According to B. Dyer's method
of ascertaining the availability of potash in soils, the amount of
potash soluble in a 1% citric acid solution should be about .005%,
otherwise the addition of potash manures will be a requisite. In the
case of soils containing much lime a larger quantity would, no doubt,
be needed.
Potash, like phosphoric acid, is readily retained by soils, and so is
not subject to any considerable losses by drainage. This retention is
exercised by the ferric-oxide and alumina in soils, but still more so
by the double silicates, and to some extent also by the humus of the
soil. Potash will be liberated from its salts by the action of lime in
the soil, the lime taking the place of the potash. Lime is, therefore,
of much importance in setting free fresh stores of potash. Soda salts
also, when in considerable excess, are able to liberate potash from
its compounds, and to this is probably due, in many cases, the
beneficial action attending the use of common salt.
4. _Calcium._--Though calcium, or lime, is found in sufficiency in
most cultivated soils, there are, nevertheless, soils in which lime is
clearly deficient and where that deficiency has shown itself in
practice. Moreover, so comparatively easy is the removal of lime from
the soil by drainage, and so important is the part which lime plays in
liberating potash from its compounds, and in helping to retain bases
in the soil so that they are not lost in drainage, that the
significance of lime cannot be ignored. Further, the availability of
both potash and phosphoric acid in the soil has been found to be much
increased by the presence of lime. Lime, as carbonate of calcium, is
also necessary for the process of nitrification to go on in the soil.
Some sandy soils, and even some clays, contain so little lime as to
call for the direct supply of lime as an addition to the soil. When
this is the case nothing can adequately take the place of lime, and in
this sense lime may be called a "manure." In the majority of cases,
however, the practice of liming or chalking, which was a common one in
former times, was resorted to mainly because of the ameliorating
effects it produced on the land, both in a mechanical and in a
physical direction. Thus, on clay soil it flocculates the particles,
rendering the soil less tenacious of moisture, improving the drainage
and making the soil warmer. Nor must the directly chemical results be
overlooked, for in addition to those already mentioned, of liberating
plant food (chiefly potash and phosphoric acid), retaining bases, and
aiding nitrification, lime acts in a special way as regards the
sourness or "acidity" which is sometimes produced in land when lime is
deficient. In soils that are acid through the accumulation of humic
acid nitrification does not go on, and bacterial life is repressed.
The addition of lime has the effect of "sweetening" the land, and of
restoring its bacterial activity. This acidity is also seen in the
occurrence of the disease known as "finger and toe" in turnips, the
fungus producing this being one that thrives in an acid soil. It is
only found in soils poor in lime, and the only remedy for it is
liming. The growth of weeds like spurry, marigold, sorrel, &c., is
also a sign of land being wanting in lime. The most striking instance
of this "soil acidity" is that afforded by the Woburn experiments,
where, on a soil originally poor in lime, the soil has, through the
continuous use of ammonia salts, been impoverished of its lime to such
an extent that it has become quite sterile and is distinctly acid in
character. The application of lime, however, to such a soil has had
the effect of quite restoring its fertility.
The amount of lime which soils contain is a very variable one, chalk
soils being very rich in lime, whereas sandy and peaty soils are
generally very poor in it. If the amount of lime in a soil falls below
1% of carbonate of lime on the dried soil, the soil will sooner or
later require liming.
5. _Magnesium._--This is not known to be deficient in soils, although
an essential element in them, and it is seldom directly applied as a
manurial ingredient. Some natural potash salts, such as kainit,
contain magnesia salts in considerable quantity; but their influence
is not known to be of beneficial nature, though, like common salt,
magnesia salts will, doubtless, render some of the potash in the soil
available. At the same time magnesia salts are not without their
influence on crops, and experiments have been undertaken at the Woburn
experimental farm and elsewhere to determine the nature of this
influence. Carbonate of magnesia has been tried in connexion with
potato-growing, and, it is said, with good results.
6. _Iron._--Iron is another essential ingredient of soil that is found
in abundance and does not call for special application in manurial
form. Iron is essential for the formation of chlorophyll in the
leaves, and its presence is believed also to be beneficial for the
development of colour in flowers, and for producing flavour in fruits
and in vines especially. Ferrous sulphate has, partly with this view,
and partly for its fungus-resisting properties, been suggested as a
desirable constituent of manures. The function performed by ferric
oxide in the soil of retaining phosphoric acid, potash and ammonia has
been already alluded to.
7. _Sulphur._--This, the last of the "essential" elements, is seldom
specially employed in manurial form. There would appear to be no lack
of it for the plant's supply, and it is little required except for the
building-up, with carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, of the
albuminoids. There are few artificial manures which do not contain
considerable amounts of sulphur, notably superphosphate. Sulphate of
lime (gypsum) is sometimes applied to the land direct as a way of
giving lime; this is employed in the case of clover and hops
principally.
Having thus dealt with the essential ingredients which plants must have,
and which may require to be supplied to them in the form of additional
manures, we may briefly pass over the other constituents found in
plants, which may, or may not, be given as manures.
8. _Sodium._--This is a widely distributed element. The influence of
common salt (chloride of sodium) in liberating, when used in large
excess, potash from the silicates in which it is combined in the soil
has been already referred to, and in this way common salt and also
nitrate of soda (the two forms in which soda salts are used as
manures) may have some benefit. The principal purpose for which common
salt, however, is used, is that of retaining moisture in the land. It
is specially useful in a dry season, or for succulent crops such as
cabbage, kale, &c., or again for plants of maritime origin (such as
mangels), which thrive near the sea shore.
9. _Silicon._--All soils contain silica in abundance. Though silica
forms so large a part of the ash of plants and is especially abundant
in the straw of cereals, there is no evidence that it is required in
plant life. Popularly, it is believed to "stiffen" the stems of
cereals and grasses, but plants grown without it will do perfectly
well. It would, however, appear that soluble silica does play some
part in enabling phosphoric acid to be better assimilated by the
plant. Silicates, however, have not justified their use as direct
fertilizers.
10. _Chlorine._--A certain amount of chlorine is brought down in the
rain, and chlorides are also used in the form of common salt, with the
effect, as aforesaid, of liberating potash from silicates, when given
in excess, but there is no evidence as to any particular part which
the chlorine itself plays.
11. _Manganese_, &c.--Manganese occurs in minute quantities in most
plants, and it, along with lithium (found largely in the
tobacco-plant), caesium, titanium, uranium and other rare elements,
may be found in soils. Experiments at the Woburn pot-culture station
and elsewhere, point to stimulating effects on vegetation produced by
the action of minute doses of salts of these elements, but, so far,
their use as manurial ingredients need not be considered in practice.
12. _Humus._--Though not an element, or itself essential, this body,
which may be described as decayed vegetable matter, is not without
importance in plant life. Of it, farm-yard manure is to a large extent
composed, and many "organic manures," as they are termed, contain it
in quantity. Dead leaves, decayed vegetation, the stubble of cereal
crops and many waste materials add humus to the land, and this humus,
by exposure to the air, is always undergoing further changes in the
soil, opening it out, distributing carbonic acid through it, and
supplying it, in its further decomposition, with nitrogen. The
principal effects of humus on the soil are of a physical character,
and it exercises particular benefit through its power of retaining
moisture. Humus, however, has a distinct chemical action, in that it
forms combinations with iron, calcium and ammonia. It thus becomes one
of the principal sources of supply of the nitrogenous food of plants,
and a soil rich in humus is one rich in nitrogen. The nitrogen in
humus is not directly available as a food for plants, but many kinds
of fungi and bacteria are capable of converting it into ammonia, from
which, by the agency of nitrifying organisms, it is turned into
nitrates and made available for the use of plants. Humus is able to
retain phosphoric acid, potash, ammonia and other bases. So important
were the functions of humus considered at one time that on this Thaer
built his "humus theory," which was, in effect, that, if humus was
supplied to the soil, plants required nothing more. This was based,
however, on the erroneous belief that the carbon, of which the bulk of
the plant consists, was derived from the humus of the soil, and not,
as we now know it to be, from the carbonic acid of the atmosphere.
This theory was in turn replaced by the "mineral theory" of Liebig,
and then both of them by the "nitrogen theory" of Lawes and Gilbert.
We pass next to review, in the light of the foregoing, the manures in
common use at the present day.
Manures, as already stated, may be variously classified according to the
materials they are made from, the constituents which they chiefly
supply, or the uses to which they are put. But, except with certain few
manures, such as nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia and potash salts,
which are used purely for one particular purpose, it is impossible to
make any definite classification of manures, owing to the fact that the
majority of them serve more than one purpose, and contain more than one
fertilizing constituent of value. It is only on broad lines, therefore,
that any division can be framed. Between so-called "natural" manures
like farm-yard manure, seaweed, wool waste, shoddy, bones, &c., which
undergo no particular artificial preparation, and manufactured manures
like superphosphate, dissolved bones, and other artificially prepared
materials, there may, however, be a distinction drawn, as also between
these and such materials as are imported and used without further
preparation, e.g. nitrate of soda, kainit, &c. On the whole, the best
classification to attempt is that according to the fertilizing
constituents which each principally supplies, and this will be adopted
here, with the necessary qualifications.
I.--NITROGENOUS (WHOLLY OR MAINLY) MANURES
These divided themselves into: (a) Natural nitrogenous manures; (b)
imported or manufactured manures.
a. NATURAL NITROGENOUS MANURES
Under this heading come--farm-yard manure; seaweed; refuse cakes and
meals; wool dust and shoddy; hoofs and horns; blood; soot; sewage
sludge.
_Farm-yard Manure._--This is the most important, as well as the most
generally used, of all natural manures. It consists of the solid and
liquid excreta of animals that are fed at the homestead, together with
the material used as litter. The composition of farm-yard manure will
vary greatly according to the conditions under which it is produced.
The principal determining factors are (1) the nature and age of the
animals producing it, (2) the food that is given them, (3) the kind
and quantity of litter used, (4) whether it be made in feeding-boxes,
covered yards or open yards, (5) the length of time and the way in
which it has been stored. The following analysis represents the
general composition of well-made farm-yard manure, in which the litter
used is straw:--
Water 75.42
*Organic matter 16.52
Oxide of iron and alumina .36
Lime 2.28
Magnesia .14
Potash .48
Soda .08
**Phosphoric acid .44
Sulphuric acid .12
Chlorine .02
Carbonic acid, &c. 1.38
Silica 2.76
------
100.00
------
* Containing nitrogen = .59%,
which is equal to ammonia .72%
** Equal to phosphate of lime .96
Put broadly, farm-yard manure will contain from 65 to 80% of water,
from .45 to .65% of nitrogen, from .4 to .8% of potash, and from .2 to
.5% of phosphoric acid.
This analysis shows that farm-yard manure contains all the
constituents, without exception, which are required by cultivated
crops in order to bring them to perfection, and hence it may be called
a "perfect" manure. Dung, it may be observed, contains a great variety
of organic and inorganic compounds of various degrees of solubility,
and this complexity of composition--difficult, if not impossible, to
imitate by art--is one of the circumstances which render farm-yard
manure a perfect as well as a universal manure.
The excrements of different kinds of animals vary in composition, and
those of the same animal will vary according to the nature and
quantity of the food given, the age of the animal, and the way it is
generally treated. Thus, a young animal which is growing, needs food
to produce bone and muscle, and voids poorer dung than one which is
fully grown and only has to keep up its condition. Similarly, a
milking-cow will produce poorer dung than a fattening bullock. Again,
cake-feeding will produce a richer manure than feeding without cake.
Straw is the most general litter used, but peat-moss litter, sawdust,
&c., may be used, and they will affect the quality of the manure to
some extent. Peat-moss is the best absorbent and has a higher manurial
value than straw. Box-fed manure, and that made in covered yards will
suffer much less loss than that made in an open yard. Lastly, manure
kept in a heap covered with earth will be much richer than that left
in an uncovered heap. The solid and liquid excrements differ much in
composition, for, while the former contain principally phosphoric
acid, lime, magnesia, and silica and comparatively little nitrogen,
the urine is almost destitute of phosphoric acid, and abounds in
alkaline salts (including salts of potash) and in nitrogenous organic
matters, among which are urea and uric acid, and which on
decomposition yield ammonia. Unless, therefore, the two kinds of
excrements are mixed, a perfect manure supplying all the needs of the
plant is not obtained; care must accordingly be taken to absorb all
the urine by the litter. Farm-yard manure, it is well known, is much
affected by the length of time and the way in which it has been kept.
Fresh dung is soluble in water only to a limited extent, and, in
consequence, it acts more slowly on vegetation, and the action lasts
longer than when dung is used which has been kept some time; fresh
dung is therefore generally used in autumn or winter, and thoroughly
rotten dung in spring, when an immediate forcing effect is required.
The changes which farm-yard manure undergoes on keeping, have been
made the subject of much inquiry. In Germany, Maercker and
Schneidewind; in France, Muntz and Girard; and in England, Voelcker,
Wood, Russell and others, have investigated these losses, coming to
very similar conclusions concerning them. Perhaps the most complete
set of experiments is one conducted at the Woburn experimental station
and extending over three years (1899-1901). The dung was cake-fed
manure made in feeding-boxes from which no drainage issued, and, after
removal, it was kept in a heap, covered with earth. Hence it was made
under as good conditions as possible; but, even then, the
losses--after deduction for live-weight increase of the animals--were
found to be 15% of the total nitrogen of the food, during the making,
and 34% (or a further 19%) during storing and by the time the manure
came to be put on the land. Accordingly, under ordinary farm
conditions it is quite clear that only about 50% of the nitrogen of
the food given is recovered in the dung that goes on the land. This is
the figure which Lawes and Gilbert suggested in the practical
application of their Tables of Compensation for Unexhausted Manure
Value.
During the fermentation of dung a large proportion of the
non-nitrogenous organic matters disappear in the forms of carbonic
acid and water, while another portion is converted into humic acids
which fix the ammonia gradually produced from the nitrogenous
constituents of the solid and liquid excreta. The mineral matters
remain behind entirely in the rotten dung, if care be taken to prevent
loss by drainage. For proper decomposition, both air and moisture are
requisite, while extreme dryness or too much water will arrest the due
fermentation of the mass.
Well-fermented dung is more concentrated and consequently more
efficacious than fresh farm-yard manure. Neither fresh nor rotten dung
contains any appreciable quantity of volatile ammonia, and there is no
advantage from applying gypsum, dilute acid, superphosphate, kainit,
or other substances recommended as fixers of ammonia. If dung is
carted into the field and spread out at once in thin layers it will
suffer comparatively little loss. But if dung be kept for a length of
time in shallow heaps, or in open straw-yards and exposed to rain, it
loses by drainage a considerable proportion of its most valuable
soluble fertilizing constituents. Experiments with farm-yard manure
kept in an open yard showed that, after twelve months' exposure to the
weather, nearly all the soluble nitrogen and 78.2% of the soluble
mineral matters were lost by drainage (A. Voelcker). To prevent this
loss, farm-yard manure, as had been pointed out, should, whenever
possible, be carted into the field, spread out at once, and ploughed
in at the convenience of the farmer. It is, however, not always
practicable to apply farm-yard manure just at the time it is made,
and, as the manure heap cannot be altogether dispensed with, it is
necessary to see how the manure may best be kept. The best dung is
that made in regular pits or feeding-boxes. In them the urine is
thoroughly absorbed, and, the manure being more compact through the
constant treading, air enters less freely and the decomposition goes
on less rapidly, the volatile matters, in consequence, not being so
readily lost. External agents, such as rain, wind, sun, &c., do not
affect the manure as they would in the case of open yards. Next best
to box-fed manure is that made in covered yards, then that in sheds,
and lastly that in open yards. When removed from the box or yard, the
manure should be put in a heap upon a floor of clay or
well-beaten-down earth, and then be covered with earth. When kept in
an open yard, care should be taken not to let spoutings of buildings
lead on to it, and if there be a liquid-manure tank, this might be
pumped out over the manure again when the latter is too dry.
The advantages of farm-yard manure consist, not only in its supplying
all the constituents of plant food, but also in the improved physical
condition of the soil which results from its application, inasmuch as
the land is thereby kept porous, and air is allowed free access.
While, however, farm-yard manure has these advantages, experience has
shown that artificial manures, properly selected so as to meet the
requirements of the crops intended to be grown on the particular land,
may be employed to greater advantage. In farm-yard manure about
two-thirds of the weight is water and one-third dry matter; a large
bulk thus contains only a small proportion of fertilizing substances,
and expense is incurred for carriage of much useless matter when dung
has to be carted to distant fields. When a plentiful supply of good
farm-yard manure can be produced on the farm or bought at a moderate
price in the immediate neighbourhood, it is economy to use it either
alone or in conjunction with artificial manures; but when food is dear
and fattening does not pay, or farm-yard manure is expensive to buy,
it will be found more economical to use artificial manures. This has
obtained confirmation from the experience of Mr Prout, at
Sawbridgeworth, Herts, where since 1866, successive crops of corn have
been grown, and entirely with the use of artificial manures.
The real difficulty with farm-yard manure is to get enough of it, and,
if it were available in sufficiency, it would be safe to say that
farmers generally would not require to go farther in regard to the
manuring of any of the crops of the farm. Moreover, experiments at
Rothamsted and Woburn have shown of how "lasting" a character
farm-yard manure is, its influence having told for some 15 to 20 years
after its application had ceased.
Light land is benefited by farm-yard manure through its supplying to
the soil organic matter, and imparting to it "substance" whereby it
becomes more consolidated and is better able to retain the manurial
ingredients given to it. By improving the soil's moisture-holding
capacity, moreover, "burning" of the land is prevented.
With heavy clay soils the advantages are that these are kept more open
in texture, drainage is improved, and the soil rendered easier of
working. On light land, well-rotted manure is best to apply; and in
spring, whereas on heavy land freshly-made, "long," manure is best,
and should be put on in autumn or winter.
Farm-yard manure, where the supply is limited, is mostly saved for the
root-crop, which, however, generally needs a little superphosphate to
start it, as farm-yard manure is not sufficiently rich in this
constituent. It serves a great purpose in retaining the needed
moisture in the soil for the root crop.
For potato-growing, for vegetables, and in market-gardening, farm-yard
manure is almost indispensable. On grass-land and on clover-ley it is
also very useful, and in the neighbourhood of large towns is employed
greatly for the production of hay.
For corn crops also, and especially for wheat on heavy land, farm-yard
manure is much used, and, in a dry season in particular, shows
excellent results, though experiments at Rothamsted and Woburn have
shown that, on heavy and light land alike, heavier crops of wheat and
barley can be produced in average seasons by artificial manures.
_Seaweed._--Along the sea-coast seaweed is collected, put in heaps and
allowed to rot, being subsequently used on the land, just as farm-yard
manure is. According to the nature of the weed and its water-contents,
it may have from .3 to 1% of nitrogen, or more, with potash in some
quantity.
_Green-manuring._--Though properly belonging to cultivation rather
than to manuring, and acting chiefly as a means of improving the
condition of the soil, the practice of green-manuring carries with it
manurial benefits also, in that it supplies humus and nitrogen to the
soil, and provides a substitute for farm-yard manure. The ploughing-in
of a leguminous green-crop which has collected nitrogen from the
atmosphere should result in a greater accumulation of nitrogen for a
succeeding corn-crop, and thus supply the cheapest form of manuring.
Green-manuring is most beneficial on light land, poor in vegetable
matter.
_Manure Cakes, Malt Dust, Spent Hops, &c._--Many waste materials of
this kind are used because of their supplying, in the form of
nitrogenous organic matter, nitrogen for crop uses. The nitrogen in
these is of somewhat slow-acting, but lasting, nature. In addition to
nitrogen, some of these materials, e.g. rape cake, cotton cake and
castor cake, contain appreciable amounts of phosphoric acid and
potash. Rape cake, or "land cake," as it is called in Norfolk, is used
considerably for wheat. It is also believed to be a preventive of
wireworm, and so is often employed for potatoes and root-crops.
Rape-seed from which the oil has been extracted by chemical means, and
which is called "rape refuse," is made use of in hop-gardens as a
slowly acting supplier of nitrogen. It will contain 4 to 5% of
nitrogen with 3 to 4% of phosphates. Damaged cotton and other
feeding-cakes, no longer fit for feeding, are ground into meal and put
on the land. Castor cake is directly imported for manurial purposes,
and will have up to 5% of nitrogen with 4 to 5% of phosphates. Spent
hops, malt dust and other waste materials are similarly used. The
principal use of these materials is on light land, and to give bulk to
the soil while supplying nitrogen in suitable form.
_Wool-dust, Shoddy, &c._--The clippings from wool, the refuse from
cloth factories, silk, fur and hair waste, carpet clippings and
similar waste materials are comprised in this category. They are
valuable purely for their nitrogen, and should be purchased according
to their nitrogen-contents. They are favourite materials with
hop-growers and fruit-farmers, whose experience leads them to prefer a
manure which supplies its nitrogen in organic form, and which acts
continuously, if not too readily. It is the custom in hop-lands to
manure the soil annually with large quantities of these waste
materials till it has much fertility stored up in it for succeeding
crops. According to its nature, wool-dust or shoddy may contain
anything from 3% of nitrogen up to 14%.
Leather is another waste material of the same class, but the process
of tanning it has undergone makes its nitrogen but very slowly
available and it is avoided, in consequence, as a manure. There have
been several processes started with the object of rendering leather
more useful as a manure.
_Hoofs and Horns._--The clippings and shavings from horn factories are
largely used by some hop-growers, and, though very slow in their
action, they will contain 14 to 15% of nitrogen. They are sometimes
very finely ground and sold as "keronikon," chiefly for use in
compound artificial manures.
_Dried Blood_ is another purely nitrogenous material, which however
seldom finds its way to the farmer, being used up eagerly by the
artificial manure maker. It will contain from 12 to 14% of nitrogen.
It is obtained by simply evaporating down the blood obtained from
slaughter-houses. It is the most rapidly acting of the organic
nitrogenous materials enumerated, and, when obtainable, is a favourite
manure with fruit-growers, being also used for root and vegetable
growing.
_Soot_ is an article of very variable nature. It owes its manurial
value mainly to the ammonia salts it contains, and a good sample will
have about 4% of ammonia. It is frequently adulterated, being mixed
with ashes, earth, &c. Flue sweepings of factory chimneys are
sometimes sold as soot, but possess little value. Besides the ammonia
that soot contains, there would undoubtedly seem to be a value
attaching to the carbonaceous matter. Soot is a favourite top-dressing
for wheat on heavy land, and is efficacious in keeping off slugs, &c.
Speaking generally, the lighter a sample of soot is the more likely is
it to be genuine.
_Sewage Manure._--Where methods of dealing with the solid matters of
sewage are in operation, it frequently happens that these matters are
dried, generally with the aid of lime, and sold locally. Occasionally
they are prepared with the addition of other fertilizing materials and
made up as special manures. It may be taken for granted that sewage
refuse by itself is not worth transporting to any distance. When made
up with lime, the "sludge," as it is generally termed, is often useful
because of the lime it contains. But, on the whole, the value of such
preparations has been greatly exaggerated. Where land is in need of
organic matter, or where it is desirable to consolidate light land by
the addition of material of this class, sludge may, however, have
decided value on mechanical and physical grounds, but such land
requires to be near at hand.
b. _Imported or Manufactured Nitrogenous Manures._
These are nitrate of soda; sulphate of ammonia; calcium cyanamide;
calcium nitrate.
_Nitrate of Soda._--This is the best known and most generally used of
purely nitrogenous manures. It comes from the rainless districts of
Chile and Peru, from which it was first shipped about the year 1830.
By 1899 the export had reached to 1,344,550 tons. It is uncertain what
its origin is, but it is generally believed to be the deposit from an
ancient sea which was raised by volcanic eruption and its waters
evaporated. Another theory puts it as the deposit from the saline
residues of fresh-water streams. The crude deposit is termed
_caliche_, and from this (which contains common salt and sulphates of
soda, potash and lime) the nitrate is crystallized out and obtained as
a salt containing 95 to 96% pure nitrate of soda. It is sold on a
basis of 95% pure, and is but little subject to adulteration.
As a quickly acting nitrogenous manure nitrate of soda has no equal,
and it is in great demand as a top-dressing for corn crops, also for
roots. On grass-land, if used alone, it tends to produce grass but to
exterminate leguminous herbage. Its tendency with corn crops is to
produce, if used in quantity, inferiority of quality in grain. It can
be employed in conjunction with superphosphate and other artificial
manures, though it should not be mixed with them long before the
mixture is to be put on. It is a very soluble salt, and the nitrogen
being in the form of nitrates, it can be readily taken up by plants.
On the other hand, it is readily removed from the soil by drainage,
and its effects last only for a single season. Owing to its
solubility, it requires to be used in much larger amount than the crop
actually will take up. On a heavy soil it has a bad influence if used
repeatedly and in quantity, causing the land to "run," and making the
tilth bad. Though, doubtless, exhaustive to the soil, when used alone,
there is no evidence yet of nitrate of soda causing land to "run out,"
as has been shown to be the case with sulphate of ammonia. One cwt. to
the acre is a common dressing for corn crops, but for mangels it has
been used to advantage up to 4 cwt. per acre. As a top-dressing for
corn crops it differs little in its crop-results from its rival
sulphate of ammonia, but in a dry season it answers better, owing to
its more ready solubility and quicker action, whereas in a wet season
sulphate of ammonia does better.
_Sulphate of Ammonia._--This is the great competitor with nitrate of
soda, and, like the latter, is useful purely as a nitrogenous manure.
It is obtained in the manufacture of gas and as a by-product in the
distillation of shale, &c., as also from coke ovens. By adding
sulphuric acid to the ammoniacal liquor distilled over from the coal,
&c., the salt is crystallized out. It is seldom adulterated, and, as
sold in commerce, generally contains 24 to 25% of ammonia. It is not
quite so readily soluble as nitrate of soda; it does not act quite so
quickly on crops, but is less easily removed from the soil by
drainage, leaving also a slight amount of residue for a second crop.
It is nearly as efficacious as a top-dressing for corn crops as is
nitrate of soda, and for some crops, e.g. potatoes, it is considered
superior. It may also be used like nitrate of soda for root crops. On
grass-land its effect in increasing gramineous but reducing leguminous
herbage is similar to that of nitrate of soda, but with corn crops it
has not the same deteriorating influence on the quality of grain. It
can be mixed quite well with superphosphate and other artificial
manures, and is therefore a common form in which nitrogen is supplied
in compound manures. It does not produce the bad effect on the tilth
of certain soils that nitrate of soda does, but it is open to the
objection that, if used continually on soil poor in lime, it will
gradually exhaust the soil and leave it in an acid condition, so that
the soil is unable to bear crops again until fertility is restored by
the addition of lime. A usual dressing of sulphate of ammonia is 1
cwt. per acre.
_Calcium Cyanamide._--This is a new product which represents the
earliest result of the utilization, in a commercial form, of
atmospheric nitrogen as a manurial substance. It is obtained by
passing nitrogen gas over the heated calcium carbide obtained in the
electric furnace, the nitrogen then uniting with the carbide to form
calcium cyanamide. The product contains from 19 to 20% of nitrogen,
and, though still under trial as a nitrogenous manure, it bids fair to
form a valuable source of supply, especially should the natural
deposits of nitrate of soda become exhausted. The cost of production
limits its manufacture to places where electrical power can be cheaply
generated. In its action it would seem to resemble most closely
sulphate of ammonia.
_Calcium Nitrate._--This is another product of the utilization of
atmospheric nitrogen as a manurial agent. Nitrogen and oxygen are made
to combine within the electric arc and the nitric acid produced is
then combined with lime, forming nitrate of lime. Nitrate of lime
contains, as put on the market, about 13% of nitrogen. In its action
it should be very similar to nitrate of soda, with, possibly, some
added benefit to certain soils by reason of the lime it contains. Like
cyanamide, it is still in the experimental stage as regards its
agricultural use, and can only be produced where electric power is
cheaply obtainable.
Neither material is altogether free from objection, the cyanamide
heating when mixed with other manures and even with soil, and being
liable to give off acetylene gas owing to the presence of calcium
carbide, whereas the calcium nitrate is a salt which on exposure to a
moist atmosphere readily deliquesces.
II.--PHOSPHATIC MANURES
Under the heading of manures that are used purely for their phosphatic
benefit to the soil are superphosphate and basic slag.
_Superphosphate._--This is the typical phosphatic manure, and is the
base of the numerous artificial manures used on the farm.
Superphosphate is made by dissolving raw phosphatic minerals in
sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol), the tribasic phosphate of lime which
these contain being converted into the so-called "soluble phosphate,"
sulphate of lime being formed at the same time. The first impetus to
the manufacture of superphosphate was given by Liebig, when he
suggested, in 1840, the treatment of bones with oil of vitriol in
order to make them act more quickly in the soil. Lawes subsequently,
in 1843, applied this to mineral phosphates, using phosphorite, first
of all, and the great manufacture of mineral superphosphate then
began. Coprolites, as found in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Bedfordshire
and elsewhere were the raw materials at first employed in the United
Kingdom. But gradually the demand for the new manure became so great
that distant parts of the world were searched to bring in the raw
material for conversion into superphosphate. Many new sources of
supply have been worked, and many worked out or abandoned in favour of
better and richer phosphates. Among these were the crystalline
apatites of Canada and Norway, French, Spanish and German (Lahn)
phosphates, and, at a later period, Carolina (land and river),
Florida, Tennessee, Somme, Belgian, Algerian and Tunisian phosphates.
In addition to these came other materials which, in their origin, were
really of the nature of guano, being bird deposits the ammoniacal
matters of which were gradually washed out. The mineral matters
remained and altered the composition of the original rock on which the
guano was deposited, thus forming rich deposits of phosphate of lime.
Such were the phosphates obtained from many of the islands of the West
Indies and South Pacific, and known under such various names as
Sombrero, Curaçao, Aruba, Maiden Island, Megillones, Baker Island,
Fanning Islands, Lacepedes Islands, &c. guanos. Few of these are now
worked, but their place has been largely taken by the rich deposits of
Ocean Island and Christmas Island, which are of similar origin. The
principal supplies of phosphatic minerals at the present time come
from Florida, Algeria, Tunis, Ocean Island and Christmas Island. Other
phosphates imported are Redonda and Alta Vela phosphates, but these
consist mainly of phosphate of alumina, and are not used for
superphosphate manufacture but for phosphorus production.
Coprolites, as formerly used, contained from 50 to 60% of phosphate of
lime, but they are not worked now, the richer sources, which are also
better adapted for superphosphate manufacture, having taken their
place. The amount of oxide of iron and alumina in raw phosphates is of
great importance, as phosphates containing these bodies are liable to
cause superphosphate to "go back" or form what is called "reverted"
phosphate, the percentage of "soluble phosphate" being reduced
thereby. For this reason many of the older supplies have been replaced
by newer and better ones. Florida rock phosphate of high grade
contains 75 to 78% of phosphate of lime, and Florida land pebble
phosphate about 70%. Algerian and Tunisian phosphates have from 55 to
65% of phosphate of lime, and are very free from iron and alumina,
this fitting them especially for superphosphate making. Tennessee
phosphate has about 70% of phosphate, Somme and Belgian phosphates 40
to 50%, while Ocean Island and Christmas Island phosphates are of very
high grade and yield over 80 and up to 86% of phosphate of lime.
Superphosphate is made by finely grinding the raw phosphate and mixing
it with oil of vitriol (chamber acid); what actual product is formed
is a matter of some uncertainty, but it is a phosphate soluble in
water, and believed to be mono-calcic phosphate. This is the true
"soluble phosphate," but in commercial transactions it is universal to
express the amount in terms of the original tribasic phosphate which
has been rendered soluble. Ordinary grades of mineral superphosphate
give from 25 to 27% of soluble phosphate and higher grades 30 to 35%.
On reaching the soil, the soluble phosphate becomes precipitated by
the calcium and iron compounds in the soil. But it is precipitated in
a very fine form of division, in which it is readily attacked by the
plant roots. Superphosphate is used practically for all crops,
including cereals, clover and other leguminous crops. Its use tends to
early maturity in a crop. Its value for giving a start to root crops
is particularly recognized, and root crops generally are dependent on
it, as they have little power of utilizing the phosphoric acid in the
soil itself. On land poor in lime superphosphate must be used with
caution owing to its acid nature, and in such cases an undissolved
phosphate is preferable. The quantity in which it is applied ranges
from 2 and 3 cwt. per acre to 5 cwt. It suffers but little loss
through drainage, and will exercise an influence on crops beyond the
year of application.
_Basic Slag._--This other principal phosphatic manure is of more
recent origin, and is an undissolved phosphate. It is the waste
product of steel-making where the Thomas-Gilchrist or "basic" process
of manufacture has been employed. This process is used with ores
containing much phosphorus, the removal of which is necessary in
steel-manufacture. The "converters" which hold the molten iron are
lined with lime and magnesia, and the impurities of the iron form a
"slag" with these materials. For a long time the slag was regarded as
a waste product, but ultimately it was found that, by grinding it very
finely, it had distinct agricultural value, and now its use is
universal. Basic slag is of various grades, containing 12 to 20% of
phosphoric acid, which is believed to exist in the form of a
tetracalcic phosphate. This phosphate is found to be readily attacked
by a weak solution of citric acid, and this probably accounts for the
comparative ease with which plants can utilize the phosphate. With it
is also a good deal of lime, and the presence of this undoubtedly, in
many cases, accounts partly for the benefits that follow the use of
basic slag. It should be very finely ground; a common standard is that
80 to 90% should pass through a sieve having 10,000 meshes to the
square inch.
The principal use of basic slag is on grass-land, especially where the
soil is heavy or clayey. Its effect on such land in causing white
clover to appear is in many cases most remarkable, and without doubt,
much poor, cold grass-land has been immensely benefited by its use. It
is also employed for root crops; but its effect on these, as on
cereals, is not so marked as on grass-land. On light land its benefit
is not nearly so great or universal as on heavier land.
III.--MANURES CONTAINING NITROGEN AND PHOSPHATES
These may be classified as follows: (a) Natural manures--bones, fish and
meat guanos, Peruvian guano, bats' guano; (b) Manufactured
manures--dissolved bones, compound manures.
a. _Natural Manures_
_Bones.._--The value and use of these in agriculture has long been
known, as also the comparative slowness of their action, which latter
induced Liebig to suggest their treatment with sulphuric acid. Natural
bones will contain from 45 to 50% of phosphate of lime with 4 to 4½%
of nitrogen. It is usual to boil bones lightly after collection, in
order to remove the adhering particles of flesh and the fat. If
steamed under pressure the nitrogenous matter is to a great extent
extracted, yielding glue, size, gelatine, &c., and the bones--known
then in agriculture as "steamed bones"--will contain from 55 to 60% of
phosphate of lime with 1 to 1½% of nitrogen. Bones are also imported
from India, and these are of a very hard and dry nature. Bones are
principally used for root crops, and to some extent on grass-land. The
more finely they are ground the quicker is their action, but they are
a slow-acting manure, which remains some years in the land. Mixed with
superphosphate, bone meal forms an excellent manure for roots, and
obviates the difficulty of using superphosphate on land poor in lime.
Steamed bones, sometimes ground into flour, are much used in dairy
pastures.
_Fish and Meat Guanos._--The term "guano," though generally applied to
these manures, is wrongly so used, for they are in no sense guano
(meaning thereby the droppings of sea birds). They are really fish or
meat refuse, being generally the dried fish-offal or the residue from
meat-extract manufacture. They vary much in composition, according to
their origin, some being highly nitrogenous (11 to 12% nitrogen) and
comparatively low in phosphate of lime, and others being more highly
phosphatic (30 to 40% phosphate of lime) with lower nitrogen. These
materials are to some extent used for root and vegetable crops, and
chiefly for hop-growing, but they go largely also to the artificial
manure maker.
_Peruvian Guano._--This material, though once a name to conjure with,
has now not much more than an academic interest, owing to the rapid
exhaustion of the supplies. It is true guano, i.e. the deposit of sea
birds, and was originally found on islands off the coast of Peru.
Peruvian guano was first discovered in 1804 by A. von Humboldt, and
the wonderful results attending its use gave an enormous impulse to
its exportation. The Chincha Islands yielded the finest qualities of
guano, this giving up to 14 and 15% of nitrogen. Gradually the Chincha
Islands deposits became worked out, and other sources, such as the
Pabellon de Pica, Lobos, Guanape and Huanillos deposits were worked in
turn. In many instances the guano had suffered from washing by rain or
by decomposition, or in other cases the bare rock was reached and the
shipments contained some considerable quantity of this rocky matter,
so that the highly nitrogenous guanos were no longer forthcoming and
deposits more phosphatic in character took their place. Gradually the
shipments fell off, and with them the great reputation of the guano as
a manure. On some of the islands the birds, after having been driven
off, have returned and fresh deposits are being formed. On the west
coast of Africa also some new deposits have been found, and a certain
amount of guano comes from Ichaboe Island; but the trade will never be
what it once was. Occasional shipments come from the Ballista Islands,
giving from 10 to 11% of nitrogen with 11 to 12% of phosphoric acid,
and lower-grade guanos (7% of nitrogen and 16% of phosphoric acid) are
arriving from Guanape, while from Lobos de Tierra comes a still lower
grade.
The particular feature that marked guano was that it contained both
its nitrogenous and phosphatic ingredients in forms in which they
could be very readily assimilated by plants. Moreover, the occurrence
of the nitrogenous and phosphatic matters in different forms of
combination gave to them a special value, and one that could not be
exactly imitated in artificial manures. The nitrogenous matters, e.g.,
exist as urates, carbonates, oxalates and phosphates of ammonia, and a
particular nitrogenous body termed "guanine" is also found. Guano
contains much alkaline salts, and is, from its containing alike
phosphates, nitrogen and potash in suitable forms and quantity, an
exceedingly well balanced manure. In agriculture it is used for corn
crops, and also for root crops, potatoes and hops. It is esteemed for
barley, as tending to produce good quality. For vegetable and
market-garden crops that require forcing guano is also still in
demand. The more phosphatic kinds are sometimes treated with sulphuric
acid, and constitute "Dissolved Peruvian Guano."
_Bats' Guano._--In caves in New Zealand, parts of America, South
Africa and elsewhere, are found deposits formed by bats, and these are
used to some extent as a manure, though they have no great commercial
value.
b. _Manufactured Manures_
_Dissolved Bones._--These are bones treated with oil of vitriol, as in
superphosphate manufacture. By this treatment bones become much more
readily available, and are used to a considerable extent, more
especially for root crops. Their composition varies with the method of
manufacture and the extent to which they are dissolved. Speaking
generally, they will have from 11 to 19% of soluble phosphate, with 20
to 24% of insoluble phosphates, and if pure should contain 3% of
nitrogen. When mixed with superphosphate in varying amount, or if made
with steamed and not raw bone, they are generally known under the
indefinite name of "bone manure."
_Compound Manures._--To this class belong the manures of every
description which it is the aim of the artificial manure manufacturer
to compound for particular purposes or to suit particular soils or
crops. The base of all these is, as a rule, mineral superphosphate or
else dissolved bones, or the two together, and with these are mixed
numerous different manurial substances calculated to supply definite
amounts of nitrogen, potash, &c. Such manures, the trade in which is a
very large one, are variously known as "corn manure," "turnip manure,"
"grass manure" and the like, and much care is bestowed on their
compounding and on their preparation in good condition to allow of
their ready distribution over the land.
IV.--POTASH MANURES
These, with few exceptions, are natural products from the potash mines
of Stassfurt (Prussia). Until the discovery of these deposits, in 1861,
the use of potash as a fertilizing constituent was very limited, being
confined practically to the employment of wood ashes. At the present
time a small quantity of potash salts--principally carbonate of
potash--is obtained from sugar refinery and other manufacturing
processes, but the great bulk of the potash supply comes from the German
mines. In these the different natural salts occur in different layers
and in conjunction with layers of rock-salt, carbonate of lime and other
minerals, from which they have to be separated out and undergo
subsequently a partial purification by re-crystallization.
The principal potash salts used in agriculture are--(1) sulphate of
potash, which is about 90% pure; (2) kainit, an impure form of
sulphate of potash, and containing much common salt and magnesia
salts, and giving about 12% of potash (K2O); (3) muriate of potash,
which is used to a great extent in agriculture, and contains 75 to 90%
of muriate of potash; and (4) potash manure salts, a mixture of
different salts and containing from 20 to 30% of potash.
Potash is much esteemed in agriculture, more especially on light land
(which is frequently deficient in it) and on peaty soils, and for use
with root crops and potatoes in particular. For fruit and vegetable
growing and for flowers potash manures are in constant request. Clay
land, as a rule, is not benefited by their use, these soils containing
generally an abundance of potash. Along with basic slag, potash salts
have been frequently used for grass on light land with advantage.
V.--MISCELLANEOUS MANURES
There are, in addition to the foregoing, certain materials which in a
limited sense only can be called "manures," but the influences of which
are mostly seen in the mechanical and physical improvements which they
effect in soil. Such are salt, and also lime in its different forms.
_Salt._--The action of salt in liberating potash from the soil has
been explained. As a manure it is sometimes used along with nitrate of
soda as a top-dressing for corn crops, in the belief that it stiffens
the straw. For root crops also, and mangels in particular, it is
employed; also for cabbage and other vegetables.
_Lime._--The use of this is almost solely to be considered as a soil
improvement, and not as that of a manure. Sulphate of lime (gypsum)
is, however, occasionally used as a dressing for clover, and also for
hops. The fact that superphosphate itself contains a considerable
amount of sulphate of lime renders the special application of gypsum
unnecessary, as a rule.
As compared with "natural" manures, like farm-yard manure, artificial
manures have the disadvantage that they, unlike it, do not improve the
physical condition of the soil. Artificial manures have, however, the
advantage over farm-yard manure that they can supply in a small
compass, and even if used in small quantity, the needed nitrogen,
phosphoric acid and potash, &c., which crops require, and which
farm-yard manure has but in small proportion. They, further, present
the expensive fertilizing matters in a concentrated form, and by their
application save expense in labour. (J. A. V.*)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The amount of nitrogen thus deposited annually was found at
Rothamsted to be 7.21 lb. per acre.
MANUSCRIPT, a term applied to any document written by the human hand
(Lat. _manû scriptum_) with the aid of pen, pencil or other instrument
which can be used with cursive facility, as distinguished from an
inscription engraved with chisel or graver, worked laboriously. By usage
the word has come to be employed in a special sense to indicate a
written work of the ancient world or of the middle ages; collections of
such "ancient manuscripts" being highly prized and being stored for
preservation in public libraries. Down to the time of the invention of
printing, and until the printed book had driven it out of the field, the
manuscript was the vehicle for the conservation and dissemination of
literature, and discharged all the functions of the modern book. In the
present article a description is given of the development of the ancient
manuscript, particularly among the Greeks and Romans, leading on to the
medieval manuscripts of Europe, and bringing down the history of the
latter to the invention of printing; the history of the printed volume
is dealt with in the article BOOK (q.v.).
_Materials._--The handbooks on palaeography describe in full the
different materials which have been employed from remote time to
receive writing, and may be referred to for minuter details. To
dispose, in the first place, of the harder materials that have been
put under requisition, we find metals both referred to by writers and
actually represented by surviving examples. Thin leaves of gold or
silver were recommended for the inscription of charms in particular.
Leaden plates were in common use for incantations; the material was
cheap and was supposed to be durable. On such plates were scratched
the _dirae_ or solemn devotions of obnoxious persons to the infernal
deities; many examples have survived. As an instance of the use of
soft substance afterwards hardened may be cited the practice by the
Babylonians and Assyrians of writing, or rather of puncturing, their
cuneiform characters on clay tablets while moist, which were
afterwards dried in the heat of the sun or baked in the oven.
Potsherds, or _ostraka_, were employed for all kinds of temporary
purposes. Thousands of them have been found in Egypt inscribed with
tax receipts and ephemeral drafts and memoranda, children's dictation
lessons, &c. Analogous to the clay documents of western Asia are the
tablets coated with wax in vogue among the Greeks and Romans, offering
a surface not to be inscribed with the pen but to be scratched with
the sharp pointed _stilus_. These will be described more fully below.
With them we class the wooden boards, generally whitened with a
coating of paint or composition and adapted for the pen, which were
common in Egypt, and were specially used for educational purposes.
Such boards were also employed for official notices in Athens in the
4th century B.C.
Of the more pliant, and therefore generally more convenient,
substances there were many, such as animal skins and vegetable
growths. Practically we might confine our attention to three of them:
papyrus, parchment or vellum, and paper, the employment of which, each
in turn, as a writing material became almost universal. But there are
also others which must be mentioned.
In a primitive state of society leaves of plants and trees strong
enough for the purpose might be taken as a ready-made material to
receive writing. Palm leaves are used for this purpose to the present
day in parts of India; and the references in classical authors to
leaves as early writing material among the Greeks and Romans cannot be
dismissed as entirely fanciful.
The bark of trees, and particularly the inner bark of the lime-tree,
[Greek: philyra,] _tilia_, was employed. The fact that the Latin word
_liber_, bark, eventually meant also a book, would be sufficient proof
that that material was once in common literary use, even if it were
not referred to by writers.
Linen, too, was a writing material among the early Romans, as it was
also among the Etruscans, and as it had been to some extent among the
Egyptians.
Skins of animals, tanned, have doubtless served as a writing material
from the very earliest period of the use of letters. The Egyptians
occasionally employed this material. Instances of the use of leather
in western Asia are recorded by ancient authors, and from Herodotus we
learn that the Ionian Greeks applied to the rolls of the
later-imported papyrus the title [Greek: diphtherai], skins, by which
they had designated their writing material of leather. The Jews, also,
to the present day hold to the ancient Eastern custom and inscribe the
law upon skin rolls.
But generally these materials were superseded in the old world by the
famous Egyptian writing material manufactured from the papyrus plant,
which gradually passed beyond the boundaries of its native land and
was imported at a remote period into other countries. Into Greece and
into Rome it was introduced at so early a time that practically it was
the vehicle for classical literature throughout its course. A
description of the manufacture and use of this material will be found
under PAPYRUS. Here it need only be noted that papyrus is associated
in Greek and Roman literature with the roll form of the ancient
manuscript, as will be more fully explained below, and that it was the
supersession of this material by parchment or vellum which led to the
change of shape to the book form.
The introduction of the new material, parchment or vellum, was not a
revival of the use of animal skins as followed by the old world. The
skins were now not tanned into leather, but were prepared by a new
process to provide a material, thin, strong, flexible, and smooth of
surface on both faces. This improved process was the secret of the
success of the new material in ousting the time-honoured papyrus from
its high position. The common story, as told by Pliny, that Eumenes
II. of Pergamum (197-158 B.C.), seeking to extend the library of his
capital, was opposed by the jealousy of the Ptolemies, who forbade the
export of papyrus, hoping thus to check the growth of a rival library,
and that he was thus compelled to have recourse to skins as a writing
material, at all events points to Pergamum as the chief centre of
trade in the material, [Greek: pergamênê,] _charta pergamena_. The old
terms [Greek: diphtherai], _membranae_, applied originally to the
older leather, were transferred to the newly improved substance. In
describing MSS. written on, this material, by common consent the term
parchment has in modern times given place to that of vellum, properly
applicable only to calfskin, but now generally used in reference to a
medieval skin-book of any kind. Parchment is a title now usually
reserved for the hard sheepskin or other skin material on which law
deeds are engrossed. (See PARCHMENT.)
Vellum had a long career as a writing material for the literature of
the early centuries of our era and of the middle ages. But in its turn
it eventually gave place to paper (q.v.). As early as the 13th century
paper, an Asiatic invention, was making its way into Europe and was
adopted in the Eastern Empire as a material for Greek literature side
by side with vellum. It soon afterwards began to appear in the
countries of southern Europe. In the course of the 14th century the
use of it became fairly established, and in the middle of the century
a number of paper manuscripts were produced along with those on
vellum, particularly in Italy. Finally, in the 15th century paper
became the common material for the manuscript book. The new paper,
however, made no further change in the form of the manuscript. It
possessed exactly the same qualities, as a writing material, as
vellum: it could be inscribed on both sides; it could be made up into
quires and bound in the codex form; and it had the further advantage
of being easily manufactured in large quantities, and therefore of
being comparatively cheap.
_The Forms of the Manuscript Book._--In describing the development of
the manuscript book in the ancient world, and subsequently in the middle
ages, we have to deal with it in two forms. The common form of the book
of the ancient world was the _roll_, composed of one continuous sheet of
material and inscribed only on one side. This form had a long career. In
Egyptian literature it can be traced back for thousands of years. In
Greek literature it may he assumed to have been in vogue from the
earliest times; actual examples have survived of the latter part of the
4th and beginning of the 3rd centuries B.C. As to its early use in Latin
literature we cannot speak so definitely; but Rome followed the example
of Greece in letters, and therefore no doubt also in the material shape
of literary productions. Both in Greek and Latin literature the roll
lasted down to the early centuries of the Christian era. It was
superseded by the _codex_, the manuscript in book form (in the modern
sense of the word book), composed of separate leaves stitched together
into quires and made available to receive writing on both sides of the
material. This form is still in vogue as the modern printed book, and
probably will never be superseded. But the codex in this developed shape
was only an evolution from the early waxen tablets of the Greeks and
Romans, two or more of which, hinged together, formed the primitive
codex which suggested the later form. Therefore it will be necessary to
include the description of the tablets with that of the later codex.
The Roll.
The ordinary terms in use among the Greeks for a book (that is, a roll)
were [Greek: biblos] (another form of [Greek: bublos], papyrus) and its
diminutive [Greek: biblion], which included the idea of a written book.
The corresponding Latin terms were _liber_ and _libellus_; _volumen_ was
a rolled-up roll. A roll of material uninscribed was [Greek: chàrtês],
_charta_, or [Greek: tomos] (originally a _cutting_ of papyrus),
applicable also to a roll containing a portion or division of a large
work which extended to more than one roll. A work contained within the
compass of a single roll was a [Greek: monobiblos], or [Greek:
monobiblon]. The term [Greek: teuchos] seems also to have meant a single
roll, but it was also applied at a later time to indicate a work
contained in several rolls.
In writing the text of a work, the scribe might choose to make use of
separate sheets of papyrus, [Greek: kollêmata], _schedae_, and then join
them to one another consecutively so as to make up the roll; or he might
purchase from the stationers a _scapus_, or ready-made roll of twenty
sheets at most; and if this length were not sufficient, he might add
other sheets or _scapi_, and thus make a roll of indefinite length. But
proverbially a great book was a great evil, and, considering the
inconvenience of unrolling a long roll, not only for perusal, but, still
more so, for occasional reference, the practice of subdividing lengthy
works into divisions of convenient size, adapted to the capacity of
moderate-sized rolls, must have come into vogue at a very early period.
It was the practice to write on one side only of the papyrus; to write
on both front and back of a roll would obviously be a clumsy and
irritating method. Works intended for the market were never
_opisthograph_. Of course the blank backs of written rolls which had
become obsolete might be turned to account for personal or temporary
purposes, as we learn not only from references in classical authors but
also from actual examples. The most interesting extant case of an
opisthograph papyrus is the copy of Aristotle's _Constitution of Athens_
in the British Museum, which is written on the back of a farmer's
accounts, of the end of the 1st century--but only for private use. It
being the rule, then, to confine the writing to one side of the
material, that is, to the inner surface of the made-up roll, that
surface was more carefully prepared and smoothed than the other; and,
further, the joints of the several sheets were so well made that they
offered no obstacle to the action of the pen. Still further, care was
taken that this, the _recto_ surface of the material, should be that in
which the shreds of papyrus of which it was composed lay horizontally,
so that the pen might move freely along the fibres; the shreds of the
_verso_ side, on the other hand, being in vertical position. This point
is of some importance, as, in cases where two different handwritings are
found on the two sides of a papyrus, it may be usually assumed that the
one on the _recto_ surface is the earlier.
The text was written in columns, [Greek: selides], _paginae_, the width
of which seems not to have been prescribed, but which for calligraphic
effect were by preference made narrow, sufficient margins being left at
head and foot. The average width of the columns in the best extant
papyri ranges from two to three-and-a-half inches. The written lines
were parallel with the length of the roll, so that the columns stood, so
to say, with the height of the rolled-up roll, and were disclosed
consecutively as the roll was unwound. Ruling with lead to guide the
writing is mentioned by writers, but it does not appear that the
practice was generally followed. The number of lines in the several
columns of extant papyri is not constant, nor is the marginal boundary
of the beginnings of the lines, for the accuracy of which a ruled
vertical line would have proved useful, ordinarily kept even. No doubt
in practice the horizontal fibres of the material were found to afford a
sufficient guide for the lines of writing.
If the title of the work was to be given, the scribe appears to have
written it ordinarily at the end of the text. But something more was
needed. To be obliged to unroll a text to the end, in order to ascertain
the name of the author, would be the height of inconvenience. Its title
was therefore sometimes written at the head of the text. It appears also
that at an early period it was inscribed on the outside of the roll, so
as to be visible as the roll lay in a chest or on the shelf. But a more
general practice was to attach to the top edge of the roll a label or
ticket, [Greek: sillubos], or [Greek: sittubos], _titulus_, _index_,
which hung down if the roll lay on the shelf, or was conveniently read
if the roll stood along with others in the ordinary cylindrical
roll-box, [Greek: kistê], [Greek: kibotos], _cista_, _capsa_. One such
label made of papyrus has survived and is in the British Museum.
The scribe would not commence his text at the very beginning, nor would
he carry it quite down to the end, of the roll. He would leave blank a
sufficient length of material at either extremity, where the roll would
naturally be most exposed to wear and tear by handling in unrolling and
re-rolling; and, further, the extreme vertical edges might each be
strengthened by the addition of a strip of papyrus so as to form a
double thickness of material.
According to the particulars given by classical authors, the roll would
be finished off somewhat elaborately; but the details described by them
must be taken to apply to the more expensive productions of the book
trade, corresponding with the full-bound volumes of our days. In
practice, a large proportion of working copies and ordinary editions
must have been dealt with more simply. Firstly, the roll should be
rolled up round a central stick, of wood or bone, called the [Greek:
omphalos], _umbilicus_, to which the last sheet of the papyrus may or
may not have been attached. But as a matter of fact no rolling-sticks
have been found in company with extant papyri, and it has therefore been
suggested that they were not attached to the material but were rolled in
loose, and were therefore liable to drop out. In some instances, as in
the rolls found at Herculaneum, a central core of papyrus instead of a
stick was thought sufficient. The edges, _frontes_, of the roll, after
it had been rolled up, were shorn and were rubbed smooth with pumice,
and they were sometimes coloured. A valuable roll might be protected
with a vellum wrapper, [Greek: phainolês], _paenula_, stained with
colour; and, further, it might be secured with ornamental thongs. The
central stick might also be adorned with knobs or "horns," plain or
coloured. This seems to be the natural explanation of the [Greek:
kerata], or _cornua_, mentioned by the ancient writers. Finally, the
title-label described above was attached to the completed roll, now
ready for the book-market.
In the perusal of a work the reader held the roll upright and unrolled
it gradually with the right hand; with the left hand he rolled up in the
reverse direction what he had read. Thus, when he had finished, the roll
had become reversed, the beginning of the text being now in the centre
of the roll and the end of it being outside. The roll was "explicitus ad
umbilicum," or "ad sua cornua." It had therefore now to be unrolled
afresh and to be re-rolled into its normal shape--a troublesome process
which the lazy man shirked, and which the careful man accomplished by
making the revolutions with his two hands while he held the revolving
material steady under his chin.
Although the codex or manuscript in book-form began to make its way in
Greek and Roman literature as early as the 1st century of our era, the
roll maintained its position as the recognized type of literary document
down to the 3rd, and even into the 4th, century, when it was altogether
superseded. We shall proceed to describe the codex after giving some
account of the waxen, or, to speak more correctly, the waxed, tablet,
its precursor in the book-form.
The Waxen Tablet.
The ordinary waxen tablet in use among the Greeks and Romans was a small
oblong slab of wood, beech, fir, and especially box, the surface of
which on one or both sides, with the exception of the surrounding
margins which were left intact in order to form a frame, was sunk to a
slight depth and was therein coated with a thin layer of wax, usually
black. The tablet thus presented the appearance of a child's
school-slate of the present day. Such tablets were single, double,
triple, or of several pieces or leaves. In Greek they were called
[Greek: pinax], [Greek: pinakis], [Greek: déltos], [Greek: deltion].: in
Latin _cera_, _tabula_, _tabella_, &c. Two or more put together and held
together by rings or thongs acting as hinges formed a _caudex_ or
_codex_, literally a stock of wood, which a set of tablets might
resemble, and from which they might actually be made by cleaving the
wood. A codex of two leaves was called [Greek: dithuroi], [Greek:
diptucha], _diptycha_; of three, [Greek: triptucha], _triptycha_: and so
on. The triptych appears to have been most generally used. A general
term was also _libellus_.
Tablets served for the ordinary minor affairs of life: for memoranda,
literary and other notes and drafts, school exercises, accounts, &c. The
writing incised with the stilus could be easily obliterated by smoothing
the wax, and the _tabula rasa_ was thus rendered available for a fresh
inscription. But tablets were also employed for official purposes, when
documents had to be protected from unauthorized scrutiny or from injury.
Thus they were the receptacles for wills, conveyances, and other legal
transactions; and in such cases they were closed against inspection by
being bound round with threads which were covered by the witnesses'
seals.
Small tablets, _codicilli_, _pugillares_, often of more valuable
material, such as ivory, served for correspondence among other purposes;
very small specimens are mentioned as _vitelliani_, for the exchange of
love-letters.
A certain number of Greek waxen tablets have been recovered, chiefly
from Egypt, but none of them is very early. They are generally of the
3rd century, and are mostly inscribed with school exercises. The largest
and most perfect extant codex is one in the British Museum (Add. MS.
33,270), perhaps of the 3rd century, being made up of nine leaves,
measuring nearly 9 by 7 in., and inscribed with documents in shorthand.
Of Latin tablets we are fortunate in having a fairly large number of
examples. Exclusive of a few isolated specimens, they are the result of
two important finds. Twenty-four tablets containing the records of a
burial club, A.D. 131-167, were recovered between 1786 and 1855 from
some ancient mining works in Dacia. In 1875 as many as 127 tablets,
containing deeds connected with sales by auction and payment of taxes,
A.D. 15-62, were found in the ruins of Pompeii. These specimens have
afforded the means of ascertaining the mechanical arrangement of waxen
tablets when adopted for legal instruments among the Romans. Most of
them are triptychs, severally cloven from single blocks of wood. Subject
to some variations, the triptych was usually arranged as follows. Of the
six sides or pages of the codex, pages 1 and 6 (the outside pages) were
of plain wood; pages 2, 3, 5 were waxed; and page 4, which had a groove
cut across the middle was sometimes of plain wood, sometimes waxed. The
authentic deed was inscribed with the stilus on the waxed pages 2 and 3;
and the first two leaves were then bound round with three twisted
threads which passed down the groove so as to close the deed from
inspection. On page 4 the witnesses' names were then inscribed (in ink
if the page was plain; with the stilus if waxed), and their seals were
impressed in the groove, thus securing the threads. In addition to the
protection afforded to the seals from casual injury by their position in
the groove, the third leaf acted as a cover to them. On page 5 an
abstract or duplicate of the deed, as required by law, was inscribed.
The arrangement of the Dacian tablets differed in this respect, that
page 4 was waxed, and that the duplicate copy was begun on that page in
the space on the left of the groove, that on the right being reserved
for the names of the witnesses. In the case of one of the Pompeian
tablets the threads and seals still remain.
The survival of the use of tablets to a late time should be noted. St
Augustine refers to his tablets, and St Hilary of Arles also mentions
their employment for the purpose of correspondence; there is a record of
a letter written _in tabellâ_ as late as A.D. 1148. They were very
commonly used throughout the middle ages in all the west of Europe.
Specimens inscribed with money accounts of the 13th and 14th centuries
have survived in France, and similar documents of the 14th and 15th
centuries are to be found in several of the municipal archives of
Germany. Reference to their use in England occurs in literature, and
specimens of the 14th or 15th century are said to have been dug up in
Ireland. In Italy their employment is both recorded and proved by actual
examples of the 13th and 14th centuries. With the beginning of the 16th
century they seem to have practically come to an end, although a few
survivals of the custom of writing on wax have lingered to modern times.
The Codex.
As already stated, the _codex_, or MS. in book-form, owed its existence
to the substitution of vellum for papyrus as the common writing material
for Greek and Roman literature. The fact that vellum was a tough
material capable of being inscribed on both sides, that writing,
particularly if freshly written, could be easily washed off or erased
from it, and that the material could thus be made available for second
use, no doubt contributed largely to its ready adoption. In Rome in the
1st century B.C. it was used, like the waxen tablets for notes, drafts,
memoranda, &c.; and vellum tablets began to take the place of the
_cerae_. References are not wanting in the classical writers to its
employment for such temporary purposes. To what extent it was at first
pressed into the service of literature and used in the preparation of
books for the market must remain uncertain. But in the first three
centuries of our era it may be assumed that vellum codices were not
numerous. The papyrus roll still held its position as the _liber_ or
book of literature. Yet we learn from the poems of Martial that in his
day the works of some of the best classical authors were to be had on
vellum. From the way in which, in his _Apophoreta_, he has contrasted as
exchangeable gifts certain works written respectively on papyrus and on
vellum, it has been argued that vellum at that time was a cheap
material, inferior to papyrus, and only used for roughly written copies.
Up to a certain point this may be true, but the fact that the earliest
great vellum Greek codices of the Bible and of Latin classical authors,
dating back to the 4th century, are composed of very finely prepared
material would indicate a perfection of manufacture of long standing.
But, apart from the references of writers, we have the results of recent
excavations in Egypt to enable us to form a more correct judgment on the
early history of the vellum codex. There have been found a certain
number of inscribed leaves and fragments of vellum of early date which
without doubt originally formed part of codices or MSS. in book-form. It
is true that they are not numerous, but from the character of the
writing certain of them can be individually assigned to the 3rd, to the
2nd, and even to the 1st century. We may then take it for an established
fact that the codex form of MS. was gradually thrusting its way into use
in the first centuries of our era.
The convenience of the codex form for easy reference was also a special
recommendation in its favour. There can be little doubt that such
compilations as public registers must at once have been drawn up in the
new form. The jurists also were quick to adopt it, and the very title
"codex" has been attached to great legal compilations, such as those of
Theodosius and Justinian. Again, the book-form was favoured by the early
Christians. The Bible, the book which before all others became the great
work of reference in their hands, could only be consulted with
convenience and despatch in the new form. A single codex could hold the
contents of a work which formerly must have been distributed through
many volumes in roll-form. The term [Greek: sômation], which was one of
the names given to a codex, was expressive of its capacity. Turning
again to discoveries in Egypt, it appears that in the early centuries
the codex-form had become so usual among the Christians in that land
that even the native material, papyrus, the recognized material for the
roll, was now also made up by them into leaved books. The greater number
of papyri of the 3rd century containing Christian writings, fragments of
the Scriptures, the "Sayings of Our Lord," and the like, are in
book-form. On the other hand, the large majority of the non-Christian
papyri of the same period keep to the old roll-form. Thus the codex
becomes at once identified with the new religion, while the papyrus roll
to the last is the chosen vehicle of pagan literature.
In the 4th century the struggle between the roll and the codex for
supremacy in the literary field was finished, and the victory of the
codex was achieved. Henceforward the roll-form remained in use for
records and legal documents, and in certain instances for liturgies; and
for such purposes it survives to the present day. But so completely was
it superseded in literature by the codex that even when papyrus, the
material once identified with the roll-form, was used as it sometimes
was down to the 6th and 7th centuries and later, it was made up into the
leaved codex, not only in Egypt but also in western Europe.
Quires.
The shape which the codex usually assumed in the early centuries of the
middle ages was the broad quarto. The quires or gatherings of which the
book was formed generally consisted, in the earliest examples, of four
sheets folded to make eight leaves ([Greek: tetrás] or [Greek:
tetrádion], _quaternio_), although occasionally quinterns, or quires of
five sheets (ten leaves), were adopted. Sexterns, or quires of six
sheets (twelve leaves), came into use at a later period. In making up
the quires, care was generally taken to lay the sheets of vellum in such
a way that hair-side faced hair-side, and flesh-side faced flesh-side;
so that, when the book was opened, the two pages before the reader had
the same appearance, either the yellow tinge of the hair-side, or the
fresh whiteness of the flesh-side. In Greek MSS. the arrangement of the
sheets was afterwards reduced to a system; the first sheet was laid with
the flesh-side downwards, so that that side began the quire; yet in so
early an example as the Codex Alexandrinus the first page of a quire is
the hair-side. In Latin MSS. also the hair-side appears generally to
have formed the first page. When paper came into general use for codices
in the 15th century, it was not an uncommon practice to give the paper
quires additional strength by an admixture of vellum, a sheet of the
latter material forming the outer leaves, and sometimes the middle
leaves also, of the quire. The quire mark, or "signature," was usually
written at the foot of the last page, but in some early instances (e.g.
the Codex Alexandrinus) it appears at the head of the first page of each
quire. The numbering of the separate leaves in a quire, in the fashion
followed by early printers, came in in the 14th century. Catch-words to
connect the quires appear first in the 11th century and are not uncommon
in the 12th century.
Ruling.
No exact system was followed in ruling the guiding lines on the pages of
the codex. In the case of papyri it was enough to mark with the pencil
the vertical marginal lines to bound the text, if indeed even this was
considered needful (see above); the fibres of the papyrus were a
sufficient guide for the lines of writing. On vellum it became necessary
to rule lines to keep the writing even. These lines were at first drawn
with a blunt point, almost invariably on the hair (or outer) side of the
skin, and strongly enough to be in relief on the flesh (or inner) side.
Marginal lines were drawn to bound the text laterally; but the ruled
lines which guided the writing were not infrequently drawn right across
the sheet. Each sheet should be ruled separately; but two or more sheets
were often laid and ruled together, the lines being drawn with so much
force that the lower sheets also received the impressions. In rare
instances lines are found ruled on both sides of the leaf, as in some
parts of the Codex Alexandrinus. In this same MS. and in other early
codices the ruling was not always drawn for every line of writing, but
was occasionally spaced so that the writing ran between the ruled lines
as well as on them. The lines were evenly spaced by means of guiding
pricks made at measured intervals with a compass or rotary instrument
down the margins; in some early MSS. these pricks run down the middle of
the page. Ruling with the plummet or lead-point is found in the 11th
century and came into ordinary use in the 12th century; coloured inks,
e.g. red and violet, were used for ornamental ruling in the 15th
century.
Columns.
_Mechanical Arrangement of Writing in MSS._--It has already been stated
above that in the papyrus rolls the text was written in columns. They
stood with convenient intervals between them and with fair margins at
top and bottom. The length of the lines was to some extent governed by
the nature of the text. If it was a poetical work, the metrical line was
naturally the line of the column, unless, as sometimes was the case, the
verse was written continuously as prose. For prose works a narrow column
was preferred. It is noticeable that the columns in papyri have a
tendency to lean to the right instead of being perpendicular--an
indication that it was not the practice to rule marginal lines. In
codices the columnar arrangement was also largely followed, and the
number of columns in a page was commonly two. There are instances,
however, of a larger number. The Codex Sinaiticus of the Bible has four
columns to the page; and the Codex Vaticanus, three columns. And the
tricolumnar arrangement occurs every now and then in later MSS.
Text without separation of Words.
In both Greek and Latin literary MSS. of early date the writing runs on
continuously without separation of words. This practice however, may be
regarded as rather artificial, as in papyri written in non-literary
hands and in Latin deeds also, contemporary with these early literary
MSS., there is a tendency to separation. In a text thus continuously
written occasional ambiguities necessarily occurred, and then a dot or
apostrophe might be inserted between words to aid the reader. Following
the system of separation of words which appears in ancient inscriptions,
wherein the several words are marked off by single, double, or treble
dots or points, the words of the fragmentary poem on the battle of
Actium found at Herculaneum are separated by single points, probably to
facilitate reading aloud; monosyllables or short prepositions and
conjunctions, however, being left unseparated from the words immediately
following them--a system which is found in practice at a later time. But
such marks of separation are not to be confounded with similar marks of
punctuation whereby sentences are marked off and the sense of the text
is made clear. Throughout the career of the uncial codices down to the
6th century, continuity of text was maintained. In the 7th century there
is some evidence of separation of words, but without system. In early
Latin minuscule codices partial separation in an uncertain and
hesitating manner went on to the time of the Carolingian reform. In
early Irish and English MSS., however, separation is more consistently
practised. In the 9th and 10th centuries long words tend to separation,
but short words, prepositions and conjunctions, still cling to the
following word. It was not till the 11th century that the smaller words
at length stood apart, and systematic separation of words was
established. In Greek minuscule codices of the 10th century a certain
degree of separation takes place; yet a large proportion of words remain
linked together, and they are even incorrectly divided. Indeed a correct
system of distinct separation of words in Greek texts was never
thoroughly established even as late as the 15th century.
Paragraphs.
But while distinction of words was disregarded in early literary texts,
distinction of important pauses in the sense was recognized from the
first. The papyrus of the _Persae_ of Timotheus of Miletus, the oldest
MS. of a Greek classic in existence, of the end of the 4th century B.C.,
is written in independent paragraphs. This is a natural system, the
simplicity of which has caused it to be the system of modern times. But,
in addition, the Greek scribe also separated paragraphs by inserting a
short horizontal stroke, [Greek: parágraphos], between them at the
commencement of the lines of writing. It should be noted that this
stroke indicated the close of a passage, and therefore belonged to the
paragraph just concluded, and did not stand for an initial sign for the
new paragraph which followed. The dividing stroke was also used to mark
off the different speeches of a play. Besides the stroke, a wedge-shaped
sign or tick might be used. But to make every paragraph stand distinctly
by itself would have entailed a certain loss of space. If the concluding
line were short, there would remain a long space unfilled. Therefore,
when this occurred, it became customary to leave only a short space
blank to mark the termination of the paragraph, and then to proceed with
the new paragraph in the same line, the [Greek: parágraphos] at the same
time preventing possible ambiguity. The next step was to project the
first letter of the first full line of the new paragraph slightly into
the margin, as a still further distinction; and lastly to enlarge it.
The enlargement of the letter gave it so much prominence that the
dividing stroke could then be dispensed with, and in this form the new
paragraph was henceforward indicated in Greek MSS., it being immaterial
whether the enlarged letter was the initial or a medial letter of a
word. As early as the 5th century there is evidence that the [Greek:
parágraphos] was losing its meaning with the scribes, for in the Codex
Alexandrinus of the Bible it is not infrequently found in anomalous
positions, particularly above the initial letters of different books, as
if it were a mere ornament.
In Latin MSS. there was no such fixed system of marking off paragraphs
as that just described. A new paragraph began with a new line, or a
brief space in a line separated the conclusion of a paragraph from the
beginning of the next one. It was only by the ultimate introduction of
large letters, as the initial letters of the several sentences and
paragraphs, and by the establishment of a system of punctuation, in the
modern sense of the word, that a complete arrangement of the text was
possible into sentences and paragraphs in accordance with its sense.
Punctuation.
From the earliest times an elementary system of punctuation by points is
found in papyri. Thus the papyrus of the _Curse of Artemisia_, at
Vienna, which is at least as early as the 3rd century B.C., and in one
or two other ancient examples, a double point, resembling the modern
colon, separates sentences. But more commonly a single point, placed
high in the line of writing, is employed. This single punctuation was
reduced to a system by the Alexandrian grammarians, its invention being
ascribed to Aristophanes of Byzantium, 260 B.C. The point placed high on
a level with the top of the letters had the value of a full-stop; in the
middle of the line of writing, of a comma; and low down on the line, of
a semicolon. But these distinctions were not observed in the MSS. In the
early vellum codices both the high and the middle point are found. In
medieval MSS. other signs, coming nearer to our modern system, make
their appearance. In Latin MSS. by the 7th century the high point has
the value of the modern comma, the semicolon appears with its present
value, and a point emphasized with additional signs, such as a second
point or point and dash, marks a full-stop. In the Carolingian period
the comma appears, as well as the inverted semicolon holding a position
between our comma and semicolon.
Division of Words at the End of a Line.
Another detail which required the scribe's attention in writing his text
was the division of the last word in a line, when for want of room a
portion of it had to be carried over into the next line. It was
preferable, indeed, to avoid such division, and in the papyri as well as
in the codices letters might be reduced in size and huddled together at
the end of the line with this view. In the early codices too it was a
common practice to link letters together in monogrammatic form, such as
the common verbal terminations _ur_, _unt_, and thus save space. But
when the division of a word was necessary, it was subject to certain
rules. According to the Greek practice the division was ordinarily made
after a vowel, as [Greek: etu|chon] (even monosyllables might be so
treated, as [Greek: ou|k]). But in the case of double consonants the
division fell after the first of them, as [Greek: ip|pos]: and, when the
first of two or more consonants was a liquid or nasal the division
followed it, as [Greek: ophthal|mos], [Greek: man|thanô]. When a word
was compounded with a preposition, the division usually followed the
preposition, as [Greek: pros|eipon], but not infrequently the normal
practice of dividing after a vowel prevailed, as [Greek: pro|seipon]. In
Latin the true syllabic division was followed, but occasionally the
scribes adopted the Greek system and divided after a vowel.
Colometry.
A modification of the practice of writing the text continuously was
allowed in the case of certain works. Rhetorical texts, such as the
orations of Demosthenes and Cicero, and the text of the Bible, might be
broken up into short clauses or sense-lines, apparently with the view of
assisting reading aloud. Instances of MSS. so written are still extant.
This system, to which the name of "colometry" has been given, is the
arrangement by _cola_ and _commata_ referred to by St Jerome in his
preface to Isaiah. It will be found more fully explained under the
heading of STICHOMETRY; where also is described the mechanical
computation of the length of a text by measured lines, for the purpose
of calculating the pay of the scribe.
Titles and Colophons.
Quotations.
The title of a MS., both in roll-form and in codex-form, was frequently
written at the end of the text, but even at an early date it stood in
some instances at the beginning; and the latter practice in course of
time prevailed, although even in the 15th century the title was
sometimes reserved for the close of the MS. In this latter position it
might stand alone or be accompanied by other particulars concerning the
MS., such as the length of the work, the date of writing, the name of
the scribe, &c., all combined in a final paragraph called the colophon.
For distinction, title and colophon might be written in red, as might
also the first few lines of the text. This method of rubrication was a
very early practice, appearing even in ancient Egyptian papyri. Such
rubrics and titles and colophons were at first written in the same
character as the text; afterwards, when the admixture of different kinds
of writing was allowed, capitals and uncials were used at discretion.
Running titles or head-lines are found in some of the earliest Latin
MSS. in the same characters as the text, but of a small size. Quotations
were usually indicated by ticks or arrow-heads in the margin, serving
the purpose of the modern inverted commas. Sometimes the quoted words
were arranged as a sub-paragraph or indented passage. In commentaries of
later date, the quotations from the work commented upon were often
written in a different style from the text of the commentary itself.
_Accentuation, &c._--Accentuation was not systematically applied to
Greek MSS. before the 7th century, but even in the literary papyri it
appears occasionally. In the latter instances accents were applied
specially to assist the reader, and they seem to have been used more
frequently in texts which may have presented greater difficulties than
usual. For example, they are found fairly plentifully in the papyrus
of Bacchylides of the 1st century B.C. In the less well-written papyri
they are fewer in number; and papyri written in non-literary hands are
practically devoid of them. Accents have been frequently added to the
ancient texts of Homer, as in the Harris and Bankes papyri, but
apparently long after the date of the writing. They were not used in
the early uncial MSS. Breathings also appear occasionally in the
papyri. The rough and the smooth breathings are found in the form of
the two halves of the H (|- -|) in the Bacchylides papyrus; in other
papyri they are in rectangular form, never rounded like an apostrophe;
in fact rounded breathings do not come into general use until the 12th
century. Other signs resembling accents are used occasionally in Greek
MSS. For example, a short accent or horizontal stroke was employed to
indicate a single-letter word, and an apostrophe was sometimes used to
separate words in order to prevent ambiguity and was placed after
words ending in [kappa], [chi], [xi], [rho], and after proper names
not having a Greek termination.
Accents were seldom employed by Latin scribes. In early Irish and
English MSS., in particular, an acute accent is occasionally found
over a monosyllabic word or one consisting of a single letter. In the
9th and 10th centuries a curious occasional practice obtained among
the correctors of the texts of expressing the aspirate by the Greek
half-eta symbol |-, instead of writing the letter _h_ in the ordinary
way--perhaps only an affectation.
_Corrections._--For obliteration or removing pen strokes from the
surface of the material the sponge was used in ancient times. While
the writing was still fresh, the scribe could easily wash off the ink
by this means; and for a fragile material, such as papyrus, he could
well use no other. On vellum he might use sponge or knife. But after a
MS. had left his hands it would undergo revision at the hands of a
corrector, who had to deal with the text in a different manner. He
could no longer conveniently apply the sponge. On hard material he
might still use the knife to erase letters or words or sentences. But
he could also use his pen for such purposes. Thus we find that a very
early system of indicating erasure was the placing of dots or minute
strokes above the letters to be thus "expunged." The same marks were
also (and generally at later periods) placed under the letters; in
rare instances they stood inside them. It need scarcely be said that
letters were also struck out with strokes of the pen or altered into
others, and that letters and words were interlined. A long sentence,
however, which could not be admitted between the lines, was entered in
the margin, and its place in the text indicated by corresponding
reference marks, such as _hd._, _hs._ = _hic deest_, _hoc supra_ or
_hic scribas_, &c.
_Abbreviations and Contractions._--The practice of shortening words in
writing has played an important part in the history of the ancient and
the medieval manuscript. Two reasons have disposed men to follow this
practice: firstly, the desire to avoid the labour of writing over and
over again words or portions of words of common occurrence which can
be readily understood in a shortened form as when written in full;
and, secondly, the necessity of saving space at a time when it was an
object to make the most of the writing material to hand. To meet the
former requirement, a simple and limited method alone was needed; to
satisfy the second, a more elaborate system was necessary. The most
natural method of reducing the length of a word is to suppress as much
as possible of its termination, consistently with intelligibility,
that is, by simple _abbreviation_. But if space of any appreciable
value is to be saved in a page of writing, a system is necessary for
eliminating letters from the body of the word as well as curtailing
the termination, that is, a system of _contraction_ as well as
abbreviation; and, in addition, the employment of arbitrary signs,
analogous to shorthand, will serve still further to condense the text.
An elaborate system of contraction of this nature was naturally only
fully developed after very long practice. Both in Greek and in Latin
MSS. from the 9th to the 15th century such a system was in full force.
Different kinds of literature were, according to their nature, more or
less abbreviated and contracted. From early times such curtailment was
more freely employed in works written in technical language, such as
works on law or grammar or mathematics, wherein particular words are
more liable to repetition, than in MSS. of general literature. The
oldest system of abbreviation is that in which a single letter (nearly
always the initial letter) or at most two or three letters represent
the whole word. This system we know was in common use among both Greek
and Latin writers, and ancient inscriptions afford plentiful examples.
It is well adapted for the brief expression of the common words and
phrases in works of a technical nature (as for example such a phrase
as C D E R N E = _cujus de ea re notio est_); but for general
literature it is of little use, and practically has been restricted to
express proper names and numerals.
Abbreviation in Greek MSS.
When abbreviations were employed only with the view of speed in
writing, it is obvious that they would occur more frequently in the
ephemeral documents of daily life than in carefully written literary
works intended for the book-market. Hence they are not to be found in
Greek papyri of the latter class. On the other hand in literary papyri
written in non-literary script they naturally occur just as they would
in contemporary common documents. As early as the 3rd and 2nd
centuries B.C. the ordinary method of abbreviation was to omit the
termination or latter portion of the word and to mark the omission by
a short horizontal stroke or dash; or the letter which immediately
preceded the omission was written above the line as a key to the
reading, as [Greek: te^l] for [Greek: télos]. Such a system obviously
might be extended indefinitely at the discretion of the writer. But in
addition, at quite an early period, symbols and monogrammatic forms
for particular words must have been developed, for they are found in
common use in cursive papyri. A notable instance of their employment
in a full degree occurs in the papyrus of Aristotle's _Constitution of
Athens_, of the 1st century.
Like the well-written literary papyri, the early vellum uncial codices
of the Bible, being inscribed with calligraphic formality, avoided in
principle the use of abbreviations. But by the 4th to the 6th century,
the period when they were chiefly produced, the contraction or
abbreviation of certain words and terminations had, it seems, become
so fixed by usage that the contracted forms were adopted in the texts.
They are [Greek: ThS] = [Greek: theos], [Greek: IS] = [Greek: iêsous],
[Greek: ChS] = [Greek: christos], [Greek: PNA] = [Greek: pneuma],
[Greek: SÊR] = [Greek: sôtêr], [Greek: KS] = [Greek: kurios], [Greek:
STROS] = [Greek: stauros], [Greek: PÊR] = [Greek: pater], [Greek: MÊR]
= [Greek: mêtêr], [Greek: US] = [Greek: huios], [Greek: ANOS] =
[Greek: anthrôpos], [Greek: OUNOS] = [Greek: ouranos], [Greek: K] =
[Greek: kai], [Greek: T] = [Greek: tai], [Greek: M] = [Greek: mou],
[Greek: moi], &c. Final N, especially at the end of a line, was
dropped, and its place occupied by the horizontal stroke, as [Greek:
TO ].
But while this limited system was used in biblical, and also in
liturgical MSS., in profane literature a greater licence was
recognized. For example, in a fragment of a mathematical work at
Milan, of the 7th century, we find instances of abbreviation by
dropping terminations, just as in the earlier papyri, and, in
addition, contracted particles and prepositions are numerous.
Technical works, in fact, inherited the system instituted in the early
papyri written in non-literary or cursive hands; and this system,
undergoing continual development, had a larger scope when the cursive
writing was cast into a literary form and became the literary
minuscule script of the middle ages. From the 9th century onwards a
fully developed system of abbreviation and contraction was practised
in Greek MSS., comprising the early system of the papyri, the special
contractions of the early biblical MSS., and also a large number of
special symbols, derived in great measure from tachygraphical signs.
In the early Greek minuscule MSS. contractions are not very frequent
in the texts; but in the marginal glosses, where it was an object to
save space, they are found in great numbers as early as the 10th
century. The MS. of Nonnus, of A.D. 972, in the British Museum
(Wattenb. and Von Vels., _Exempla_, 7) is an instance of a text
contracted to a degree that almost amounts to tachygraphy. In the
12th, 13th and 14th centuries texts were fully contracted; and as the
writing became more cursive contraction-marks were more carelessly
applied, until, in the 15th century, they degenerated into mere
flourishes.
Abbreviations in Latin MSS.
As far back as material is available for comparison, it appears that
abbreviations and contractions in Latin MSS. followed the same lines
as those in Greek MSS. We have no very early papyri written in Latin
as we have in Greek to show us what the practice of Roman writers was
in the 3rd and 2nd and early 1st centuries B.C.; but there can be
little doubt that in that remote time there was followed in Latin
writing a system of abbreviation similar to that in Greek, that is, by
curtailment of terminations, and that in ephemeral documents written
in cursive characters such abbreviation was allowed more freely than
in carefully written literary works. The early system of representing
words by their initial letters has already been referred to. It was in
common use, as we know, in the inscriptions on coins and monuments,
and to some extent in the texts of Roman writers. But the ambiguity
which must have always accompanied such a system of single-letter
abbreviations, or _sigla_, naturally induced an improvement by
expressing a word by two or more of its letters. Hence was developed
the more regular syllabic system of the Romans, by which the leading
letters of the several syllables were written, as EG = _ergo_, HR =
_heres_, ST = _satis_. At a later time Christian writers secured
greater exactness by expressing the final letter of a contracted word,
as _ds_ = _deus_, _do_ = _deo_, _scs_ = _sanctus_. Further, certain
marks and signs, many derived from shorthand symbols, came into use to
indicate inflections and terminations; or the terminating letter or a
leading letter to indicate the termination might be written above the
line, as Q^o = _quo_, V^m = _verum_, N^o = _noster_, S^i = _sint_.
This practice became capable of greater development later on. Among
the special signs are c = _est_, [symbol] = _vel_, _n_ = _non_, p´ =
_pre_, [symbol] = _per_, [symbol] = _pro_, [symbol] = termination
_us_. The letter _q_ with distinctive strokes applied in different
positions represented the often recurring relative and other short
words, as _quod_, _quia_.
In Latin Biblical uncial MSS. the same restrictions on abbreviations
were exercised as in the Greek. The sacred names and titles DS =
_deus_, DMS, DNS = _dominus_, SCS = _sanctus_, SPS = _spiritus_, and
others appear in the oldest codices. The contracted terminations Q· =
_que_, B· = _bus_, and the omission of final _m_, or (more rarely)
final _n_, are common to all Latin MSS. of the earliest period. There
is a peculiarity about the contracted form of our Saviour's name that
it is always written by the Latin scribes in letters imitating the
Greek IHC, XPC, _ihc_, _xpc_, and _ihs_, _xps_.
The full development of the medieval system of abbreviation and
contraction was effected at the time when the Carolingian schools were
compelling the reform of the handwriting of western Europe. Then came
a freer practice of abbreviation by suppression of terminations and
the latter portions of words, the omission of which was indicated by
the ordinary signs, the horizontal or oblique stroke or the
apostrophe; then came also a freer practice of contraction by omitting
letters and syllables from the middle as well as the end of words, as
oio, _omnino_, prb, _presbyter_; and then from the practice of writing
above the line a leading letter of an omitted syllable, as int^a =
_intra_, t^r = _tur_, conventional signs, with special significations,
were also gradually developed. Such growths are well illustrated in
the change undergone by the semicolon, which was attached to the end
of a word to indicate the omission of the termination, as b; = _bus_,
q; = _que_, deb; = _debet_, and which in course of time became
converted into a z, a form which survives in our ordinary
abbreviation, viz. (i.e. vi; = _videlicet_). The different forms of
contraction were common to all the nations of western Europe. The
Spanish scribes, however, attached different values to certain of
them. For example, in Visigothic MSS., _qm_, which elsewhere
represented _quoniam_, may be read as _quum_; and [symbol], which
elsewhere = _pro_, is here = _per_. Nor must the use of arbitrary
symbols for special words be forgotten. These are generally
adaptations of the shorthand signs known as Tironian notes. Such are
[symbol] = _autem_, [symbol] = _est_, [symbol] = _ejus_, [symbol] =
_enim_, [symbol] = _et_, v and u = _ut_, which were employed
particularly in early MSS. of English and Irish origin.
By the 11th century the system of Latin contractions had been reduced
to exact rules; and from this time onwards it was universally
practised. It reached its culminating point in the 13th century, the
period of increasing demand for MSS., when it became more than ever
necessary to economize space. After this date the exact formation of
the signs of contractions was less strictly observed, and the system
deteriorated together with the decline of handwriting. In conclusion,
it may be noticed that in MSS. written in the vernacular tongues
contractions are more rarely used than in Latin texts. A system suited
to the inflexions and terminations of this language could not be
readily adapted to other languages so different in grammatical
structure.
_Palimpsests, &c._--Palimpsest MSS., that is, MSS. written upon
material from which older writing has been previously removed by
washing or scraping, are described in a separate article (PALIMPSEST).
The ornamentation of MSS. is fully dealt with under the headings
ILLUMINATED MSS., and MINIATURES.
_Writing Implements._--In conclusion, a few words may be added
respecting the writing implements employed in the production of MSS.
The reed, [Greek: kalamos], _calamus_, was adapted for tracing
characters either on papyrus or vellum. By the ancient Egyptians, and
also probably by the early Greek scribes in Egypt, it was used with a
soft brush-like point, rather as a paint-brush than as a pen. The
Greek and Roman scribes used the reed cut to a point and slit like the
quill-pen; and it survived as a writing implement into the middle
ages. For scratching letters on the waxen tablet the sharp pointed
bodkin, [Greek: stylos], [Greek: grapheion], _stilus_, _graphium_, was
necessary, made of iron, bronze, ivory, or other suitable material,
with a knobbed or flattened butt-end wherewith corrections could be
made by smoothening the wax surface (hence _vertere stilum_, to
correct). Although there is no very early record of the use of quills
as pens, it is obvious that, well adapted as they are for the purpose
and to be had everywhere, they must have been in request even in
ancient times as they afterwards were in the middle ages. Bronze pens,
fashioned exactly on the model of the quill-pen, that is in form of a
tube ending in a slit nib (sometimes even with a nib at each end), of
late Roman manufacture, are still in existence. A score of them are to
be found scattered among public and private museums. The ruler for
guiding ruled lines was the [Greek: kanôn], _canon_, _regula_; the
pencil was the [Greek: molubdos], _plumbum_, the plummet; the pricker
for marking the spacing out of the ruled lines was the [Greek:
diabatês], _circinus_, _punctorium_; the pen-knife, [Greek:
glyphanon], [Greek: smilê], _scalprum_; the erasing-knife, _rasorium_,
_novacula_.
_Inks._--Inks of various colours were employed from early times. The
ink of the early papyri is a deep glossy black; in the Byzantine
period it deteriorates. In the middle ages black ink is generally of
excellent quality; it tends to deteriorate from the 14th century. But
its quality varies in different countries at different periods. Red
ink, besides being used for titles and colophons, also served for
contrast, as, for example, in glosses. In the Carolingian period
entire MSS. were occasionally written in red ink. Other coloured
inks--green, violet and yellow--are also found, at an early date. Gold
and silver writing fluids were used in the texts of the ancient purple
vellum MSS., and writing in gold was reintroduced under Charlemagne
for codices of ordinary white vellum. It was introduced into English
MSS. in the 10th century.
AUTHORITIES.--H. Geraud, _Essai sur les livres dans l'antiquité_
(1840); E. Egger, _Histoire du livre depuis ses origines jusqu'à nos
jours_ (1880); T. Birt, _Das antike Buchwesen_ (1882) and _Die
Buchrolle in der Kunst_ (1907); W. Wattenbach, _Das Schriftwesen im
Mittelalter_ (1896); K. Dziatzko, _Untersuchungen über ausgewählte
Kapitel des antiken Buchwesens_ (1900); J. W. Clark, _The Care of
Books_ (1901); W. Schubart, _Das Buch bei den Griechen und Römern_
(1907); and generally the authorities quoted in the article
PALAEOGRAPHY. See also TEXTUAL CRITICISM. (E. M. T.)
MANUTIUS, the Latin name of an Italian family (Mannucci, Manuzio),
famous in the history of printing as organizers of the Aldine press.
1. ALDUS MANUTIUS (1450-1515). Teobaldo Mannucci, better known as Aldo
Manuzio, the founder of the Aldine press, was born in 1450 at Sermoneta
in the Papal States. He received a scholar's training, studying Latin at
Rome under Gasparino da Verona, and Greek at Ferrara under Guarino da
Verona. In 1482 he went to reside at Mirandola with his old friend and
fellow-student, the illustrious Giovanni Pico. There he stayed two
years, prosecuting his studies in Greek literature. Before Pico removed
to Florence, he procured for Aldo the post of tutor to his nephews
Alberto and Lionello Pio, princes of Carpi. Alberto Pio supplied Aldo
with funds for starting his printing press, and gave him lands at Carpi.
It was Aldo's ambition to secure the literature of Greece from further
accident by committing its chief masterpieces to type. Before his time
four Italian towns had won the honours of Greek publications: Milan,
with the grammar of Lascaris, Aesop, Theocritus, a Greek Psalter, and
Isocrates, between 1476 and 1493; Venice, with the _Erotemala_ of
Chrysoloras in 1484; Vicenza, with reprints of Lascaris's grammar and
the _Erolemata_, in 1488 and 1490; Florence, with Alopa's Homer, in
1488. Of these works, only three, the Milanese Theocritus and Isocrates
and the Florentine Homer, were classics. Aldo selected Venice as the
most appropriate station for his labours. He settled there in 1490, and
soon afterwards gave to the world editions of the _Hero and Leander_ of
Musaeus, the _Galeomyomachia_, and the Greek Psalter. These have no
date; but they are the earliest tracts issued from his press, and are
called by him "Precursors of the Greek Library."
At Venice Aldo gathered an army of Greek scholars and compositors around
him. His trade was carried on by Greeks, and Greek was the language of
his household. Instructions to type-setters and binders were given in
Greek. The prefaces to his editions were written in Greek. Greeks from
Crete collated MSS., read proofs, and gave models of calligraphy for
casts of Greek type. Not counting the craftsmen employed in merely
manual labour, Aldo entertained as many as thirty of these Greek
assistants in his family. His own industry and energy were unremitting.
In 1495 he issued the first volume of his Aristotle. Four more volumes
completed the work in 1497-1498. Nine comedies of Aristophanes appeared
in 1498. Thucydides, Sophocles and Herodotus followed in 1502;
Xenophon's _Hellenics_ and Euripides in 1503; Demosthenes in 1504. The
troubles of Italy, which pressed heavily on Venice at this epoch,
suspended Aldo's labours for a while. But in 1508 he resumed his series
with an edition of the minor Greek orators; and in 1509 appeared the
lesser works of Plutarch. Then came another stoppage. The league of
Cambray had driven Venice back to her lagoons, and all the forces of the
republic were concentrated on a struggle to the death with the allied
powers of Europe. In 1513 Aldo reappeared with Plato, which he dedicated
to Leo X. in a preface eloquently and earnestly comparing the miseries
of warfare and the woes of Italy with the sublime and tranquil objects
of the student's life. Pindar, Hesychius, and Athenaeus followed in
1514.
These complete the list of Aldo's prime services to Greek literature.
But it may be well in this place to observe that his successors
continued his work by giving Pausanias, Strabo, Aeschylus, Galen,
Hippocrates and Longinus to the world in first editions. Omission has
been made of Aldo's reprints, in order that the attention of the reader
might be concentrated on his labours in editing Greek classics from MSS.
Other presses were at work in Italy; and, as the classics issued from
Florence, Rome or Milan, Aldo took them up, bestowing in each case fresh
industry upon the collation of codices and the correction of texts. Nor
was the Aldine press idle in regard to Latin and Italian classics. The
_Asolani_ of Bembo, the collected writings of Poliziano, the
_Hypnerotomachia Poliphili_, Dante's _Divine Comedy_, Petrarch's poems,
a collection of early Latin poets of the Christian era, the letters of
the younger Pliny, the poems of Pontanus, Sannazzaro's _Arcadia_,
Quintilian, Valerius Maximus, and the _Adagia_ of Erasmus were printed,
either in first editions, or with a beauty of type and paper never
reached before, between the years 1495 and 1514. For these Italian and
Latin editions Aldo had the elegant type struck which bears his name. It
is said to have been copied from Petrarch's handwriting, and was cast
under the direction of Francesco da Bologna, who has been identified by
Panizzi with Francia the painter.
Aldo's enthusiasm for Greek literature was not confined to the
printing-room. Whatever the students of this century may think of his
scholarship, they must allow that only vast erudition and thorough
familiarity with the Greek language could have enabled him to accomplish
what he did. In his own days Aldo's learning won the hearty
acknowledgment of ripe scholars. To his fellow workers he was uniformly
generous, free from jealousy, and prodigal of praise. While aiming at
that excellence of typography which renders his editions the treasures
of the book-collector, he strove at the same time to make them cheap. We
may perhaps roughly estimate the current price of his pocket series of
Greek, Latin and Italian classics, begun in 1501, at 2s. per volume of
our present money. The five volumes of the Aristotle cost about £8. His
great undertaking was carried on under continual difficulties, arising
from strikes among his workmen, the piracies of rivals, and the
interruptions of war. When he died, bequeathing Greek literature as an
inalienable possession to the world, he was a poor man. In order to
promote Greek studies, Aldo founded an academy of Hellenists in 1500
under the title of the New Academy. Its rules were written in Greek. Its
members were obliged to speak Greek. Their names were Hellenized, and
their official titles were Greek. The biographies of all the famous men
who were enrolled in this academy must be sought in the pages of Didot's
_Alde Manuce_. It is enough here to mention that they included Erasmus
and the English Linacre.
In 1499 Aldo married Maria, daughter of Andrea Torresano of Asola.
Andrea had already bought the press established by Nicholas Jenson at
Venice. Therefore Aldo's marriage combined two important publishing
firms. Henceforth the names Aldus and Asolanus were associated on the
title pages of the Aldine publications; and after Aldo's death in 1515,
Andrea and his two sons carried on the business during the minority of
Aldo's children. The device of the dolphin and the anchor, and the motto
_festina lente_, which indicated quickness combined with firmness in the
execution of a great scheme, were never wholly abandoned by the Aldines
until the expiration of their firm in the third generation.
2. PAULUS MANUTIUS (1512-1574). By his marriage with Maria Torresano,
Aldo had three sons, the youngest of whom, Paolo, was born in 1512. He
had the misfortune to lose his father at the age of two. After this
event his grandfather and two uncles, the three Asolani, carried on the
Aldine press, while Paolo prosecuted his early studies at Venice.
Excessive application hurt his health, which remained weak during the
rest of his life. At the age of twenty-one he had acquired a solid
reputation for scholarship and learning. In 1533 Paolo undertook the
conduct of his father's business, which had latterly been much neglected
by his uncles. In the interregnum between Aldo's death and Paolo's
succession (1514-1533) the Asolani continued to issue books, the best of
which were Latin classics. But, though their publications count a large
number of first editions, and some are works of considerable magnitude,
they were not brought out with the scholarly perfection at which Aldo
aimed. The Asolani attempted to perform the whole duties of editing, and
to reserve all its honours for themselves, dispensing with the service
of competent collaborators. The result was that some of their editions,
especially their Aeschylus of 1518, are singularly bad. Paolo determined
to restore the glories of the house, and in 1540 he separated from his
uncles. The field of Greek literature having been well-nigh exhausted,
he devoted himself principally to the Latin classics. He was a
passionate Ciceronian, and perhaps his chief contributions to
scholarship are the corrected editions of Cicero's letters and orations,
his own epistles in a Ciceronian style, and his Latin version of
Demosthenes. Throughout his life he combined the occupations of a
student and a printer, winning an even higher celebrity in the former
field than his father had done. Four treatises from his pen on Roman
antiquities deserve to be commemorated for their erudition no less than
for the elegance of their Latinity. Several Italian cities contended for
the possession of so rare a man; and he received tempting offers from
the Spanish court. Yet his life was a long struggle with pecuniary
difficulties. To prepare correct editions of the classics, and to print
them in a splendid style, has always been a costly undertaking. And,
though Paolo's publications were highly esteemed, their sale was slow.
In 1556 he received for a time external support from the Venetian
Academy, founded by Federigo Badoaro. But Badoaro failed disgracefully
in 1559, and the academy was extinct in 1562. Meanwhile Paolo had
established his brother, Antonio, a man of good parts but indifferent
conduct, in a printing office and book shop at Bologna. Antonio died in
1559, having been a source of trouble and expense to Paolo during the
last four years of his life. Other pecuniary embarrassments arose from a
contract for supplying fish to Venice, into which Paolo had somewhat
strangely entered with the government. In 1561 pope Pius IV. invited him
to Rome, offering him a yearly stipend of 500 ducats, and undertaking to
establish and maintain his press there. The profits on publications were
to be divided between Paolo Manuzio and the Apostolic camera. Paolo
accepted the invitation, and spent the larger portion of his life, under
three papacies, with varying fortunes, in the city of Rome. Ill-health,
the commercial interests he had left behind at Venice, and the coldness
shown him by pope Pius V., induced him at various times and for several
reasons to leave Rome. As was natural, his editions after his removal to
Rome were mostly Latin works of theology and Biblical or patristic
literature.
Paolo married Caterina Odoni in 1546. She brought him three sons and one
daughter. His eldest son, the younger Aldus, succeeded him in the
management of the Venetian printing house when his father settled at
Rome in 1561. Paolo had never been a strong man, and his health was
overtaxed with studies and commercial worries. Yet he lived into his
sixty-second year, and died at Rome in 1574.
3. ALDUS MANUTIUS, JUNIOR (1547-1597). The younger Aldo born in the year
after his father Paolo's marriage, proved what is called an infant
prodigy. When he was nine years old his name was placed upon the title
page of the famous _Eleganze della lingua Toscana e Latina_. The
_Eleganze_ was probably a book made for his instruction and in his
company by his father. In 1561, at the age of fourteen, he produced a
work upon Latin spelling, called _Orthographiae ratio_. During a visit
to his father at Rome in the next year he was able to improve this
treatise by the study of inscriptions, and in 1575 he completed his
labours in the same field by the publication of an _Epitome
orthographiae_. Whether Aldo was the sole composer of the work on
spelling, in its first edition, may be doubted; but he appropriated the
subject and made it his own. Probably his greatest service to
scholarship is this analysis of the principles of orthography in Latin.
Aldo remained at Venice, studying literature and superintending the
Aldine press. In 1572 he married Francesca Lucrezia daughter of
Bartolommeo Giunta, and great-grandchild of the first Giunta, who
founded the famous printing house in Venice. This was an alliance which
augured well of the Giunta for the future of the Aldines, especially as
Aldo had recently found time to publish a new revised edition of
Velleius Paterculus. Two years later the death of his father at Rome
placed Aldo at the head of the firm. In concert with the Giunta, he now
edited an extensive collection of Italian letters, and in 1576 he
published his commentary upon the _Ars poetica_ of Horace. About the
same time, that is to say, about the year 1576, he was appointed
professor of literature to the Cancelleria at Venice. The Aldine press
continued through this period to issue books, but none of signal merit;
and in 1585 Aldo determined to quit his native city for Bologna, where
he occupied the chair of eloquence for a few months. In 1587 he left
Bologna for Pisa, and there, in his quality of professor, he made the
curious mistake of printing Alberti's comedy _Philodoxius_ as a work of
the classic Lepidus. Sixtus V. drew him in 1588 from Tuscany to Rome;
and at Rome he hoped to make a permanent settlement as lecturer. But his
public lessons were ill attended, and he soon fell back upon his old
vocation of publisher under the patronage of a new pope, Clement VIII.
In 1597 he died, leaving children, but none who cared or had capacity to
carry on the Aldine press. Aldo himself, though a precocious student, a
scholar of no mean ability, and a publisher of some distinction, was the
least remarkable of the three men who gave books to the public under the
old Aldine ensign. This does not of necessity mean that we should adopt
Scaliger's critique of the younger Aldo without reservation. Scaliger
called him "a poverty-stricken talent, slow in operation; his work is
very commonplace; he aped his father." What is true in this remark lies
partly in the fact that scholarship in Aldo's days had flown beyond the
Alps, where a new growth of erudition, on a basis different from that of
the Italian Renaissance, had begun.
See Renouard's _Annales de l'imprimerie des Aldes_ (Paris, 1834);
Didot's _Alde Manuce_ (Paris, 1873); Omont's _Catalogue_ of Aldine
publications (Paris, 1892). (J. A. S.)
MANWARING, ROBERT, English 18th-century furniture designer and cabinet
maker. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. He was a
contemporary and imitator of Chippendale, and not the least considerable
of his rivals. He prided himself upon work which he described as
"genteel," and his speciality was chairs. He manifests the same
surprising variations of quality that are noticed in the work of nearly
all the English cabinet-makers of the second half of the 18th century,
and while his best had an undeniable elegance his worst was exceedingly
bad--squat, ill-proportioned and confused. Some of his chairbacks are so
nearly identical with Chippendale's that it is difficult to suppose that
the one did not copy from the other, and most of the designs of the
greater man enjoyed priority of date. During a portion of his career
Manwaring was a devotee of the Chinese taste; he likewise practised in
the Gothic manner. He appears to have introduced the small bracket
between the front rail of the seat and the top of the chair leg, or at
all events to have made such constant use of it that it has come to be
regarded as characteristic of his work. Manwaring described certain of
his own work as "elegant and superb," and as possessing "grandeur and
magnificence." He did not confine himself to furniture but produced many
designs for rustic gates and railings, often very extravagant. One of
his most absurd rural chairs has rock-work with a waterfall in the back.
Among Manwaring's writings were _The Cabinet and Chair Makers' Real
Friend and Companion, or the Whole System of Chairmaking Made Plain
and Easy_ (1765); _The Carpenters' Compleat Guide to Gothic Railing_
(1765); and _The Chair-makers' Guide_ (1766).
MANYCH, a river and depression in S. Russia, stretching between the
lower river Don and the Caspian Sea, through the Don Cossacks territory
and between the government of Astrakhan on the N. and that of Stavropol
on the S. During the greater part of the year it is either dry or
occupied in part by a string of saline lakes (_limans_ or _ilmens_); but
in spring when the streams swell which empty into it, the water flows in
two opposite directions from the highest point (near Shara-Khulusun).
The western stream flows westwards, with an inclination northwards,
until it reaches the Don, though when the latter river is running high,
its water penetrates some 60 miles up the Manych. The eastern stream
dies away in the sandy steppe about 25 miles from the Caspian, though it
is said sometimes to reach the Kuma through the Huiduk, a tributary of
the Kuma. Total length of the depression, 330 m. For its significance as
a former (geologic) connexion between the Sea of Azov and the Caspian
Sea, see CASPIAN SEA. By some authorities the Manych depression is taken
as part of the boundary between Europe and Asia.
MANYEMA (_Una-Ma-Nyema_, eaters of flesh), a powerful and warlike
Bantu-Negroid people in the south-east of the Congo basin. Physically
they are of a light colour, with well formed noses and not over-full
lips, the women being described as singularly pretty and graceful.
Manyemaland was for the greater part of the 19th century an Eldorado of
the Arab slave raiders.
MANZANARES, a town of Spain, in the province of Ciudad Real, on the
river Azuer, a large sub-tributary of the Záncara, and on the railways
from Madrid to Ciudad Real and Lináres. Pop. (1900), 11,229. Manzanares
is one of the chief towns of La Mancha, and thus in the centre of the
district described by Cervantes in _Don Quixote_. Its citadel was
founded as a Christian fortress after the defeat of the Moors at Las
Navas de Tolosa (1212). Bull-fights were formerly held in the main
_plaza_, where galleries to accommodate spectators were built between
the buttresses of an ancient parish church. Manzanares has manufactures
of soap, bricks and pottery, and an active trade in wheat, wine,
spirits, aniseed and saffron.
MANZANILLO, a town and port on the Pacific coast of Mexico, in the state
of Colima, 52 m. by rail W.S.W. of the city of that name. It is situated
on a large harbour partly formed and sheltered by a long island
extending southwards parallel with the coast. Southward also, and in the
vicinity of the town, is the large stagnant, shallow lagoon of Cayutlán
which renders the town unhealthy. Manzanillo is a commercial town of
comparatively recent creation. Its new harbour works, the construction
of which was begun in 1899, and its railway connexion with central
Mexico, promise to make it one of the chief Pacific ports of the
republic. These works include a breakwater 1300 ft. long, with a depth
of 12 to 70 ft. and a maximum breadth of 320 ft. at the base and 25 ft.
on top, and all the necessary berthing and mechanical facilities for the
handling of cargoes. A narrow-gauge railway was built between Colima and
Manzanillo toward the end of the nineteenth century, but the traffic was
only sufficient for a tri-weekly service up to 1908, when the gauge was
widened and the railway became part of the Mexican Central branch,
completed in that year from Irapuato through Guadalajara to Colima. The
exports include hides and skins, palm leaf hats, Indian corn, coffee,
palm oil, fruit, lumber and minerals.
MANZANILLO, an important commercial city of Cuba, in Santiago province,
on the gulf of Guacanabo, about 17 m. S. of the mouth of the Rio Cauto,
on the shore of Manzanillo Bay. Pop. (1907), 15,819. It is shut off to
the east and south by the Sierra Maestra. Besides the Cauto, the rivers
Yara and Buey are near the city. Manzanillo is the only coast town of
importance between Trinidad and Santiago. It exports large quantities of
sugar, hides, tobacco, and bees-wax; also some cedar and mahogany. The
history of the settlement begins in 1784, but the port was already
important at that time for a trade in woods and fruits; French and
English corsairs resorted thither for shipbuilding woods. The settlement
was sacked by the French in 1792, and in the following year a fort was
built for its protection. In 1833 it received an _ayuntamiento_
(council) and in 1837, for its "loyalty" in not following the lead of
Santiago in proclaiming the Spanish Constitution, received from the
crown the title of _Fiel_. In 1827 the port was opened to commerce,
national and foreign.
MANZOLLI, PIER ANGELO, Italian author, was born about the end of the
fifteenth century at La Stellata, near Ferrara. He wrote a poem entitled
_Zodiacus vitae_, published at Basel in 1543, and dedicated to Hercules
II. of Ferrara. The poem is full of didactic writing on the subject of
human happiness in connexion with scientific knowledge, and combines
metaphysical speculation with satirical attacks on ecclesiastical
hypocrisy, and especially on the Pope and on Luther. It was translated
into several languages, but fell under the ban of the Inquisition on the
ground of its rationalizing tendencies.
MANZONI, ALESSANDRO FRANCESCO TOMMASO ANTONIO (1785-1873), Italian poet
and novelist, was born at Milan on the 7th of March 1785. Don Pietro,
his father, then about fifty, represented an old family settled near
Lecco, but originally feudal lords of Barzio, in the Valsassina, where
the memory of their violence is still perpetuated in a local proverb,
comparing it to that of the mountain torrent. The poet's maternal
grandfather, Cesare Beccaria, was a well-known author, and his mother
Giulia a woman of some literary ability. Manzoni's intellect was slow in
maturing, and at the various colleges where his school days were passed
he ranked among the dunces. At fifteen, however, he developed a passion
for poetry, and wrote two sonnets of considerable merit. On the death of
his father in 1805, he joined his mother at Auteuil, and spent two years
there, mixing in the literary set of the so-called "ideologues,"
philosophers of the 18th century school, among whom he made many
friends, notably Claude Fauriel. There too he imbibed the negative creed
of Voltairianism, and only after his marriage, and under the influence
of his wife, did he exchange it for that fervent Catholicism which
coloured his later life. In 1806-1807, while at Auteuil, he first
appeared before the public as a poet, with two pieces, one entitled
_Urania_, in the classical style, of which he became later the most
conspicuous adversary, the other an elegy in blank verse, on the death
of Count Carlo Imbonati, from whom, through his mother, he inherited
considerable property, including the villa of Brusuglio, thenceforward
his principal residence.
Manzoni's marriage in 1808 to Henriette Blondel, daughter of a Genevese
banker, proved a most happy one, and he led for many years a retired
domestic life, divided between literature and the picturesque husbandry
of Lombardy. His intellectual energy at this period was devoted to the
composition of the _Inni sacri_, a series of sacred lyrics, and a
treatise on Catholic morality, forming a task undertaken under religious
guidance, in reparation for his early lapse from faith. In 1818 he had
to sell his paternal inheritance, as his affairs had gone to ruin in the
hands of a dishonest agent. His characteristic generosity was shown on
this occasion in his dealings with his peasants, who were heavily
indebted to him. He not only cancelled on the spot the record of all
sums owing to him, but bade them keep for themselves the whole of the
coming maize harvest.
In 1819 Manzoni published his first tragedy, _Il Conte di Carmagnola_,
which, boldly violating all classical conventionalisms, excited a lively
controversy. It was severely criticized in the _Quarterly Review_, in an
article to which Goethe replied in its defence, "one genius," as Count
de Gubernatis remarks, "having divined the other." The death of Napoleon
in 1821 inspired Manzoni's powerful stanzas _Il Cinque maggio_, the most
popular lyric in the Italian language. The political events of that
year, and the imprisonment of many of his friends, weighed much on
Manzoni's mind, and the historical studies in which he sought
distraction during his subsequent retirement at Brusuglio suggested his
great work. Round the episode of the _Innominato_, historically
identified with Bernardino Visconti, the novel _I Promessi sposi_ began
to grow into shape, and was completed in September 1822. The work when
published, after revision by friends in 1825-1827, at the rate of a
volume a year, at once raised its author to the first rank of literary
fame. In 1822, Manzoni published his second tragedy _Adelchi_, turning
on the overthrow by Charlemagne of the Lombard domination in Italy, and
containing many veiled allusions to the existing Austrian rule. With
these works Manzoni's literary career was practically closed. But he
laboriously revised _I Promessi sposi_ in the Tuscan idiom, and in 1840
republished it in that form, with a sort of sequel, _La Storia della
Colonna infame_, of very inferior interest. He also wrote a small
treatise on the Italian language.
The end of the poet's long life was saddened by domestic sorrows. The
loss of his wife in 1833 was followed by that of several of his
children, and of his mother. In 1837 he married his second wife, Teresa
Borri, widow of Count Stampa, whom he also survived, while of nine
children born to him in his two marriages all but two preceded him to
the grave. The death of his eldest son, Pier Luigi, on the 28th of April
1873, was the final blow which hastened his end; he fell ill
immediately, and died of cerebral meningitis, on the 22nd of May. His
country mourned him with almost royal pomp, and his remains, after lying
in state for some days, were followed to the cemetery of Milan by a vast
cortège, including the royal princes and all the great officers of
state. But his noblest monument was Verdi's _Requiem_, specially written
to honour his memory.
Biographical sketches of Manzoni have been published by Cesare Cantù
(1885), Angelo de Gubernatis (1879), Arturo Graf (1898). Some of his
letters have been published by Giovanni Sforza (1882).
MAORI (pronounced "Mowri"; a Polynesian word meaning "native,"
"indigenous"; the word occurs in distinction from _pakeha_, "stranger,"
in other parts of Polynesia in the forms _Maoi_ and _Maoli_), the name
of the race inhabiting New Zealand when first visited by Tasman in 1642.
That they were not indigenous, but had displaced an earlier Melanesian
or Papuan race, the true aborigines, is certain. The Maoris are
Polynesians, and, in common with the majority of their kinsfolk
throughout the Pacific, they have traditions which point to Savaii,
originally Savaiki, the largest island of the Samoan group, as their
cradleland. They say they came to New Zealand from "Hawaiki," and they
appear to distinguish between a large and small, or a nearer and
farther, "Hawaiki." "The seed of our coming is from Hawaiki; the seed of
our nourishing, the seed of mankind." Their great chief, Te Kupe, first
landed, they say, on Aotearoa, as they called the north island, and,
pleased with his discovery, returned to Hawaiki to tell his
fellow-countrymen. Thereafter he returned with seven war canoes, each
holding a hundred warriors, priests, stone idols and sacred weapons, as
well as native plants and animals. Hawaiki, the name of Te Kupe's
traditional home, is identical with several other Polynesian
place-names, e.g. Hawaii, Apai in the Tonga Islands, Evava in the
Marquesas, all of which are held to be derived from Savii or Savaiki. Dr
Thomson, in his _Story of New Zealand_, quotes a Maori tradition,
published by Sir George Grey, that certain islands, among which it names
Rarotonga, Parima and Manono, are islands near Hawaiki. The Rarotongas
call themselves Maori, and state that their ancestors came from Hawaiki,
and Parima and Manono are the native names of two islands in the Samoan
group. The almost identical languages of the Rarotongas and the Maoris
strengthen the theory that the two peoples are descended from
Polynesians migrating, possibly at widely different dates, from Samoa.
The distance from Rarotonga to New Zealand is about 2000 m., and, with
the aid of the trade wind, large canoes could traverse the distance
within a month. Moreover the fauna and flora of New Zealand in many ways
resemble those of Samoa. Thus it would seem certain that the Maoris,
starting from "further Hawaiki," or Samoa, first touched at Rarotonga,
"nearer Hawaiki," whence, after forming a settlement, they journeyed on
to New Zealand. Maori tradition is explicit as to the cause of the
exodus from Samoa, gives the names of the canoes in which the journey
was made and the time of year at which the coast of New Zealand was
sighted. On the question of the date a comparison of genealogies of
Maori chiefs shows that, up to the beginning of the 20th century, about
eighteen generations or probably not much more than five centuries had
passed since the first Maori arrivals. There is some evidence that the
"tradition of the six canoes" does not represent the first contact of
the Polynesian race with New Zealand. If earlier immigrants from Samoa
or other eastern Pacific islands arrived they must have become absorbed
into the native Papuan population--arguing from the absence of any
distinct tradition earlier than that "of the six canoes." Some have
sought to find in the Morioris of Chatham Island the remnants of this
Papuan-Polynesian population, expelled by Te Kupe and his followers. The
extraordinary ruined fortifications found, and the knowledge of the
higher art of war displayed by the Maoris, suggest (what is no doubt the
fact) that there was a hard fight for them when they first arrived, but
the greatest resistance must have been from the purer Papuan
inhabitants, and not from the half-castes who were probably easily
overwhelmed. The shell heaps found on the coasts and elsewhere dispose
of the theory that New Zealand was uninhabited or practically so six
centuries back.
Any description of the Maoris, who in recent years have come more and
more under the influence of white civilization, must necessarily refer
rather to what they have been than what they are. Physically the Maoris
are true Polynesians, tall, well-built, with straight or slightly curved
noses, high foreheads and oval faces. Their colour is usually a darker
brown than that of their kinsfolk of the eastern Pacific, but
light-complexioned Maoris, almost European in features, are met with.
Their hair is black and straight or wavy, scarcely ever curly. They have
long been celebrated for their tattooing, the designs being most
elaborate.
Among the most industrious of Polynesian races, they have always been
famed for wood-carving; and in building, weaving and dyeing they had
made great advances before the whites arrived. They are also good
farmers and bold seamen. In the Maori wars they showed much strategic
skill, and their knowledge of fortification was very remarkable.
Politically the Maoris have always been democratic. No approach to a
monarchy ever existed. Each tribe under its chief was autonomous. Tribal
lands were held in common and each man was entitled to a share in the
products. They had slaves, but so few as not to alter the social
conditions. Every Maori was a soldier, and war was the chief business
and joy of his life. Tribal wars were incessant. The weapons were wooden
spears, clubs and stone tomahawks. Cannibalism, which earned them in
earlier years a terrible name, was generally restricted to the
bloodthirsty banquets which always followed a victory. The Maoris ate
their enemies' hearts to gain their courage, but to whatever degree
animistic beliefs may have once contributed to their cannibalism, it is
certain that long before Captain Cook's visit religious sanction for the
custom had long given place to mere gluttonous enjoyment.
The Maoris had no regular marriage ceremony. Polygamy was universal, and
even to-day they are not strictly monogamous. The power of the husband
over the wife was absolute, but women took their meals with the men,
were allowed a voice in the tribe's affairs, and sometimes accompanied
the men into battle. Some tribes were endogamic, and there matriarchy
was the rule, descent being traced through the female line. Ferocious as
they were in war, the Maoris are generally hospitable and affectionate
in their home-life, and a pleasant characteristic, noticed by Captain
Cook, is their respect and care of the old. The Maoris buried their
dead, the cemeteries being ornamented with carved posts. Their religion
was a nature-worship intimately connected with the veneration of
ancestors. There was a belief in the soul, which was supposed to dwell
in the left eye. They had no doubt as to a future state, but no definite
idea of a supreme being. They had no places of worship, nor, though they
had sacred wooden figures, is there any reason to consider that they
were idolaters in the strict sense of the word. The custom of taboo was
very fully developed. Nowadays they are all nominally Christians. While
they had no written language, a considerable oral literature of songs,
legends and traditions existed. Their priesthood was a highly trained
profession, and they had schools which taught a knowledge of the stars
and constellations, for many of which they had names. All Maoris are
natural orators and poets, and a chief was expected to add these
accomplishments to his prowess as a warrior or his skill as a seaman.
The Maoris of to-day are law-abiding, peaceable and indolent. They have
been called the Britons of the south, and their courage in defending
their country and their intelligence amply justify the compliment. By
the New Zealanders they are cordially liked. At the census of 1906 they
numbered 47,731, as against 45,470 in 1874; and there were 6516
half-castes. See also POLYNESIA and SAMOA.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Sir G. Grey, _Polynesian Mythology and Maori Legends_
(Wellington, 1885); A. de Quatrefages, _Les Polynésiens et leurs
migrations_ (Paris, 1866); Abraham Fornander, _An Account of the
Polynesian Race_ (1877-1885); Henri Mager, _Le Monde polynésien_
(Paris, 1902); Pierre Adolphe Lesson, _Les Polynésiens, leur origine,
&c._ (Paris, 1880-1884); W. Pember Reeves, _New Zealand_; A. R.
Wallace, _Australasia_ (Stanford's Compendium, 1894); G. W. Rusden,
_History of New Zealand_ (1895); Alfred Saunders, _History of New
Zealand_ (1896); James Cowan, _The Maoris of New Zealand_ (1909).
MAP (or MAPES), WALTER (d. c. 1208/9), medieval ecclesiastic, author and
wit, to whose authority the main body of prose Arthurian literature has,
at one time or another, been assigned, flourished in the latter part of
the 12th and early years of the 13th centuries. Concerning the date of
his birth and his parentage nothing definite is known, but as he
ascribes his position at court to the merits of his parents they were
probably people of some importance. He studied at Paris under Girard la
Pucelle, who began to teach in or about 1160, but as he states in his
book _De nugis curialium_ that he was at the court of Henry II. before
1162, his residence at Paris must have been practically comprised in the
decade 1150-1160.
Map's career was an active and varied one; he was clerk of the royal
household and justice itinerant; in 1179 he was present at the Lateran
council at Rome, on his way thither being entertained by the count of
Champagne; at this time he apparently held a plurality of ecclesiastical
benefices, being a prebend of St Paul's, canon and precentor of Lincoln
and parson of Westbury, Gloucestershire. There seems to be no record of
his ordination, but as he was a candidate for the see of Hereford in
1199 it is most probable that he was in priest's orders. The last
reference to him, as living, is in 1208, when an order for payment to
him is on record, but Giraldus Cambrensis, in the second edition of his
_Hibernica_, redacted in 1210, utters a prayer for his soul, "cujus
animae propitietur Deus," a proof that he was no longer alive.
The special interest of Map lies in the perplexing question of his
relation to the Arthurian legend and literature. He is invariably cited
as the author of the _Lancelot_ proper (consisting of two parts), the
_Queste_ and the _Mort Artus_, all three of which are now generally
found in one manuscript under the title of _Lancelot_. The _Mort Artus_,
however, we know to be the prose working over of an earlier and
independent poem. Sundry manuscripts of the yet more extensive
compilation which begins with the _Grand Saint Graal_ also refer to Map
as having composed the cycle in conjunction with Robert de Borron, to
whom, as a rule, the _Grand Saint Graal_ and _Merlin_ are exclusively
assigned. The curious _Merlin_ text, Bibl. Nat. 337 (fonds Français),
refers throughout to Map as authority; and the enormous _Lancelot_
codex, B. N. 112, a combination of the _Lancelot_ and the _Tristan_,
also couples his name with that of Robert de Borron. In fact it may
safely be said that, with the exception of the prose _Tristan_, always
attributed either to Luces de Gast, or Hélie de Borron, the authority of
Map has been invoked for the entire vast mass of Arthurian prose
romantic literature. Now it is practically impossible that one man, and
that one an occupier of court and public offices, constantly employed in
royal and public business, very frequently travelling abroad (e.g. we
know he was at Limoges in 1173; at Rome in 1179; in Anjou in 1183; and
at Angers in 1199), could have found the necessary leisure. On this
point we have the testimony of his one undoubted work, _De nugis
curialium_, which he tells us he composed "by snatches" during his
residence at court. _De nugis_ is a comparatively small book; if it were
difficult to find leisure for that, much more would it have been
difficult to find the time requisite for the composition of one only of
the many long-winded romances which have been fathered on Map. Giraldus
Cambrensis, with whom he was on most friendly terms, and who frequently
refers to and quotes him, records a speech in which Map contrasted
Giraldus' labours with his own, apparently to the disadvantage of the
latter, "vos scripta dedistis, et nos verba"--a phrase which has been
interpreted as meaning that Map himself had produced no literary work.
But inasmuch as the _De nugis_ is undoubtedly, and certain satirical
poems directed against the loose life of the clergy of the day most
probably, his work, the speech must not be taken too literally. It seems
difficult also to believe that Map's name should be so constantly
connected with our Arthurian tradition without any ground whatever;
though it must be admitted that he himself never makes any such
claim--the references in the romances are all couched in the third
person, and bear no sign of being other than the record by the copyist
of a traditional attribution.
A different and very interesting piece of evidence is afforded by the
_Ipomedon_ of Hue de Rotelande; in relating how his hero appeared at a
tournament three days running, in three different suits of armour, red,
black and white, the author remarks,
_Sul ne sai pas de mentir l'art_
_Walter Map reset ben sa part._
This apparently indicated that Map, also, had made himself responsible
for a similar story. Now this incident of the "Three Days' Tournament"
is found alike in the prose _Lancelot_ and in the German _Lanzelet_,
this latter translated from a French poem which, in 1194, was in the
possession of Hugo de Morville. The _Ipomedon_ was written somewhere in
the decade 1180-1190, and there is no evidence of the prose romance
having then been in existence. We have no manuscript of any prose
Arthurian romance earlier than the 13th century, to which period Gaston
Paris assigned them; they are certainly posterior to the verse romances.
Chrétien de Troyes, in his _Cligés_ (the date of which falls somewhere
in the decade 1160-1170), knew and utilized the story of the "Three
Days' Tournament," and moreover makes Lancelot take part in it. Map was,
as we have seen, frequently in France; Chrétien had for patroness Marie,
countess of Champagne, step-daughter to Henry II., Map's patron; Map's
position was distinctly superior to that of Chrétien. Taking all the
evidence into consideration it seems more probable that Map had, at a
comparatively early date, before he became so important an official,
composed a poem on the subject of Lancelot, which was the direct source
of the German version, and which Chrétien also knew and followed.
The form in which certain of the references to him are couched favours
the above view; the compiler of _Guiron le Cortois_ says in his
prologue that "_maistre Gautier Map qui fu clers au roi Henry--devisa
cil l'estoire de monseigneur Lancelot du Lac, que d'autre chose ne
parla il mie gramment en son livre_"; and in another place he refers
to Map, "_qui fit lou propre livre de monsoingnour Lancelot dou Lac_."
Now only during the early part of his career could Map fairly be
referred to as simple "_clers au roi Henry_," and both extracts
emphasize the fact that his work dealt, almost exclusively, with
Lancelot. Neither of these passages would fit the prose romance, as we
know it, but both might well suit the lost French source of the
_Lanzelet_; where we are in a position to compare the German versions
of French romances with their originals we find, as a rule, that the
translators have followed their source faithfully.
One of the references to Map's works in the _Merlin_ manuscript above
referred to (B.N. 337) has an interesting touch not found elsewhere.
After saying how Map translated the romance from the Latin at the
bidding of King Henry, the usual statement, the scribe adds "_qui
riche loier l'en dona_." It is of course possible that Map's rise at
court may have been due to his having hit the literary taste of the
monarch, who, we know, was interested in the Arthurian tradition, but
it must be admitted that direct evidence on the subject is practically
nil, and that in the present condition of our knowledge we can only
advance possible hypotheses.
See art. "Map" in _Dict. Nat. Biog. De nugis curialium_ and the
_Latin Poems attributed to Map_ have been edited for the Camden
Society by T. Wright (1841). For discussion of his authorship of the
_Lancelot_ cf. _The Three Days' Tournament_, Grimm Library XV. See
also under LANCELOT. The passages relating to Map cited above have
been frequently quoted by scholars, e.g. Hucher, _Le Grand Saint
Graal_; Paulin Paris, _Romans de la Table Ronde_; Alfred Nutt,
_Studies in the Legend of the Holy Grail_. (J. L. W.)
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 5 - "Malta" to "Map, Walter"" ***
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