Co-education is the education of the two sexes together, not only in the same institution, but also in the same classes. The idea is coincident with the belief that the mental capacities of boys and girls are equal, and that their roles should to a large extent be interchangeable. Research Co-education
A co-respondent is the person charged with adultery jointly with the defendant spouse on a divorce petition, or a joint defendant to an appeal. Research Co-respondent
The term coach is now generally applied to a chartered or long distance, usually single-decker bus. However, traditionally coach was a general name for all covered carriages drawn by horses and intended for the rapid conveyance of passengers.
The earliest carriages appear to have been all open, if we may judge from the figures of Assyrian and Babylonian chariots found on the monuments discovered amidst the ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, At Rome both covered and uncovered carriages were in use. After the fall of the Roman Empire they went out of use again, and during the feudal ages the custom was to ride on horseback, the use of carriages being considered effeminate. They do not appear to have become common until the 10th century, and even then were regarded exclusively as vehicles for women and invalids. Later on they became, especially in Germany, part of the appendages of royalty.
Coaches seem to have been introduced into England about the middle of the 16th century, but were for long confined to the aristocracy and the wealthy classes. Hackney-coaches were first used in London in 1625. They were then only twenty in number, and were kept at the hotels, where they had to be applied for when wanted. In 1634 coaches waiting to be hired at a particular stand were introduced, and had increased to 200 in 1652, to 800 in 1710, and to 1000 in 1771.
Stagecoaches were introduced into England about the same time as hackney-coaches. The first stage-coach in London appears to have ran early in the 17th century, and before the end of the century they were started on three of the principal roads in England. Their speed was at first very moderate, about 3 or 4 miles an hour. They could only run in the summer, and even then their progress was often greatly hindered by floods and by the wretched state of the roads generally. In 1700 it took a week to travel from York to London; in 1754 a body of Manchester merchants started a conveyance, the Flying Coach, of an improved kind, which did the journey to London in the unusually short period of four days and a half, and thirty years later a Mr. Palmer of Bath, after a considerable amount of opposition, succeeded in inducing the government to put in practice certain suggestions which he made, by which he showed that great saving both of time and money in the conveyance of passengers and letters would be effected. The result was the establishment of the system of mail-coaches, which continued to be the means of travelling in England until their place was taken by the railways. The first mail-coach started between London and Bristol on the 8th of August, 1784. The manufacture of elegant carriages was a proof of much wealth and mechanical skill in a place, many different workmen being employed in their construction, and both the materials and the workmanship requiring to be of the best. British-built carriages, especially those made in London, held the first place for a combination of strength and elegance. Research Coach
Coalition is a term used in diplomacy and politics to denote a union between different parties not of the same opinions, but who agree to act together for a particular object. Amongst states it is understood to mean theoretically something less general in its ends, and less deeply founded than an alliance. Research Coalition
The Cobden Club was an institution formed to spread and develop Cobden's principles. It held its first meeting in 1866 with Gladstone in the chair. Research Cobden Club
Cochineal is a dye-stuff consisting of the dried bodies of the females of a species of insect, the Coccus Cacti a native of the warmer parts of America, particularly Mexico, and found living on a species of cactus called the cochineal-fig. The insects are brushed softly off, and killed by being placed in ovens or dried in the sun, having then the appearance of small berries or seeds. A pound of cochineal contains about 70,000 of them. The finest cochineal is prepared in Mexico, where it was first discovered, and Guatemala; but Peru, Brazil, Algiers, the East and West Indies, and the Canary Islands have also produced cochineal more or less success. Cochineal produces crimson and scarlet colours, and is used in making carmine and lake. Research Cochineal
The Cock-Lane Ghost was a hoax conducted by William Parsons, his wife, daughter and a female ventriloquist during 1760 and 1761 at number 33 Cock- lane, London. In the house, unaccountable noises were heard and a number of persons declared to have seen a ghost. To spite a previous lodger, Kemt, the owner of the house claimed the ghost was a lady poisoned by Kemt. The truth was discovered and the parents were condemned to the pillory and two years imprisonment in 1762. Research Cock-Lane Ghost
A cockle-stove was a former stove in which the fire-chamber was surrounded by air-currents, which, after being heated sufficiently, were admitted into the apartments to be warmed. Research Cockle-Stove
Cockling is the term given to ripples occurring in a piece of paper. The effect is usually caused by exposure of the paper to moisture such as water - also known as water damage. Cockling can be reduced or removed by slightly moistening the paper and then pressing it between blotting paper and weights. Research Cockling
The coconut cup was a drinking vessel first seen in Britain around the 13th century, and used by the rich who preferred them to the more 'common' mazer-bowl. Coconut cups were made from a coconut shell, mounted on a Gothicsilvermount and mounted with silver at the rim. Similar vessels were also made from ostrich eggs (then called griffin's eggs). Research Coconut Cup
Coconut oil is a solid vegetable fat, largely used in candle-making and in the manufacture of soaps and pomatum. This fat is got by pressure from the albumen of the coconut kernel, and is as white as lard, and somewhat firmer. Research Coconut Oil
In law, coercion is moral or physical pressure employed to force a person to do some act. In civil law, where an act is required to be done freely, such as in marriage etc., it will be invalidated by the element of coercion. Research Coercion
The Coercion Acts were Acts passed by the British parliament for the purpose of enforcing law and order in Ireland. Since the Union in 1800 the British Parliament was obliged to pass several Coercion Acts, especially towards the middle of the 19th century, when the Fenian Society aroused English feeling by various outrages.
In 1880 and 1881, when the agrarian movement in Ireland developed into something resembling a system of organised terrorism, culminating in the Phoenix Park murders, Gladstone's government, so as to put a stop to the state of lawlessness prevailing in the country, passed the Coercion Act of 1881, and the Crimes Act of 1882. By the first, the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland was empowered to arrest any person on meresuspicion, for treason and intimidation. A Coercion Bill, introduced by Balfour in 1887, was put in force in 1918, when the need again arose for the repression of crime in Ireland. Research Coercion Acts
In civil engineering, a cofferdam (coffer-dam)is a water-tight enclosure sometimes of piles packed with clay, from which the water is pumped to expose the bottom of a river, etc. and so permit the laying of foundations, building of piers, etc. Research Cofferdam
Cohens v Virginia was an important American legal case, heard before the US Supreme Court, and decided in 1821. In 1820, P J and M J Cohen were presented before the Quarter Sessions Court at Norfolk for selling lottery tickets in defiance of the statute of the State prohibiting such sales. The Cohens appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States against the fine imposed by the Virginiacourt, pleading the legality of their sale under the 'Act to amend the charter of the city of Washington', passed by Congress in 1812, which permitted the drawing of lotteries. The attorney for Virginia denied the jurisdiction of the court, because a State was defendant and because in cases in which States were parties its jurisdiction was original and not appellate. But the court decided that the EleventhAmendment did not apply, and that in constitutional cases it had always appellate jurisdiction. Research Cohens V Virginia
Coitus a Cheval is the practice of having sexual intercourse while riding a horse, and less often am camel or elephant. The rocking rhythm of the moving animal provides the participants with enhanced arousal and sensation. The term is also used to describe the pony girl fantasy. Research Coitus A Cheval
Coitus interruptus is the withdrawing of the penis from the vagina during sexual intercourse prior to ejaculation. Coitus interruptus has been used as a form of contraception since the earliest times and has a success rate reckoned to be between 70 and 90%. Research Coitus Interruptus
In geography, a col is a narrow, high pass through a mountain chain formed by the meeting of river or glacier valleys from opposite sides of the range. Research Col
A colander is a vessel with a bottom perforated with little holes for straining liquors. Colanders are frequently used in kitchens for straining boiled vegetables. Research Colander
Cold Cream is a cooling ointment prepared in various ways. A good variety may be made by heating four parts of olive-oil with one of white wax. This ointment cools the skin, rendering it soft and pliable, and was formerly successfully applied for the cure of chapped hands. Research Cold Cream
The cold water ordeal was an ancient method for testing guilt. The accused was tied with a rope under the arms and thrown into a river. If he sunk to the bottom he was drawn back and proclaimed innocent. If, however, the accused floated he was proclaimed guilty, the idea being that the water rejected him because of his guilt. Research Cold Water Ordeal
A collective noun (or collective name) is a name which denotes or represents a number of individual items. For example, a number of sheep together is known as a 'flock'. The word 'flock' is the collective noun for a number of sheep. Some items have multiple collective nouns, for example a collection of goats can be known as a 'herd', a 'tribe' or a 'trip'.
Ambush is the collective noun for a group of tigers.
Army is the collective noun for a group of frogs, ants,
Array is the collective noun for a group of hedgehogs.
Badelynge is the collective noun for a group of ducks on the ground.
Bale is the collective noun for a group of turtles.
Barren is the collective noun for a group of mules.
Basket is the collective noun for a group of plums.
Battery is the collective noun for a group of barracuda.
Bazaar is the collective noun for a group of guillemots.
Bed is the collective noun for a group of clams.
Bench is the collective noun for a group of bishops, magistrates.
Bevy is the collective noun for a group of quail, roes, swans, pheasants, ladies.
Brace is the collective noun for a group of bucks.
Brood is the collective noun for a group of chickens.
Building is the collective noun for a group of rooks.
Bunch is the collective noun for a group of grapes, flowers.
Bundle is the collective noun for a group of asparagus.
Business is the collective noun for a group of ferrets.
Caravan is the collective noun for a group of camels.
Cast is the collective noun for a group of hawks, falcons.
Cete is the collective noun for a group of badgers.
Charm is the collective noun for a group of goldfinches.
Chatter is the collective noun for a group of budgerigars.
Chattering is the collective noun for a group of choughs.
Chine is the collective noun for a group of polecats.
Clamour is the collective noun for a group of rooks.
Clous is the collective noun for a group of gnats.
Clowder is the collective noun for a group of cats.
Clump is the collective noun for a group of trees.
Cluster is the collective noun for a group of grapes, spiders.
Clutch is the collective noun for a group of eggs.
Clutter is the collective noun for a group of spiders.
Colony is the collective noun for a group of gulls, frogs, penguins, ants, beavers.
Company is the collective noun for a group of widgeon, parrots.
Congregation is the collective noun for a group of plovers.
Convocation is the collective noun for a group of eagles.
Covert is the collective noun for a group of coots.
Covey is the collective noun for a group of partridges, grouse.
Crash is the collective noun for a group of rhinoceros.
Collectivism is a social system in which capital, natural resources, productive plant and all the means of wealth are held by the community. The word was first used by the anarchist, Bakunin to differentiate his policy from Marxism. Research Collectivism
A college, in a general sense, is a body or society of persons invested with certain powers and rights, performing certain duties, or engaged in some common employment or pursuit. In Great Britain and America some societies of physicians are called colleges. So, also, there are colleges of surgeons, a college of heralds, etc.
The most familiar application of the term college, however, is to a society of persons engaged in the pursuits of literature, including the professors, lecturers, or other officers, and the students. As applied to an educational institution the name is somewhat loosely used. The higher class of colleges are those in which the students engage in study for the purpose of taking a degree in arts, medicine, or other subjects, and are connected with, or have more or less the character of universities. The early history of these institutions is somewhat obscure; the probability is that they were originally founded in the various universities of the middle ages, with similar objects and from the same charitable motives. Hostels or boarding-houses were provided (principally by the religious orders, for the benefit of those of their own fraternity), in which the scholars lived under a certain superintendence, and the endowment of these hostels by charitable persons for the support of poor scholars completed the foundation of a college. Out of this has developed the modern English college as seen at Oxford and Cambridge, where each college, though a member or component part of the university, is a separate establishment whose fellows, tutors, and students live together under a particular head, called master, principal, warden, etc, of the college. In Scotland, America, and Germany the college is practically one with the university, the latter body performing all the functions alike, of teaching, examining, degree-conferring, etc. Research College
Cologne earth is a kind of ochre, of a deep-brown colour, forming a durable pigment in water-colour painting. It is an earthy variety of lignite or partially fossilized wood. Research Cologne Earth
Cologne yellow is a pigment consisting of two parts yellow chromate of lead, one of sulphate of lead, and seven of sulphate of lime or gypsum. It is prepared by precipitating a mixture of nitrate of lead and nitrate of lime with sulphate of soda and chromate of potash. Research Cologne Yellow
A colony is a settlement formed in one country by the inhabitants of another. Colonies may either be formed in dependence on the mother country or in independence. In the latter case the name of colony is retained only in a historical sense. Properly, perhaps, the term should be limited to a settlement which carries on a direct cultivation of the soil, as in the former British colonies of Canada and Australia in contrast to the former in Hindustan or Malta which were the mere superposition on the natives of a ruling race which took little or no part in the general industry of the country.
The motives which lead to the formation of colonies, and the manner of their formation, are various. Sometimes the ambition of extending territory and the desire of increasing wealth have been the chief impulses in colonization; but colonies became a necessity for the redundant population of European states in the 19th century.
Among ancient nations the principal promoters of colonization were the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Romans; the greatest colonizers in modern times have been the English and the Spaniards, next to whom may be reckoned the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the French. The Germans during the 19th century contributed largely to the tide of emigration, particularly in the direction of America;
but did little directly as colonizers.
The Phoenician colonies were partly caused by political dissensions and redundant population, but were chiefly commercial, serving as entrepots and ports of repair for Phoenician commerce along the coasts of Africa and Spain, in the latter of which they numbered, according to Strabo, more than two hundred. But it was in Africa that the most famous arose, Carthage, the greatest colonizing state of the ancient world.
The Greek colonies, which were widely spread in Asia Minor and the islands of the Mediterranean, the coasts of Macedonia and Thrace, in South Italy and Sicily, were commonly independent, and frequently soon surpassed the mother states in power and importance.
The colonies of Rome were chiefly military, and while the empire lasted were all in strict subordination to the central government. As the Roman power declined the remains of them amalgamated with the peoples among whom they were placed, thus forming in countries where they were sufficiently strong what are known as the Latin races, with languages (Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian) which are merely modifications of the old Roman tongue.
Before America and the way by sea to the East Indies were discovered, the only colonies belonging to European states were those of the Genoese, Pisans, and Venetians in the Levant and the Black Sea, flourishing establishments on which the mercantile greatness of Italy in those days was largely built.
The Portuguese were the first great colonizers among modern states. In 1419 they discovered Madeira, the Azores, and the Cape Verde Islands; the Congo and the Cape of Good Hope followed; and before the century was out Vasco de Gama had landed at Calicut on the Malabar coast of India. The first Portuguese colonies were garrisons along the coasts where they traded: Mozambique and Sofala on the east coast of Africa, Ormuz and Muscat in the Persian Gulf, Goa and Damao on the west coast of India. Colonies were established in Sri Lanka in 1505, in the Moluccas in 1510. Brazil was discovered in 1499, and this magnificent possession fell to Portugal, and was colonized about 1530. Bad government at home and the subjection of the country to Spain caused the loss of most of the Portuguese colonies.
Soon after the Portuguese the Spaniards commenced the work of colonization. In 1492 Columbus, on board of a Spanish vessel, discovered the island of San Salvador. Haiti, or San Domingo, Porto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba were soon colonized, and before the middle of the 16th century Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, New Granada (Colombia), Peru, and Chili were subdued, and Spain took the first rank amongst the colonizing powers of Europe. But the Spaniards never really attempted to develop the industrial resources of the subject countries. The pursuit of mining for gold or silver occupied the colonists almost exclusively, and the enslaved natives were driven to work themselves to death in the mines. Cities were founded, at first along the coasts, for the sake of commerce and as military posts; afterwards also in the interior, in particular in the vicinity of the mines, as Vera Cruz, Cumana, Porto Bello, Carthagena, Valencia, Caracas; Acapuico and Panama, on the coast of the Pacific; Lima, Goncepcion, and Buenos Aires. The colonial intercourse with Spain was confined to the single port of Seville, afterwards to that of Cadiz, from which two squadrons started annually - the galleons, about twelve in number, for Porto Bello; and the fleet, of fifteen large vessels, for Vera Cruz. When the power of Spain declined, the colonies declared their independence, and thus were formed the republics of Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chili, etc. Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippine Islands passed to the United States in 1898; the Caroline Islands, etc, were sold to Germany in 1899; and by 1900 hardly any colony remained to Spain.
The hate of Philip II, who prohibited Dutch vessels from the port of Lisbon, forced the Dutch to import directly from India or lose the large carrying trade they had acquired. Several companies were soon formed, and in 1602 they were united into one, the Dutch East India Company, with a monopoly of the East Indiatrade and sovereign powers over all conquests and colonies in India. The Dutch now rapidly deprived the Portuguese of nearly all their East Indian territories, settled a colony at the Cape of Good Hope in 1650, established a West India Company, made extensive conquests in Brazil between 1623 and 1660, which were soon lost, and more permanent ones on some of-the smaller West India Islands, as San Eustatia, Curacoa, Saba, etc. The growing power of the British and the loss of Holland's independence during the Napoleonic wars were heavy blows to the colonial power of the nation. But the Dutch still possesed numerous colonies in the East Indies at the start of the 20th century, among which the more important were Java, Sumatra, Dutch Borneo, the Molucca Islands, and part of New Guinea, also several small islands in the West Indies, and Surinam.
No colonizing power of Europe had a career of such uniform prosperity as Great Britain. The English attempts at colonization began nearly at the same time with the Dutch. After many fruitless attempts to find a north-east or north-west passage to the East Indies, English vessels found their way round the Cape of Good Hope to the East Indies in 1591. The East India Company was established in 1600. English commerce with India, however, was not at first important, and they possessed only single factories on the continent up until the beginning of the 18th century. The ruin of the Mogul Empire in India after the death of Aurengzebe in 1707 afforded the opportunity for the growth of British power, as the British and French were compelled to interfere in the contentions of the native princes and governors. The French appeared at first to maintain the superiority; but the British in turn got the upper hand, and the victory of Clive at Plassey in 1756 laid the foundation of an exclusive British sovereignty in India. By the middle of the next century the British territory embraced, with the exception of a few dependent states, nearly the whole of India, and this vast territory was still under the government of the East India Company - a mercantile company, controlled indeed by parliament, but exercising many of the most important functions of an independent sovereignty. On the suppression of the Indian mutiny in 1857-1858 the government of India was transferred to the crown by act of parliament in 1858.
The discoveries of the Cabots, following soon after the voyages of Columbus, gave the English crown a claim to North America, which, though allowed to lie dormant for nearly a century, was never relinquished, and which, in the reign of Elizabeth I, led to colonization on a large scale. Walter Raleigh's settlement on Roanoke Island (North Carolina) in 1585 failed to become permanent, but in 1607 the colonists sent out by the London Company to Chesapeake Bay founded Jamestown, on the James River, in Virginia. The next great settlement was that of the Pilgrim Fathers, who landed on the 21st of December 1620, in Massachusetts Bay. The colonization of New Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island, soon followed. In the State of New York and the Hudson River Territory the British found the Dutch already in possession; but in 1664 they seized the colony of New Amsterdam by force, changing its name to New York in honour of James, Duke of York. Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, and colonized with Quakers in 1682; Maryland in 1631 by a party from Virginia; Carolina in 1670 and Georgia in 1732 by colonies from England.
Colonies were early established in the West India Islands, including Barbados, half of St. Christopher's in 1625, and soon after many smaller islands. Newfoundland was taken possession of in 1583, colonized in 1621 and 1633. Canada was surrendered to Britain at the Peace of Paris in 1763. In 1764 began the disputes between Britain and its North American colonies, which terminated with the acknowledgment of the independence of the United States, Canada remaining a British dependency.
Australia was discovered in the beginning of the 17th century. The first Australasian settlements of Britain were penal colonies. New South Wales, discovered in 1770, was established as a penal colony in 1788; Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), discovered by Tasman in 1642, followed in 1803; West Australia, also first used as a penal settlement, became a free colony in 1829; Victoria was colonized in 1835, and made an independent colony in 1851; South Australia was settled in 1836. In 1851 the discovery of gold in Victoria gave a great impetus to the Australian Colonies. Queensland was made a separate colony from N.ew South Wales in 1859. New Zealand, discovered by Tasman in 1642, began to be used for whale-fishery about 1790, was settled in 1839, and made a colony in 1840. In 1874 the Fiji Islands, and in 1884 part of New Guinea, were annexed as crown colonies. In South AfricaCape Colony, first settled by the Dutch in 1652, finally became a British colony in 1815. Natal followed in 1843. Later annexations were Bechuanaland in 1885, Zululand in 1887, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1888-89, and the Orange River Colony and Transvaal in 1900. In Western Africa were the colonies of the Gold Coast, Gambia, and SierraLeone - ancient possessions of the British crown; with Lagos and Nigeria acquired in 1885 and after. Other possessions were British East Africa (Kenya), with Uganda and Somaliland. Gibraltar was acquired in 1704, Malta in 1800.
According to their government relations with the crown the colonies were arranged under three heads: (1.) Crown colonies, in which the crown had the entire control of legislation, while the administration was carried on by public officers under the control of the home government. (2.) Colonies possessing representative institutions but not responsible government, in which the crown had no more than a veto on legislation, but the home government retained the control of public officers. (3.) Colonies possessing representative institutions and responsible government, in which the crown had only a veto on legislation, and the home government had no control over any officer except the governor. All colonies were, however, disabled from such acts of independent sovereignty as the initiative in war, alliances, and diplomacy generally.
France was somewhat late in establishing colonies. Between 1627 and 1636 the West Indian islands of St Christopher's, Guadeloupe, and Martinique were colonized by private persons. Champlain was the pioneer of the French in the exploration of the North American continent, and founded Quebec in 1608. Colbert purchased several West India islands, as Martinique, Guadeloupe, St Lucia, etc, and sent out colonists in 1664 to Cayenne. In 1670 the East India Company formed by Colbert founded Pondicherry, which became the capital of extensive possessions in the East Indies. At the beginning of the 18th century France had extensive settlements in Canada, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, the most flourishing of the West India islands, and she seemed to have a prosperous career before her in India. Ere long, however, the rival interests of British and French colonists brought about a conflict which terminated in the loss of Canada and other North American possessions, as well as many of the West India Islands, while the dominion of India passed into the hands of the British.
During the 19th century Germany made an effort to take rank as a colonial power, and acquired in Africa the territories of Damaraland, Great Nama Land, etc, on the south-west coast, north of Cape Colony; the Cameroons District; a large portion of territory formerly claimed by the Sultan of Zanzibar, extending inland to Victoria Nyanza, etc; also in the Pacific a portion of New Guinea, then subsequently called Kaiser Wilhelm's Land, the BismarckArchipelago, Marshall Islands, etc. Research Colony
A colophon is the notice found in manuscripts and printed books which gives the name of the printer and the date and place of issue etc. Research Colophon
In sculpture, a colossus is a statue of enormous magnitude. The Asiatics, the Egyptians, and in particular the Greeks, have excelled in these works. The most celebrated Egyptian colossus was the vocal statue of Memnon in the plain of Thebes, supposed to be identical with the most northerly of two existing colossi (60 feet high) on the west bank of the Nile.
Among the colossi of Greece the most celebrated was the Colossus of Rhodes, a brass statue of Apollo 70 cubits high, esteemed one of the wonders of the world, erected at the port of Rhodes by Chares, 290 or 288 BC. It was knocked down by an earthquake about 224 BC. The statue was in ruins for nearly nine centuries, when the Saracens, taking Rhodes, sold the metal, weighing 720,900 lbs, to a Jew, about 653. There is no authority for the popularly-received statement that it bestrode the harbour mouth, and that the Rhodian vessels could pass under its legs.
Among the colossi of Phidias were the Olympian Zeus and the Athena of the Parthenon; the former 60 feet high and the latter 40 feet.
The most famous of the Roman colossi were the Jupiter of the Capitol, the Apollo of the Palatine Library, and the statue of Nero, 110 or 120 feet high, and from which the contiguous amphitheatre derived its name of Colosseum.
Among modern works of this nature is the colossus of San Carlo Borromeo, at Arona, in the Milanese territory, 60 feet in height; the 'Bavaria' at Munich, 65 feet high; the statue of Hermann or Arminius near Detmold, erected in 1875, 90 feet in height to the point of the upraised sword, which itself is 24 feet in length; the height of the figure to the point of the helmet being 55 feet;
the statue of Germania, erected in 1883 near Rudesheim, a figure 34 feet high, placed on an elaborately-sculptured pedestal over 81 feet high; and Bartholdi's statue of Liberty presented to the United States by the French nation, and which measures 104 feet or to the extremity of the torch in the hand of the figure 138 feet. It is erected at New York harbour on a pedestal 114 feet, is constructed for a lighthouse with what was at one time was one of the most powerful fixed lights in the world, and stands 317 feet above mean tide. Research Colossus
Colostrum is the first milk of mammalia secreted after giving birth to young. It differs in composition from ordinary milk;
has a purgative action, and serves to clear the bowels of infants of the meconium or faecal matter which they contain at birth. Research Colostrum
In the older pantomimes, Columbine was a female mask with whom Harlequin was in love; their marriage formed the denouement. In later pantomime Columbine formed the chief female dancer in the harlequinade. Research Columbine
Colza Oil is an oil formerly much employed for burning in lamps, and for many other purposes. It is expressed from the seeds of Brassica campestris oleifera, and from allied plants of the cabbage family. It is yellowish-brown, and has little or no smell. It becomes thick and solid only at very low temperatures. Research Colza Oil
A comb is an instrument with teeth, formerly made of tortoise-shell, ivory, horn, wood, bone or metal and now most often made from plastic, used for dressing the hair, and by women for keeping the hair in its place when dressed. Combs have been used from the earliest times by all races of people. Research Comb
Comedie Francaise is the national subsidised theatre of France, formed in 1680 by the fusion of the two bodies into which Moliere's company of actors had split. Research Comedie Francaise
A comedietta is a dramatic composition of the comedy class, but not so much elaborated as a regular comedy, and generally consisting of one or at most two acts. Research Comedietta
Comedy is a dramatic composition of a light and amusing class, its characters being represented as in the circumstances or meeting with the incidents of ordinary life; distinguished from tragedy by its sprightliness, and the termination of its plot or intrigue being happy; and from farce by its greater refinement and moderation and by more of probability and less of burlesque. Research Comedy
A comet is a small body orbiting the sun on an elliptical path with a long tail of dust and ice.
Some comets are only visible by the aid of the telescope, while others can be seen by the naked eye. In the latter case they usually appear like stars accompanied with a train of light, sometimes short and sometimes extending over half the sky, mostly single and more or less curved, but sometimes forked. In a comet which appeared in 1744 the train was divided into several branches, spreading out from the head like a fan. The train is not stationary relatively to the head, but is subject to remarkable movements. The direction in which it points is always opposite to the sun, and as the , comet passes its perihelion the train changes its apparent position with extraordinary velocity. The head of the comet is itself of different degrees of luminosity, there being usually a central core, called the nucleus, of greater brilliancy than the surrounding envelope, called the coma.
Comets were long regarded as supernatural objects, and usually as portents of impending calamity. Tycho Brahe was the first who expressed a rational opinion on the subject, coming to the conclusion that the comet of 1577 was a heavenly body at a greater distance from the earth than that of the moon. The general law of the motion of bodies, as well as his own observations on the comet of 1680, led Isaac Newton to conclude that the orbits of the comets must, like those of the planets, be ellipses, having the sun in one focus, but far more eccentric; and having their aphelions, or greater distances from the sun, far remote in the regions of space.
This idea was taken up by Halley, who collated the observations which had been made of all the twenty-four comets of which notice had been taken previous to 1680. The results were very interesting. With but few exceptions the comets had passed within less than the earth's shortest distance from the sun, some of them within less than one-third of it, and the average about one-half. Out of the number, too, nearly two-thirds had had their motions retrograde, or moved in the opposite direction to the planets. While Halley was engaged on these comparisons and deductions the comet of 1682 made its appearance, and he found that there was a wonderful resemblance between it and three other comets that he found recorded - the comets of 1456, of 1531, and of 1607. The times of the appearance of these comets had been at very nearly regular intervals, the average period being between seventy-five and seventy-six years. Their distances from the sun, when in perihelion, or when nearest to that luminary, had been nearly the same, being nearly six-tenths of that of the earth, and not varying more than one-sixtieth from each other.
The inclination of their orbits to that of the earth had also been nearly the same, between 17 degrees and 18 degrees; and their motions had all been retrograde. Putting these facts together, Halley concluded that the comets of 1456, 1531,1607, and 1682 were reappearances of one and the same comet, which revolved in an elliptic orbit round the sun, performing its circuit in a period varying from a little more than seventy-six years to a little less than seventy-five; or having, as far as the observations had been carried, a variation of about fifteen months in the absolute duration of its year, measured according to that of the earth. For this variation in the time of its revolution Halley accounted upon the supposition that the form of its orbit had been altered by the attraction of the remote planets Jupiter and Saturn as it passed near to them; and thence he concluded that the period of its next appearance would be lengthened, but that it would certainly reappear in 1758 or early in 1759. As the time of its expected reappearance approached, Clairaut calculated that it would be retarded 100 days by the attraction of Saturn, and 518 by that of Jupiter, so that it would not come to the perihelion, or point of its orbit nearest the 500 sun, until the 13th of April, 1759.
It actually reached its perihelion on the 13th of March, 1759, being thirty days earlier than he had calculated. Along with the period of this comet and its perihelion distance, the magnitude and form of its path were also calculated. Estimating the mean distance of the earth from the sun at 95,000,000 miles (the number which was at that time considered as the true one), the mean distance of the comet was calculated to be 1,705,250,000 miles; its greatest distance from the sun, 3,355,400,000; its least distance, 55,100,000; and the transverse or largest diameter of its orbit, 3,410,500,000. This comet, therefore, is a body belonging to the solar system, and quite beyond the attraction of any body which does not belong to that system; and as this is determined of one comet, analogy points it out as being the case with them all. In 1835 it again returned, being first seen at Rome, on August the 5th, and from that time continued to be observed until the end of the year in Europe, and through a great part of spring 1836 in the southern hemisphere.
The comet denominated Encke's comet, which has made repeated appearances, was first observed in 1818, and was identified with a comet observed in 1786, also with a comet discovered in 1795 by Miss Herschel in the constellation Cygnus, and with another seen in 1805. Its orbit is an ellipse of comparatively small dimensions, wholly within the orbit of Jupiter; its period is 1260 days, or about three years and three-tenths. It has been frequently observed since.
Another comet, the history of which is of the utmost importance in the latest theories regarding the connection of these bodies and the periodic showers of shooting-stars, is one known as Biela's comet, discovered in 1826. It revolved about the sun in about 6.75 years, and was identified as the same comet which was observed in 1772 and in 1806. Its returns were noted in 1832, 1839, and 1845. In 1846 it divided into two, returned double in 1852, but has not since been seen, the Supposition being that it has been dissipated, and that it was represented by a great shower of meteors that were seen in November 1872. One of the most remarkable comets of recent times was that known as Donati's, discovered by Dr. Donati of Florence in 1858. It was very brilliant in England in the autumn of that year, and on the 18th of October was near coming into collision with Venus, The year 1881 was remarkable for the number of comets recorded. During that year no fewer than seven comets, including the well-known short-period comet Encke's, were observed. Research Comet
Comity of Nations (comitas gentium), is a phrase adopted in international law to denote that kind of courtesy by which the laws and institutions of one state or country are recognized and given effect to by the government of another. Research Comity of Nations
In punctuation, a comma is the point [,] denoting the shortest pause in reading, and separating a sentence into divisions or members according to the construction. Research Comma
The Commedia dell Arte (Also known as the Commedia dell'Arte or Commedia dell-Arte) was a type of comedy popular in Italy in the 1500s and 1600s, performed by speciality troupes who improvised on stock characters in stock situations. It influenced French farce, English pantomime, harlequinade and punch-and-Judy. The characters included: Arlecchino (Harlequin), the young male suitor of the beautiful young ingenue Columbine; Pantaloon (comic relief father of Columbine), Pierrot (Pedrolino, a childlike character in a dunce cap), and Pulcinella, a humpback servant in a striped costume, who later evolved into Punch in Punch-and-Judy. Research Commedia dell Arte
Commendam was the administrative or provisional management of a benefice during a vacancy. The person intrusted with the management was called commendator. The grant of ecclesiastical livings in this way gave rise to great abuses. In England the term was applied to a living retained by a bishop after he had ceased to be an incumbent. By 6 and 7 William IV the holding of livings in commendam was, for the future, abolished. Research Commendam
Commination is an office in the liturgy of the Church of England, appointed to be read on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, containing a recital of God's supposed anger and threatenings towards sinners. Research Commination
The Committee of Public Safety (Comite du Salut Public) was a body elected by the French Convention on the 6th of April, 1793 from among its own members, at first having very limited powers conferred upon it - that of supervising the executive and of accelerating its actions. Subsequently, however, its powers became extended; all the executive authority passed into its hands, and the ministers became merely its scribes. It was at first composed of nine, but was increased to twelve members: Robespierre, Danton, Couthon, St-Just, Prieur, Robert-Lindet, Herault de Sechelles, Jean-Bon St-Andre, Barrere, Carnot, Collot d'Herbois, and Billaud Varennes. The severe government of this body is known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with the execution of Robespierre and his associates in July, 1794. During the commune (March to May, 1871) a similar committee was established in Paris. Research Committee of Public Safety
A commode is an occasional table supported by a cupboard, sometimes also with drawers. They were very popular in the 18th century. The term is also applied to a bedside cupboard. Research Commode
Common Law is the unwritten law, the law that receives its binding force from immemorial usage and universal reception, in distinction from the written or statute law; sometimes from the civil or canon law; and occasionally from the lex mercatoria, or commercial and maritime jurisprudence. It consists of that body of rules, principles, and customs which have been received from former times, and by which courts have been guided in their judicial decisions. The evidence of this law is to be found in the reports of those decisions and the records of the courts. Some of these rules may have originated in edicts or statutes which are now lost, or in the terms and conditions of particular grants or charters; but it is quite certain that many of them originated in judicial decisions founded on natural justice and equity, or on local customs. It is contrasted with (1) the statute law contained in acts of parliament; (2) equity, which is also an accretion of judicial decisions, but formed by a new tribunal, which first appeared when the common law had reached its full growth; and (3) the civil law inherited by modern Europe from the Roman Empire. Wherever statute law, however, runs counter to common law, the latter is entirely overruled; but common law, on the other hand, asserts its pre-eminence where equity is opposed to it. Research Common Law
Common Sense is the philosophy of the so-called Scotch school of philosophy founded by Thomas Reid in the 18th century, who aimed to establish a series of fundamental truths indisputable as primitive facts of consciousness. He taught that the general consent of mankind as to the existence of an external world, as to the difference between substance and qualities, between thought and the mind that thinks, ie sufficient to establish the reality of a permanent world apart from ourselves; and he maintains that sensations are not the objects of our perception, but signs which introduce us to the knowledge of real objects. Research Common Sense
The Commonwealth is an informal grouping of the United Kingdom and the majority of its former dependencies. The Commonwealth has no charter or constitution, but the heads of governments of its member states meet every two years. The member states are independent, but recognise the British monarch as the head of the
Commonwealth. Research Commonwealth
The Commonwealth v Caton was an important American legal case. John Caton and others, having been convicted of treason by the general court of Virginia and sentenced to death, were pardoned in 1782 by the House of Delegates of the State, the Senate not concurring. The pardon was not executed, and the attorney-general denying its validity, the case was brought before the Court of Appeals of Virginia in 1782. There it was decided that this court had jurisdiction in such matters, but it was declared that the pardon was not valid without the concurrence of the Senate, and that this act of the Legislature was unconstitutional. This was the second instance in which a court assumed authority to pronounce upon the constitutionality of an act of the Legislature. Research Commonwealth v Caton
Communalism is the theory of government by communes or corporations of towns and districts, adopted by the advanced republicans of France and elsewhere. The doctrine is that every commune, or at least every important city commune, such as Paris, Marseilles, Lyons, etc, should be a kind of independent state in itself, and France merely a federation of such states. This system must not be confounded with Communism, with which, however, it is naturally and historically allied, though the two are perfectly distinct in principle. Research Communalism
The Commune of Paris was a period of anarchy and bloodshed in Paris at the end of the Franco-German war. It lasted from March the 18th until May the 28th 1871, and began with the refusal of the Paris National Guards to give up their arms, their murder of General Thomas and General Lecomte and their organisation of themselves into a Central Committee.
On March the 18th, Thiers, the head of the national government, retired with the regular troops to Versailles, and the Parisian central committee assumed the executive power in Paris. They proceeded to elect a communal council of seventy-five members on March the 26th and April the 16th. This body passed resolutions for the abolition of conscription, free rent for the quarters October 1870 to April 1871, complete separation of the church and state, the suppression of the budget for public worship and the restitution to the nation of all property held by ecclesiastical bodies in mortmain, enforced enrolment in the National Guard of every man between 19 and 35, the institution of a labour commission, the establishment of co- operative workshops, all education to be in the hands of the laity only. They were finally defeated by the army who shot their communist prisoners without trial. Research Commune of Paris
Communism is a political system in which major industries are operated by and for the benefit of the entire society, as opposed to the benefit of a small number of shareholders or the owner. Often dismissed as an unworkable system by opponents, communist societies function splendidly among less industrial people such as the Chiquitos of South America, however the system is very prone to being wrecked by individual greed. Research Communism
The Compagnie des Indes, or Company of the Indies, was a corporation organized in Paris by John Law in 1719, by combination of the Guinea)Company, the Company of the West, the East India Company and the China Company. It was the basis of his great credit operations, in connection with his bank, and of the Mississippi Bubble, but is of importance in American history because it for several years owned the state of Louisiana. Research Compagnie des Indes
The Companion of Honour is a British order of chivalry, founded by George V in 1917. It is of one class only, and carries no title, but Companions append 'CH' to their names. The number is limited to 65 and the award is made to both men and women. Research Companion of Honour
The compensation con is a form of confidence trick. The swindle takes the form of a criminal carrying a package, perhaps gift wrapped, containing worthless broken glass or crockery. The con artist waits around the vicinity of a shop selling expensive vases or similar, for a suitable victim, and then pretends to be bumped into by the victim. At this point the con artist drops the package with the resulting clearly audible sound of breakages occurring, and proceeds to claim that the package had contained an expensive item, and its breakage was the fault of the victim. The victim is then pressed to pay compensation towards the cost of the supposedly broken item. The con is particularly effective if the con artist is an attractive or elderly woman and targets wealthy looking, middle-aged men. Research Compensation Con
Competition scams are frauds which became prevalent during the late 20th century in which sophisticated, persuasive mailings are sent to people suggesting that the recipient is the winner of a prize, and requesting money from the recipient in order to release the valuable prize. Competition scams are generally operated from the USA, Canada and Australia and particularly target people in Britain, especially the elderly. The British office of fair trading in 2004 found more than 300 competition scams to be in operation, with each earning thousands of pounds each week from gullible and often naïve people from all walks of life and ages. They also discovered that the criminals operating the individual frauds exchange information and that a recipient responding favourably to one scam would subsequently be targeted by many others also, the recipients name and address being added to a special mailing list called by the perpetrators of the frauds a 'sucker list'. Research Competition Scam
The Compromise of 1850 was a compromise between the anti-slavery and pro-slavery parties in the USA. As it was finally passed, it took the form of several separate bills, which had been practically comprehended in Clay's 'Omnibus Bill', proposed and defeated a short time before. Under the compromise, Texas was allowed $10,000,000 for New Mexico, and the boundary of that territory was cut down considerably. On August the 13th, California was admitted to the Union with her free Constitution. On August the 15th, bills for establishing territorial governments in New Mexico and Utah were passed, containing a slavery option clause proposed by SenatorSoule. On August the 26th, the fugitive slave bill, denying arrested Negroes a trial by jury, and prohibiting redress to free coloured [black] seamen imprisoned in Southern ports, was passed. Research Compromise of 1850
When the newly formed United States was drawing up its constitution, disagreements occurred within the parties involved. Compromises were formed at the Convention of 1787, which was mainly divided as to whether, in the new government, one State's influence should be equal to that of any other State, or should be based on population. The plans for a Constitution submitted by Edmund Randolph, of Virginia, and William Paterson, of New Jersey, were diametrically opposed in this respect. The former favoured representation according to population in both Houses; the latter an equal vote for each State and only one House. Johnson, of Connecticut, proposed as a compromise, two Houses, an equal representation in the Senate and a proportionate one in the House. Ellsworth formally moved that this be adopted, and thus the first compromise was effected after considerable debate.
The second compromise was in regard to the regulation of commerce by Congress. It was proposed to tax both exports and imports at the discretion of Congress. C C Pinckney declared that South Carolina would not enter the Union if exports were to be taxed, since nearly the whole of her wealth lay in one article of export, rice. Hence it was decided, on August the 6th, that 'no tax or duty shall be laid by the Legislature on articles exported from any State', and on these terms the Federal control over commerce was conceded.
Compurgation was a mode of defence allowed by the Anglo-Saxon law in England, and common to most of the Teutonic tribes. The accused was permitted to call a certain number (usually twelve) of men, called compurgators, who joined their oaths to his in testimony to his innocence. They were persons taken from the neighbourhood, or otherwise known to the accused, and acted rather in the character of jurymen than that of witnesses, for they swore to their belief, not to what they knew; that is, on the accused making oath of his innocence they swore that they believed he was speaking the truth. Compurgation in the ecclesiastical courts was not abolished until the reign of Elizabeth I. Research Compurgation
The Computer Crime Unit is a small but important section of the Fraud Squad of Scotland Yard. The Computer Crime Unit was formed in 1984 to develop and run training courses on a national basis to assist police officers deal with computer-based evidence and to deal with cases of computer crime such as hacking and malicious code (computer viruses and the like).
In 1994 the Computer Crime Unit joined with industry to improve computer crime prevention. The first major case was brought in 1988 when the Computer Crime Unit prosecuted Gold and Schifreen over hacking. However, this case was overturned by the House of Lords on the basis that simple hacking did not constitute either fraud nor forgery. Research Computer Crime Unit
The Comstock Lode was a large and extremely rich metallic lode in the western part of Nevada, United States, on the eastern slope of the VirginiaMountains. To it belonged the Big Bonanza and other mines, which formerly yielded much gold and silver until the start of the 20th century. Research Comstock Lode
Conacre is a term applied to a system common in Ireland of under-letting a portion of a farm for a single crop, the rent being paid to the farmer in money or labour. Research Conacre
A concept test is a technique used in market research to assess the reactions of consumers to a new product or a proposed change to an existing product. Before an organisation invests in production facilities for a new product it writes a concept statement describing the proposed product and commissions a market researcher to interview a small number of potential consumers either in group discussion or depth interview. Respondents are shown the concept statement and their reactions are explored in considerable detail. The results of these interviews help the organisation to understand what it should do with the proposed product if it is to be successful. Research Concept Test
In metaphysics, conceptualism is a doctrine in some sense intermediate between realism and nominalism. Conceptualism assigns to universals an existence which may be called logical or psychological, that is, independent of single objects, but dependent upon the mind of the thinking subject, in which they are as notions or conceptions. Research Conceptualism
Properly, a concession is a permission conceded by a government to a person or company to do certain things. The term is especially applied to grants of land, or privileges or immunities in connection with certain enterprises, such as mining, the construction of railways, canals, or the like, usually subject to fixed conditions and limitations. Research Concession
In geometry, a conchoid is a curve, of the fourth degree, first made use of by the Greek geometer, Nicomedes, who invented it for the purpose of trisecting an angle and duplicating the cube. Research Conchoid
Conciliation is the settlement of a dispute by reference to a commission which makes a report, but does not give an award or judgement. Research Conciliation
A conclave is the place where the cardinals assemble for the election of the pope. The term is also applied to the electoral assembly of the cardinals themselves. Pope Gregory X, whose election had been delayed for three years, established in the council at Lyons in 1274 the regulations of the conclave. The cardinals are shut up together in a particular suite of apartments in the palace where the pontiff dies, and they are supposed to have no communication with the outside world during the period of the election. The companion, either lay or clerical, whom the cardinal is allowed to take with him into the conclave during the election of a pope is called a conclavist. The office is one of great delicacy and trust. Research Conclave
A concordance is a book in which the principal words used in any work or number of works, as the Scriptures, Shakespeare, Milton, Tennyson, Homer, etc, are arranged alphabetically, and the book, chapter, and verse, or act, scene, line, or other subdivision in which each word occurs, are noted - similar to an index. A concordant is designed to assist an inquirer in finding any passage by means of any leading word which he can recollect, or to show the character of the language and style of any writer. Research Concordance
A concordat is a convention between the pope, as head of the Roman Catholic Church, and any secular government, for the settling of ecclesiastical relations. One of the most important of the earlier concordats, that of Worms, called also the Calixtine Concordat, made in 1122, between PopeCalixtus II and the Emperor Henry V, has been regarded as the fundamental law of the church in Germany. Another celebrated concordat was that agreed upon between Cardinal Gonsalvi, in the name of Pius VII, and Napoleon in July, 1801. By it the head of the state had the nomination of bishops to the vacant sees; the clergy became subject in temporal matters to the civil power; all immunities, ecclesiastical courts, and jurisdictions were abolished in France, and even the regulations of the public worship and religious ceremonies and the pastoral addresses of the clergy, were placed under the control of the secular authorities. This concordat was practically abrogated in 1905 by the separation of church and state. The government had previously broken off diplomatic relations with the papacy. Research Concordat
In logic, concrete is a technical term applied to an object as it exists in nature, invested with all its attributes, or to the notion of such an object. Concrete is opposite to abstract. The names of individuals are concrete; those of classes, abstract. A concrete name is a name which stands for a thing; an abstract name is a name which stands for the attribute of a thing. Research Concrete
In Scots law, condescendence is one of the written pleadings in a process put in by the pursuer, and containing a distinct statement of the facts and allegations, together with the pleas in law on which his case is founded. Research Condescendence
In philosophy, Conditioned and Unconditioned are terms which were introduced by Sir William Hamilton. The Unconditioned is regarded by Sir William Hamilton as a genus including two species: the Infinite, or the unconditionally unlimited, and the Absolute, or the unconditionally limited; and the thesis which he maintains and expounds, and which forms one of the leading doctrines of his philosophical system, is that the Unconditioned, as thus explained, is entirely unthinkable. The mind is confined, in point of knowledge though not of faith, to the limited and conditioned - the Conditioned being the mean between two unconditionates, mutually exclusive and equally inconceivable, but of which, on the principles of contradiction and excluded middle, one must be admitted as necessary. Thus infinite space is inconceivable by us, while at the same time it is equally impossible to us to conceive of space as finite; yet one of these must be admitted necessary, and our conception is in some sense a mean between the inconceivables. The doctrine was applied by Mansel to determine the limits of religious thought. Research Conditioned
The Confederate States was a government formed in 1861, in North America, by seceding States. The second State to secede, Mississippi, at the time of secession, January 9, 1861, proposed a convention to form a Southern Confederacy. This provisional Congress met at Montgomery, Alabama, on February 4, with delegates present from six of the seven States - which had then seceded. It voted by States. On February 8, it adopted a provisional Constitution, and the next day choseJefferson Davis, of Mississippi, provisional President and Alexander H Stephens, of Georgia, Vice-President.
The permanent Constitution was adopted on March 11. It set forth the doctrines of State sovereignty and recognized slavery, though it forbade the slave trade. It forbade protective tariffs and Federal expenditures for internal improvements. Congress was forbidden to emit bills of credit. It could permit members of the Cabinet to speak before it. The President was empowered to veto single items in appropriation bills. His term was to be six years, and he was not to be re-elected. All the seceding States ratified the Constitution through conventions. Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas seceded, and were admitted into the Confederacy. The seat of government was removed to Richmond, and Davis and Stephens were chosen again under the permanent Constitution. They were inaugurated as such on February 22, 1862.
During most of the existence of the Confederate Government, Judah P Benjamin was Secretary of State, Charles G Memminger Secretary of the Treasury, James A Seddon Secretary of War, Stephen R Mallory of the Navy and John H Reagan Postmaster-General. In this government Congress was of little account. Everything was subordinated to the energetic prosecution of the war, for which the President assumed almost dictatorial powers. Extraordinary efforts were made.
Money was obtained by means of the issue of Treasury notes, by cotton loans and by requisitions. Supplies were obtained by any means possible. Troops were obtained, finally, by conscription. The Government, though given belligerent rights by most maritime nations, could not secure any recognition of its independence. As the armies began to be more and more completely destroyed, dissensions broke out. Violent criticism of Davis prevailed. Finally, the surrender of Lee brought the Confederate Government to an end. The Federal Government of the USA never recognized its existence. Research Confederate States
the Confederation of the Rhine were sixteen German provinces which in 1806 dissolved their connection with Germany, and allied themselves to France. At the downfall of Napoleon in 1814 the confederation slowly dissolved. Research Confederation of the Rhine
A confession of faith is a statement of religious beliefs, a kind of elaborate creed. What is most distinctively known by this name is the document prepared by the Assembly of Divines which met at Westminster in obedience to an ordinance of parliament issued on June the 12th, 1643. The whole number of the assembly amounted to 174 members, mostly Puritans, thirty-two being members of parliament. There were also six Scottish commissioners appointed to consult and deliberate, but not to vote. One of the chief results of the deliberations was the framing of the Confession of Faith, which, on the return of the Scottish commissioners, was adopted by the Assembly of the Church of Scotland, on August the 27th, 1647. Research Confession of Faith
A confidence trickster, also known as a confidence man or con man is a species of thief or swindler who operates by first gaining the confidence of the victim, and then robbing or swindling them. Modern confidence tricksters frequently pose as officials when calling at the houses of strangers, but traditionally they befriend a naïve tourist for several days, gaining the trust of the victim, before perhaps borrowing money and then disappearing, or robbing the victim. Confidence tricksters are common and ancient. During the Victorian period, visitors to London were warned of the plethora of confidence tricksters who befriended visitors only to rob or swindle them, and this practice continues in many parts of the world today, notably in Tangier Morocco, where hundreds of European lorry drivers stop over while passing through only to be fleeced by local thieves. Research Confidence Trickster
In law, a confidential communication is a communication made by one person to another which the latter cannot be compelled to give in evidence as a witness. Generally all communications made between a client and his agent, between the agent and the counsel in a suit, or between the several parties to a suit, are treated as confidential. The privilege of confidentiality does not extend to disclosures made to a medical adviser, and in England it has been decided also that confessions made to a priest are not to be treated as confidential. Research Confidential Communication
Confirmation is the ceremony of laying on of hands by a bishop in the admission of baptized persons to the enjoyment of Christian privileges, the person confirmed then taking upon himself the baptismal vows made in his name. It is practised in the Greek, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and English churches. In the Roman Catholic churches a delay of seven years is interposed after baptism, in the Lutheran from 13 to 16, and in the English Church from 14 to 18, though in the latter there is no fixed period. The Lord's supper is not taken by these sects until after confirmation. Research Confirmation
Conflict are a British-based anarchist organisation primarily directed by Colin Jerwood, mainly known for their musical statements. Conflict were formed in 1980, with an isolated approach to other sympathetic groups and individuals which contributed to their inactivity during the later 1990s. However, in 2000 Conflict once more became active and started releasing records again with lyrics which promote peaceful ideals of social change - opposing war, violence, corruption, corporate control of the media, globalisation and the exploitation of both people and animals - in a very rowdy style of punk rock music. Research Conflict More information about Conflict
Confucianism is an ancient Chinese doctrine. It takes its name from its supposed founder - Confucius, but predates him and Confucius never claimed to do more than preserve the virtues of the past. Confucianism inculcates no worship of a god, and is probably then an adaptation of Tao. It is widely practised in China and Korea. Research Confucianism
The congregationalists, formerly called Independents, are a Christian sect claiming to continue the primitive form of church government; founded by the moderate party among the Brownists and Barrowists early in the 17th century. Under the Commonwealth they rapidly developed, and though they suffered after the Restoration, in common with their rivals the Presbyterians, they speedily recovered after the Revolution, and soon outstripped the latter sect so far as England was concerned.
The name Independent, as it was frequently adopted by other bodies with which they had no sympathy, was discarded in favour of the name of Congregational Brethren, which appeared to express a leading feature in their polity. This is the government of each congregation by all the members of that congregation, and not, as in the Presbyterian church, by a session of the pastor and ruling elders only. Moreover each congregation is autonomous and wholly independent of extraneous jurisdiction, the union of Congregational churches having only such indirect authority as attends the cumulative expression of opinion. In doctrine the majority are evangelical, though in individual churches considerable latitude is shown. Research Congregationalists
The Congress of Berlin was held between the European powers at Berlin in 1878 under the Presidency of Bismarck, to determine the boundaries of the Balkan states after the Russo-Turkish war. Beaconsfield attended as Britain' s chief envoy, and upon his return to England declared that he had brought back peace with honour. Research Congress of Berlin
The Congress of Troppau was a conference of representatives of five European powers held at Troppau in October and November 1820. It met at the instigation of Metternich to discuss the affairs of Naples, where a revolution had just taken place. Austria, Russia and Prussia were in favour of intervention, but France and Great Britain disagreed. The only result was a protocol signed by these powers, threatening any state which, as Naples had done, changed the form of government by revolutionary means, with exclusion from the European concert and if other states were disturbed by such proceedings, with armed force. Great Britain alone protested. The conference adjourned to meet at Laibach in 1821. Research Congress of Troppau
The Congress of Verona took place in 1822. It was a meeting of envoys of the great European powers to consult respecting the disturbances in Spain. Their project of interference for the sake of restoring Spanish power in the revolted colonies of South America was what led to the enunciation of the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Research Congress of Verona
Congreves were a predecessor of the Lucifer matches. The splints were dipped in sulphur and then tipped with the chlorate of potash paste, in which gum was substituted for sugar, and there was added a small quantity of antimony sulphide. The match was ignited by drawing it through a fold of sandpaper under pressure. The matches were banned in France and Germany on account of being dangerous. Research Congreves
In grammar, a conjunction is a connective indeclinable particle serving to unite words, sentences, or clauses of a sentence, and indicating their relation to one another. They are classifiable into two main groups:
(1) Co-ordinating conjunctions, joining independent propositions, and subdivisible into copulative, disjunctive, adversative, and illative conjunctions;
(2) Subordinating conjunctions, linking a dependent or modifying clause to the principal sentence.
The only active influence which the conjunction can be said to exercise grammatically in a sentence is in respect of the mood of the verb following it in dependent sentences, the rule being to employ the subjunctive where futurity and contingency are implied, the indicative where they are not; as 'I will do it though he be there' (which he may or may not be); or 'I will do it, though he is there' (which he is). Research Conjunction
Consanguinity is the relation of persons descended from the same ancestor. It is either lineal or collateral - lineal between father and son, grandfather and grandson, and all persons in the direct line of ancestry and descent, from one another; collateral between brothers, cousins, and other kinsmen descended from a common ancestor, but not from one another. Research Consanguinity
A conscience clause is a clause in certain British Acts of Parliament which dispenses people from certain duties if they have religious objections or other conscientious scruples to their performance. Research Conscience Clause
Conscription is the enlisting of the inhabitants of a country capable of bearing arms, by a compulsory levy, at the pleasure of the government, being thus distinguished from recruiting, or voluntary enlistment. It was introduced by Napoleon in 1798 by a law which declared that every Frenchman was a soldier, and bound to defend the country when in danger. Excepting in times of danger it provided that the army should be formed by voluntary enrolment or by conscription. The conscription included all Frenchmen from twenty years of age complete to twenty-five years complete. On the restoration of the Bourbons conscription was abolished. It was, however, reenacted, and continued through the Second Empire to form the mode of recruitment in France. A French act, passed in 1872, and other subsequent enactments, affirm the universal liability to conscription upon all males not physically incapacitated, who have completed their twentieth year.
In America conscription was employed by the United States Government and twice by the Confederacy for raising and increasing the armies. The first measure, introduced into Congress in 1814, during the war with Great Britain, was due to a proposal by New York and Virginia of a Federal classification and draft from the State militia. This bill was prepared largely by James Monroe, but was highly unacceptable to the Federalists and proved a failure, though the army was much in need of men. In 1863 a somewhat similar plan was introduced in Congress, but was objected to by the Democrats on the grounds of unconstitutionality and failed. Accordingly on May the 3rd, 1863, another bill passed both Houses, which had no reference to the militia, but called every able-bodied citizen of military age into the Federal service. A commutation of $300 for exemption was permitted, and persons refusing-obedience were treated as deserters. On April the 16th, 1862, and on July the 18th, 1863, the Confederate Congress passed conscription laws levying on all persons between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years. The unpopularity of the conscription caused the draft riots in New York City which lasted from July the 13th to the 16th, 1863, when the city was for four days in the possession of the mob. Research Conscription
In law, consent is understood to be a free and deliberate act of a rational being. It is invalidated by any undue means - intimidation, improper influence, or imposition - used to obtain it. The mentally incapable, children, etc, cannot give legal consent; neither can persons in a state of absolute drunkenness, though partial intoxication will not afford legal ground for annulling a contract. Research Consent
In law, consequential damages are such losses or damages as arise out of a person's act, for which, according to a fundamental principle in law, he or she is answerable if he or she could have avoided them. Research Consequential Damages
The Conservatives are a political party, the name being invented by John Croker in 1830, whose leading principal is the preservation of national institutions. The Conservatives evolved from the earlier Tory party, and are still referred to as Tories. Research Conservatives
Conservatory is a name given on the European continent to a systematic school of musical instruction. In Britain the term is usually applied to foreign schools of music. Conservatories were originally benevolent establishments attached to hospitals, or other charitable or religious institutions. In Naples there were formerly three conservatories for boys; in Venice four for girls; the Neapolitan group being reduced in 1818 to a single establishment under the name Royal College of Music. In Milan a conservatory was established in 1808. In France the musical school established in connection with the Opera received its final organization in 1795 under the name of Conservatoire de Musique. Among its teachers have been Mehul, Cherubini, Gretry, Boieldieu, etc. The Conservatorium, founded at Leipzig in 1842 under the auspices of Mendelssohn has been one of the most highly renowned. Research Conservatory
The Consistory Court is the spiritual court of a diocesan bishop in the Church of England presided over by a lawyer, his Chancellor, administering ecclesiastical law. In the Church of Rome it is a meeting of Cardinals presided over by the Pope to discuss important ecclesiastical affairs. Research Consistory Court
Constituent Assembly was a name given to the first convention of the delegates of the French nation (1789-1791) to distinguish it from the legislative assembly of 1791. It drew up and obtained the acceptance of the first of the famous revolutionary constitutions. The Constituent Assembly of 1848 had a similar aim. Research Constituent Assembly
A constitution is the fundamental law of a state, whether it be a written instrument of a certain date, as that of the United States of America, or an aggregate of laws and usages which have been formed in the course of ages, like the English constitution. The ideal constitution is that established by a free sovereign people for their own regulation, though the expediency of other forms at various stages of national development cannot but be recognized. The chief of these are: 1. Constitutions granted by the plenary power of absolute monarchs, or constitutions octroyees; such as Louis XVIII's Charte. 2. Those formed by contract between a ruler and his people, the contract being mutually binding - a class under which, in a great degree, the British constitution must be placed. 3. Those formed by a compact between different sovereign powers, such as the constitutions of the German Empire, of the United Provinces of Holland, and of the Swiss Confederation.
In regard to political principles, constitutions are; 1. Democratic, when the fundamental law guarantees to every citizen equal rights, protection, and participation, direct or indirect, in the government, such as the constitutions of the United States and of some cantons of Switzerland. 2. Aristocratic, when the constitution recognizes privileged classes, as the nobility and clergy, and intrusts the government entirely to them, or allows them a very disproportionate share in it. Such a constitution was that of Venice, and such at one time those of some Swiss cantons, for instance, Bern. 3. Of a mixed character. To this, latter division belong some monarchical constitutions, which recognize the existence of a king whose power is modified by other branches of government of a more or less popular cast. The British constitution belongs to this division. Research Constitution
The Constitutions of Clarendon were a code of laws made by a general council of nobles and prelates, held at Clarendon in Wiltshire, in 1164 during the reign of Henry II, to check the power of the Church and restrain the prerogatives of ecclesiastics. There were sixteen ordinances defining the limits of the patronage and jurisdiction of the Pope. The power of the ecclesiastical courts was restricted, the crown secured the right of interference in elections to ecclesiastical offices, appeals to Rome were made dependent on the king's leave, ecclesiastical dignitaries were deprived of their freedom to leave the country without the royal permission, etc. Becket signed them, but retracted his signature on the refusal of the PopeAlexander III to countenance them. Becket's murder followed, and to effect a reconciliation with the popeHenry II promised the amendment of the Constitutions of Clarendon. They were accordingly modified in 1176 at Northampton in favour of the church, but they are not the less to be regarded as containing the germ of the ecclesiastical policy of Henry VIII. Research Constitutions of Clarendon
Consubstantial is an equivalent for the Greek term homoousios, the true signification of which disturbed the Christian church early in the 4th century, as it was supposed to affect the orthodoxy of Christians regarding the Trinity, according as it might be understood rightly or the contrary. The Athanasians, or Trinitarians, at the council of Nice in 325, gave it the meaning indicated in the Nicene Creed, 'Of one substance with the Father' (applied to Christ). Research Consubstantial
Consubstantiation (otherwise Impanation), is the supernatural union of the body of Christ with the sacramental elements, according to the Lutherans and others, who maintain that, after the consecration of the elements, the body and blood of Christ are substantially present with the substance of the bread and wine. Research Consubstantiation
Consuetudinary Law in contradistinction to statutory or written law, is that law which is derived by immemorial custom from remote antiquity. Research Consuetudinary Law
The Contagious Diseases Acts were acts for the prevention of contagious venereal diseases communicated by women, and having force only at certain naval and military stations, passed in Britain in 1864 and 1866, and amended in 1868, 1869, and 1875. They provided for the compulsory examination of prostitutes residing in or near any of the said stations, and for their detention in hospital if found to be affected with venereal disease. They were repealed in 1886. Research Contagious Diseases Acts
Contempt of Court is the disobedience to, or disregard of the rules, orders, or dignity of a court, and is punishable by fine or committal to prison. Less serious offences may sometimes be purged by an apology. Research Contempt of Court
The word contest has several interpretations within the English language. In popular parlance, a contest is often regarded as a conflict or competition. This may be friendly, such as a sports contest, or more aggressive such as a contention. Another interpretation of contest is in the form of a keen controversy, where one disputes an argument. Thus, one can contest another's statement.
Formerly, during the 17th century, the term contest was used to mean to bear witness, or to confirm or assert with the witness of an oath. Thus to contest was to swear to a fact or statement under oath. But this use had fallen into disuse by the 20th century. Research Contest
In geography, continental drift is the movement by which, according to one theory, the continents arrived at their present positions after breaking off from a single original mass of land. Research Continental Drift
The Continental System was a plan devised by Napoleon to exclude Britain from all intercourse with the continent of Europe. It began with the decree of Berlin on November the 21st 1806, by which the British Islands were declared to be in a state of blockade; all commerce, intercourse and correspondence were prohibited; every Briton found in France, or a country occupied by French troops, was declared a prisoner of war; all property belonging to Britons, fair prize, and all trade in goods from Britain or British colonies entirely prohibited.
Britain replied by orders in council prohibiting trade with French ports, and declaring all harbours of France and allies subjected to the same restrictions as if they were closely blockaded. Further decrees on the part of France, of a still more stringent kind, declared all vessels of whatever flag, which had been searched by a British vessel or paid duty to Britain, denationalised, and directing the burning of all British goods. The decrees were annulled at the fall of Napoleon in 1814. Research Continental System
Contorniati were ancient medals or medallions in bronze, having a curved furrow (contorno) on each side. They were supposed to have been struck in the days of Constantine the Great and his successors, and to have formed tickets of admission to the public games of the circus of Rome and of Constantinople. Research Contorniati
In geography, a contour is a line joining places of the same height above sea level; in a map they help to show the shapes of the land. Research Contour
Contract is a legal term for an agreement made between two or more persons which is recognised by law and whereby each party to the agreement undertakes to do, or to refrain from doing, a particular act in consideration of the other party undertaking to do, or refraining from doing, some other specified act. Research Contract
A contradictanym is a word which has opposing meanings depending upon the context in which it is used. An example is the word 'dust' which can mean both to add fine particles - such as dust a cake with icing sugar, and to remove fine particles - such as dust the furniture. Research Contradictanym
A convent is a place of seclusion from the world for persons who devote their lives to religious purposes. It differs from a cloister in that it is a community of living rather than seclusion from the world. See cloister. Research Convent
A conventicle is a private assembly or meeting for the exercise of religion. Historically, the term was specially applied to meetings of petty sects and dissenters in the statutes of the time of Charles II. Research Conventicle
Conversion is a term in logic. A proposition is converted when the predicate is put in the place of the subject, and the subject in place of the predicate; as, 'no A is B' ('no virtuous man is a rebel'), the converse of which is 'no B is A' ('no rebel is a virtuous man'). Simple conversion, however, in this manner is not always logical. In the case of universal affirmatives, for example, 'all A are B' (say, 'all men are animals'), the simple converse ' all B are A' ('all animals are men') would not be true. Research Conversion
The Conway Cabal was an intrigue by Gates, Lee, Mifflin, Wilkinson and others of George Washington' officers, in 1777, for the promotion of Brigadier-General Thomas Conway, contrary to George Washington's judgment. Washington was accused of incompetence and partiality, and finally Congress was prevailed upon to promote Conway to major-general and inspector-general. In 1778 Conway was wounded in a duel and apologized to Washington, confessing his wrong. Research Conway Cabal
Cooperage is the making of wooden vessels by binding strips or staves of wood with hoops to form cylinders (barrels, casks etc.). The art probably started for preserving wine. The coopers of London were incorporated in 1501. Research Cooperage
Copenhagen was the Duke of Wellington's horse which he rode at the Battle of Waterloo. Copenhagen was born in 1808 and died in 1835. It was a rich chestnut colour and stood fifteen hands high. Upon its death, following retirement at Strathfieldsaye near Basingstoke, Copenhagen was buried with military honours. Research Copenhagen
A Coppice, or copse is a wood in which the trees are cut over periodically as they attain a certain size. In Britain many forest trees, and in particular the oak, the chestnut, the ash, the birch, and the maple, are dealt with in this way. The period for cutting varies with the soil and the tree. The oak usually requires from fifteen to twenty-five years' growth, while the willow is cut regularly every year. The term ia also used in a general sense for a wood of small growth, or consisting of underwood and brushwood. Research Coppice
Coprolite is the fossilised excrement of reptiles (dinosaur dung, so to speak). They occur in the form of nodules and contain a lot of phosphatic material. The term has come to apply to any phosphatic nodule. Research Coprolite
In English law, copyhold was a tenure of land by copy from the court rolls belonging to a manor. Copyhold property cannot be now created, for the foundation on which it rests is, that the property has been possessed time out of mind, by copy of courtroll, and that the tenements are within the manor. In 1858 parliament passed a law which enables either the lord or tenant of any copyhold lands to compel enfranchisement of the land and convert it into freehold, either in consideration of a fixed sum or of an annual rent. Research Copyhold
Copyright is the exclusive right to reproduce or authorise others to reproduce artistic, dramatic, literary, or musical works. It is conferred by the Copyright Act (1988), which also extends to sound broadcasting, cinematograph films, and television broadcasts. Copyright lasts for the author' s lifetime plus 50 years from the end of the year in which he died (or from the end of the year in which a film or broadcast was made); it can be assigned or transmitted on death. The principal remedies for breach of copyright are an action for damages and account of profits or an injunction. It is a criminal offence to make or deal in articles that infringe a copyright.
The law of copyright was first made in 1814, and enacted that an author should possess a right in his work for life, or for twenty-eight years. If he died before the expiration of twenty-eight years, the residue of the right passed to the heirs. However, to be protected eleven copies of the work had to have been given for public use.
In 1842 the time was extended to forty-two years , and at least seven years after the death of the author. Protection being afforded to work with five copies or more provided for public use. Research Copyright
A copywriter is a person who writes the text for advertisements or other promotional material.
Copywriters are usually employed by an advertising agency, although in the case of highly technical advertising matter they are often employed by the company manufacturing or distributing the product. Research Copywriter
The Coquilla-nut is the seed of the piassava or piacaba palm (Attalea funifera), one of the coconut group, a native of Brazil. The nuts are between six and nine centimetres long, oval, of a rich brown colour and very hard, and were formerly used in turnery for making umbrella-handles, etc. Research Coquilla-nut
In geography coral reef is a barrier, lying at or just below the surface of the sea, built up of the skeletons of immense numbers of small creatures called coral polyps. Research Coral Reef
Cord-wood is properly wood cut to a length of four feet, but the term is also applied to wood cut and piled for sale by the cord, in distinction from long wood. Research Cord-Wood
In North America, a corduroy road was a road constructed with logs laid together over swamps or marshy places for carriages to pass over. Research Corduroy Road
Corgi are an English manufacturer of die cast scale models and toy cars. The company is known to children and adults alike for its quality collectible models which include models from television shows and films, including the 'James Bond' Aston-Martin DB5 and a special 40th anniversary Dr Who set comprising plastic and metal models of K 9, the Tom BakerDr Who, a Cyberman, a Dalek, Davros, the Tardis and Bessy with the Tom BakerDr Who at the wheel. Corgi also produce larger limited edition models for collectors such as models of Second World War AFVs. Research Corgi
Cork is the external bark of a species of oak (Quercus suber) which grows in Spain, Portugal, and other southern parts of Europe and in the north of Africa, and is distinguished by the great thickness and sponginess of its bark, and by the leaves being evergreen, rectangular, somewhat oval, downy underneath, and waved. The outer bark falls off of itself if left alone, but for commercial purposes it is stripped off when judged sufficiently matured, this being when the tree has reached the age of from fifteen to thirty years. The first stripping yields the coarsest kind of bark. In the course of eight or nine years, or even less, the same tree will yield another supply of cork of better quality, and the removal of this outer bark is said to be beneficial, the trees thus stripped reaching the age of 150 years or more. The bark is removed by a kind of axe, parallel cuts being carried round the tree transversely and united by others in a longitudinal direction, so as to produce rectangular sheets of bark. These vary in thickness between 2 mm and 7 mm. Care must be taken not to cut into the inner bark, or the tree would be killed. The pieces of cork are flattened out by heat or by weights, and are slightly charred on the surface to close the pores.
Cork is light, elastic, impervious to water, and by pressure can be greatly reduced in bulk, returning again to its original size. These qualities render it peculiarly serviceable for the stopping of vessels of different kinds, and formerly for floats, buoys, swimming-belts or jackets, artificial limbs, etc. Corks for bottles are cut either by hand or by means of a machine. The best corks are cut across the grain. Research Cork
Corn Laws are various enactments designed to ensure an adequate supply of cereal foods to a country, usually by protection allotted to its own farmers.
In Britain the name was commonly given to certain statutes passed to protect the agricultural interest in Britain. The first form of interference by legislative enactment with the corn-trade in England, beginning soon after the Conquest, was the prohibition of exportation, an expedient in those times to prevent scarcity in a sudden emergency. The exportation of grain was prohibited in the reign of Edward III in 1360-61, Calais and other appointed ports being excepted. This provision was relaxed by a statute of Richard II in 1394, by which exportation was permitted from all ports not excepted by royal proclamation.
In 1436, under Henry VI, the exportation of grain was permitted without license whenever the price of wheat did not exceed 6s. 8d per quarter, and barley 3s. 4d. In 1463 a statute of Edward IV prohibited importation until the price exceeded the limit at which exportation was permitted. This was the beginning of protection, properly so called.
At the restoration of Charles II duties were imposed both on exportation and importation, while the old principle of a standard price, beyond which exportation was prohibited, was retained. At the Revolution a new policy still more favourable to the agricultural interest was adopted. By act 1 William and Mary, cap xii., a bounty was granted on the exportation of corn, and the duties on exportation were abolished. The amount of the bounty was 5s. for every quarter of wheat exported while the price was at or under 48s, with corresponding prices for other grains.
The exportation of grain reached its highest point about 1750. From this period the country, which had always been normally a grain-exporting country, began, on account of the increase of population and expansion of mechanical industries, to fall off in this respect, and in 1778 became permanently a grain-importing country. From this time the main efforts of the agricultural interest, largely represented in the parliament and the ruling classes of the kingdom, were concentrated on obtaining the imposition of prohibitory duties on foreign grain. In 1804, for instance, if the price of corn was below 63s. a prohibitory duty of 24s. 3d. was laid on what was imported; if between 63s and 66s, a duty of 2s. 6d; and only when the price at home had risen as high as 66s per quarter was the foreign grain allowed to pass at a nominal duty of 6d. With variations of more or less importance this sliding-scale of prohibitory duties continued in force until 1846, when Sir Robert Peel, influenced by the corn-law repeal agitation, and more especially by the Anti-Corn-law League, headed by Cobden and Bright, carried a measure repealing the duty on imported corn, except a nominal sum of 1s per quarter, which also in 1869 was done away with, but was temporarily re-imposed in 1902-1903. Research Corn Laws
A corn-knife was a curved Roman agricultural knife used in vineyards, for cutting corn, pruning trees etc. Later, a corn-knife was a 19th century American agricultural knife with a blade of about twenty inches length attached by a tang to a handle, the whole resembling a machete, and used for cutting standing corn. Research Corn-Knife
The Cornish hug is a crushing hug designed to overpower an antagonist. The hold was popular among Cornishmen who were famous wrestlers. Research Cornish Hug
A corody or corbody was an allowance of meat, drink, or clothing, anciently due to the king from an abbey or other religious house, for the sustenance of such of his servants as he thought good to place there for maintenance. Corodies were also retained by the private founders of religious houses and even granted to benefactors, and consisted in the right of sending a certain number of persons to be boarded at an abbey. Research Corody
Coromandel Wood is the wood of Diospyros hirsuta, a tree found in Sri Lanka. Its ground colour is chocolate brown, with black stripes and marks; it is hard, turns well, and makes very handsome furniture. Research Coromandel Wood
The Corona Club was founded in 1900 by Sir William Hamilton to unite the Colonies and Great Britain more closely by social intercourse. Research Corona Club
A coronation is the placing of the crown on a monarch's head with solemn rites and ceremonies. Part of the ceremony usually consists in the oath which the monarch takes, that he will govern justly, will always consult the real welfare of his people, and will conscientiously observe the fundamental laws of the state. In England kings and queens have been anointed and crowned in WestminsterAbbey, even to the latest times, with great splendour. The form of the coronation oath is that settled after the revolution of 1688. The Archbishop of Canterbury puts it to the sovereign, who swears to govern according to the statutes of parliament, to cause law and justice in mercy to be executed, and to maintain the Protestant religion. Research Coronation
The Coronation Chair is an ancient chair kept in Westminster Abbey, and used at the coronation of the sovereigns of England, all of whom have been crowned in it since Edward I. It is said to have been made for that king, and is architectural in design, having a high, upright, gabled, and crocketed back, with panels of tracery work, and rests on four carved lions. In a space beneath the seat is the famous Coronation Stone, the Scottish Lia Fail or 'Stone of Destiny', carried off to England by Edward I. It is said to have been originally brought from Ireland, and was used in the coronation of the Scottish kings at Scone. It is a block of red sandstone, derived, according to Skene, from the rocks near Scone. There is also a coronation chair for the consort, made for the coronation of Mary II, when she was crowned along with William III. Research Coronation Chair
Coronation Street is a British television soap-opera, created by Tony Warren and produced by Granadatelevision, following the everyday lives of a fictional community set in the fictional Manchester suburb of 'Weatherfield' in north-west England. Coronation Street was first shown in 1960. Research Coronation Street
Corporal Punishment is the striking or beating of a person as punishment. Caning in schools is corporal punishment, and is a subject of continuous debate as to whether or not it should be allowed. In the past in England certain criminals were whipped, such as incorrigible rogues, perpetrators of robbery with violence and larceny. The whipping of women was banned in England in 1820. Research Corporal Punishment
The Corporation and Test Acts were two acts of note in English history. The Corporation Act, passed in 1661, prevented any person from being legally elected to any office belonging to the government of any city or corporation in England, unless he had, within the twelve months preceding, received the sacrament of the Lord's supper according to the rites of the Church of England. The Test Act, passed in 1673, required all officers, civil and military, to take the oaths, and subscribe a declaration against transubstantiation in the courts of King's Bench or Chancery, within six months after their admission; and also within the same time to receive the sacrament of the Lord's supper according to the usage of the Church of England, in some public church. The Corporation Act was principally directed against Protestant Nonconformists; the Test Act against Roman Catholics. In the year 1828 they were both repealed. Research Corporation and Test Acts
Corpus Christi is the festival in the Roman Catholic Church held on the Thursday after TrinitySunday. Corpus Christi means 'body of Christ', and takes the form of the consecrated host at the Lord's supper, which, according to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, is changed by the act of consecration into the real body of Christ. This doctrine caused the adoration of the consecrated host, and hence the Roman Catholic Church has ordained for the host a particular festival, called the Corpus Christi feast. It was established as a general festival in 1264 by a bull of PopeUrban IV. It commemorates the institution of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper and among Roman Catholics is the occasion of outdoor processions. Research Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, called also Benet College, was founded about 1352 by the united guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin, two fraternities of townspeople which used to meet for prayers at St BenedictChurch and St Mary's respectively. The endowments of the college were considerably increased by Archbishop Parker, who also bequeathed to it his valuable collection of manuscripts.
Corpus Christi College, Oxford is a college founded by Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester, under the license from Henry VIII in 1516. The foundation consisted of twenty fellows and twenty scholars. Research Corpus Christi College
Corpus Juris is a name given to certain collections of laws. The name of Corpus Juris Civilis (body of civil law) in particular was bestowed in the 12th century upon the general body of legal works drawn up at the orders of Justinian, viz. the Institutes, Pandects, Code and Novels; together with the collections bearing on the feudal law appended to them. With the canonical or Papal laws the same mode of proceeding has been adopted, and the Corpus Juris Canonici compiled. Research Corpus Juris
In Saxon times, corsned was a piece of bread consecrated by exorcism, to be swallowed by any person suspected of a crime. If guilty, it was expected that the swallower would fall into convulsions, or turn deadly pale, and that the bread would find no passage. If innocent, it was believed the morsel would turn to nourishment. Research Corsned
Cortes was the old assembly of the estates in Spain and Portugal. In early times the king was very dependent upon them, especially in the Kingdom of Aragon. When the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile were united under Ferdinand and Isabella the crown succeeded in rendering itself more independent of the estates, and in 1538 Charles abolished the assembly of the estates in Castile altogether. Gradually the popular liberties were encroached upon, and the cortes at length were convened only for the purpose of homage or ceremony, or when a question regarding the succession arose. In 1808 Napoleon revived the cortes for his own ends. Research Cortes
Corvee is a form of forced labour. The term is especially applied to the unpaid labour owed by tenants in France to their lord under the feudal system. The system died out with serfdom in Europe, except in France where it was continued in the form of a labour or money payment for the upkeep of roads and was not finally abolished there until 1792. Research Corvee
Cosmogony (from the Greek, kosmos, world, and gone, generation), is a theory of the origin or formation of the universe. Such theories may be comprehended under three classes: 1. The first represents the world as eternal, in form as well as substance. 2. The matter of the world is eternal, but not its form. 3. The matter and form of the universe is ascribed to the direct agency of a spiritual cause; the world had a beginning, and shall have an end.
Aristotle appears to have embraced the first theory; but the theory which considers the matter of the universe eternal, but not its form, was the prevailing one among the ancients, who, starting from the principle that nothing could be made out of nothing, could not admit the creation of matter, yet did not believe that the world had been always in its present state. The prior state of the world, subject to a constant succession of uncertain movements which chance afterwards made regular, they called chaos. The Phoenicians, Babylonians, and also Egyptians, seem to have adhered to this theory. One form of this theory is the atomic theory, as taught by Leucippus, Epicurus, and Lucretius. According to it atoms or indivisible particles existed from eternity, moving at hazard, and producing, by their constant meeting, a variety of substances. After having given rise to an immense variety of combinations they produced the present organization of bodies. The third theory of cosmogony makes God, or some deity, the Creator of the world out of nothing. This is an ancient and widely-spread theory, and is that taught in the book of Genesis. Anaxagoras was the first among the Greeks who taught that God created the universe from nothing. Around 1900 the most popular theory for the origin of the universe was the nebular hypothesis, which was strikingly similar to the later big bang theory propagated at the end of the 20th century. Research Cosmogony
The Cotton Famine was a destitution in the English cotton manufacturing districts, especially in Lancashire, and caused by the outbreak of the American Civil War. The cotton supply failed on account of the blockade of the southern ports of the United States, and the mill-owners finally had to close their mills - nearly two million people becoming unemployed and destitute. A Relief Fund was started, and a Relief Act passed by parliament, by which loans were granted to the guardians of the poor for instituting relief works. By June, 1865, the distress was at an end, greatly increased supplies of cotton having been obtained from Brazil, Egypt, India, and elsewhere. Research Cotton Famine
The Cotton Mills Act was passed in 1819 laying down a minimum age for the employment of children and a maximum working week of 72 hours. Research Cotton Mills Act
Cotton-spinning is a term employed to describe in the aggregate all the operations involved in transforming raw cotton into yarn. The word 'spinning' has also a more limited signification, being used to denote the concluding process of the series. The following affords a general notion of the nature and order of the successive operations carried on in the manufacture of cottonyarn:
(1) Mixing, the blending of different varieties of raw cotton, in order to secure economical production, uniform quality and colour, and an even thread in any desired degree.
(2) Cleaning, an operation partly effected in mixing, partly by scutching, the cotton being prepared in the form of a continuous lap or rolled sheet for the next process.
(3) Carding, an operation in which the material is treated in its individual fibres, which are taken from the lap, further cleansed, and laid in a position approximately parallel to each other, forming a thin film, which is afterwards condensed into a sliver - a round, untwisted strand of cotton.
(4) Drawing, the drawing out of several slivers to the dimensions of one, so as to render the new sliver more uniform in thickness, and to place the fibres more perfectly in parallel order.
(5) Stubbing, the further drawing or attenuation of the sliver, and slightly twisting it in order to preserve its cohesion and rounded form.
(6) Intermediate or second stubbing, a repetition of the former operation and further attenuation, not necessary in the production of coarse yarns.
(7) Having, a continuation of the preceding, its principal object being to still further attenuate the sliver, and give it a slight additional twist.
(8) Spinning, which completes the extension and twisting of the yarn. This is accomplished either with the throstle or the mule. By means of the former machine the yarn receives a hard twist, which renders it tough and strong. By means of the latter yarns of less strength are produced, such as warps of light fabrics and wefts of all kind.
Up to the middle of the 18th century the only method of spinning known was that by the hand-wheel, or the still more primitive distaff and spindle. In 1767 a poor weaver of the name of Hargreaves, residing at Stanhill, near Blackburn, in Lancashire, invented a machine for spinningcotton, which he named a spinning-jenny. It consisted at first of eight spindles, turned by a horizontal wheel, but was afterwards greatly extended and improved, so as to have the vertical substituted for the horizontal wheel, and give motion to from fifty to eighty spindles. In 1769 Arkwright, originally a barber's apprentice, took out a patent for spinning by rollers. From the circumstances of the mill erected by Arkwright at Cromford, in Derbyshire, being driven by water-power, his machine received the name of the water-frame, and the thread spun on it that of water-twist. The next important invention in cotton-spinning was that of the mule, introduced by Samuel Crompton, of Bolton, in 1775, and so called from its combining the principle of the spinning-jenny of Hargreaves with the roller-spinning of Arkwright.
Numerous improvements in cotton-spinning have been subsequently introduced up to the present day, but they are all, more or less, modifications of Arkwright's spinning-frame and Crompton's mule-jenny. Among the principal of these may be mentioned the throstle, an extension and simplification of the original spinning-frame, introduced about the year 1810. Research Cotton-Spinning
Cotton-wool is the term used for cotton when used in the open form, without being spun or woven. It is usually composed of short fibres which are no use for spinning, and is used in medicine for applying antiseptic material and for removing make-up and for wadding and stuffing. Research Cotton-wool
The Cottonian Library was formed by Sir Robert Cotton around 1600 and secured to the public by a statute of 1700. In 1731 part of the collection was damaged by fire and the remainder of the books were removed to the British Museum in 1757. Research Cottonian Library
A coulisse is one of the side scenes of the stage in a theatre, or the space included between the side scenes. Properly the term applies to one of the grooved pieces of wood, etc, in which a flat scene moves. Research Coulisse
Coumarin is a vegetable proximate principle, obtained from the Dipterix odordta or Tonka bean, sweet woodruff, sweet-scented vernalgrass, melilot, etc. It has a pleasant aromatic odour, and a burning taste. It is used in perfumery, in medicine, and to give flavour to certain varieties of Swiss cheese. Research Coumarin
A council is an assembly met for deliberation, or to give advice. The term specially applies to an assembly of the representatives of independent churches, convened for deliberation and the enactment of canons or ecclesiastical laws. The four general or oecumenical councils recognized by all churches are: 1, the Council of Nice, in 325, by which the dogma respecting the Son of God was settled; 2, that of Constantinople, 381, by which the doctrine concerning the Holy Ghost was decided; 3, that of Ephesus, 431; and 4, that of Chalcedon, 451; in which two last the doctrine of the union of the divine and human nature in Christ was more precisely determined.
Among the principal Latin councils are that of Clermont (1096), in the reign of Urban II, in which the first crusade was resolved upon; the Council of Constance, the most numerous of all the councils, held in 1414, which pronounced the condemnation of John Huss (1415), and of Jerome of Prague (1416); the Council of Basel, in 1431, which intended a reformation, if not in the doctrines, yet in the constitution and discipline of the church; and the Council of Trent, which began its session in 1545, and laboured chiefly to confirm the doctrines of the Catholic Church against the Protestants. On the 8th of December, 1869, an oecumenical council, summoned by a bull of Pope Pius IX, assembled at Rome. This council adopted a dogmatic Decree or Constitutio de Fide, and a Constitutio de Ecolesia, the most important article of which latter declares the infallibility of the pope when speaking ex cathedra. Research Council
The Council for New England was a Council established at Plymouth, in the county of Devon, for the planting, ordering, ruling and governing of New England in America. It was incorporated on November the 3rd, 1620, and was little else than the reorganization of the Plymouth, or North Virginia Company of 1606. Ferdinando Gorges was the moving spirit of the new corporation. Bradford obtained from this company a patent permitting the settlement of the Pilgrim Fathers. In 1631 Gorges obtained an additional grant of territory called Laconia, which comprised parts of the present States of Maine and New Hampshire. The lands of the new company, which now extended from Long Island to the Bay of Fundy, were distributed among twenty noblemen. Research Council For New England
The Council of Trent was a general Council of the Roman Catholic Church held at Trent between 1545 and 1563. Its origins have historical significance. A comprehensive definition of dogma and strong internal reforms were needed to enable the Roman Church to show an undivided front against the growing strength of the Reformed doctrines. The popes generally had resisted appeals for general councils, e.g. that made by the university of Paris in 1518. In 1530 the Protestant estates demanded a 'council of Christendom' and the emperor, Charles V, was strongly convinced of the necessity of reform. After various delays and postponements between 1537 and 1544, a council was summoned to Trent by pope Paul III, in 1545. Over 200 fathers attended, and the sittings continued, broken partly by political developments, under Popes Julius III and Pius IV, the last of the 25 sessions being held in December 1563.
Among the matters dealt with by the council (the Tridentine decrees), the most important were: the joint value of Scripture and the tradition of the Church as standards of Divine revelation; the interpretative authority of the Church Fathers; original sin; the authority of the Vulgate, 1546; the Divine origin and forms of the sacraments of baptism and confirmation, 1547; the Eucharist and penance, 1551; communion in both kinds and the sacrifice of the Mass, 1562; orders and the regulation of the hierarchy; the sacrament of matrimony; veneration of saints, indulgences, index of prohibited books, 1563. The decrees were confirmed by Pius IV in 1564.
The Council of Trent was of great importance as guiding the main lines of Roman Catholic development in Post-Reformation times. The catechism of the council, summarising its decrees and definitions, was edited by the Dominican scholars, and in 1564 the Roman Congregation of the Council was established to safeguard its decisions and facilitate their practice. Research Council Of Trent
The Council of Appointment was an American council of four members instituted by the New YorkConstitution of 1777, whose function was to approve or disapprove nominations made to the office of Governor. In 1801 the Council of Appointment strengthened its powers and became an instrument of abuse in the way of partisan appointments and was subsequently abolished in 1821. Research Council of Appointment
The Council of Basel was a celebrated oecumenical council of the church convoked by Pope Martin V and his successor Eugenius IV. It was opened on the 14th of December 1431, under the presidency of the Cardinal Legate Juliano Cesarini of St Angelo. The objects of its deliberations were to extirpate heresies (that of the Hussites in particular), to unite all Christian nations under the Catholic church, to put a stop to wars between Christian princes, and to reform the church. But its first steps towards a peaceable reconciliation with the Hussites were displeasing to the pope, who authorized the cardinal legate to dissolve the council. That body opposed the pretensions of the pope, and, notwithstanding his repeated orders to remove to Italy, continued its deliberations under the protection of the emperor Sigismund, of the Overman princes, and of France. On the pope continuing to issue bulls for its dissolution the council commenced a formal process against him, and cited him to appear at its bar. On his refusal to comply with this demand the council declared him guilty of contumacy, and, after Eugenius had opened a counter-synod at Ferrara, decreed his suspension from the papal chair on January the 24th, 1438.
The removal of Eugenius, however, seemed so impracticable, that some prelates, who until then had been the boldest and most influential speakers in the council, including the Cardinal Legate Juliano, left Basel, and went over to the party of Eugenius. The Archbishop of Aries, Cardinal Louis Allemand, was now made first president of the council, and directed its proceedings with much vigour. In May, 1439, it declared Eugenius, on account of his disobedience of its decrees, a heretic, and formally deposed him. Excommunicated by Eugenius, they proceeded, in a regular conclave, to elect the dukeAmadeus of Savoy to the papal chair. Felix V - the name he adopted - was acknowledged by only a few princes, cities, and universities. After this the moral power of the council declined; its last formal session was held on May the 16th, 1443, though it was not technically dissolved until May the 7th, 1449, when it gave in its adhesion to Nicholas V, the successor of Eugenius. The decrees of the Council of Basel are admitted into none of the Roman collections, and are considered of no authority by the Roman lawyers. They are regarded, however, as of authority in points of canon law in France and Germany, as their regulations for the reformation of the church have been adopted in the pragmatic sanctions of both countries, and, as far as they regard clerical discipline, have been actually enforced. Research Council of Basel
The Council of Constance was a general council of the Church of Rome, held between 1414 and 1418. The German emperor, the pope, 33 cardinals, 3 patriarchs, 47 archbishops, 145 bishops, 124 abbots, 750 doctors, and about 18,000 priests and monks, besides many princes and counts, were present at this assembly, which condemned to deathHuss and Jerome of Prague, expelled the rival popes John XXIII, Gregory XII, and Benedict XIII, and elected Martin V to the papal chair. Research Council of Constance
Along with that of Ferrara, the council of Florence was a continuation of the Council of Basel. At Florence its sessions continued at intervals from 1439 to 1442. Its object was a reunion of the eastern and western churches; but the seeming agreement come to was soon after repudiated by a council at Constantinople (Istanbul). Research Council of Florence
The Council of Ten was the Supreme tribunal of the former Venetian Republic. It originated after the rising of 1310 when Bajamonte Tiepolo headed the popular outcry against the despotic closing of the grand council. Tiepolo's rising was suppressed and a council of ten members of the patrician class hastily assembled to investigate the causes of the revolt, and punish those concerned. In 1335 the council was made permanent, and thereafter until the overthrow of the republic in 1797 governed the city, sometimes assisted in emergencies by a giunta of twenty. The council of ten had supreme power and authority to examine and determine all political, criminal and domestic affairs. Research Council of Ten
In Scotch law, Count and Reckoning, was the name of a form of process by which one party may be called upon to render a complete statement of accounts, and show the amount due between him and another. Research Count and Reckoning
In the British House of Commons, a count-out is the act of the speaker when he counts the number of members present, and, not finding forty, intimates that there is not a quorum, when the sitting stands adjourned. The proceedings may be continued, however few be present, provided no member formally moves a count. Research Count-Out
The Counter Reformation was a movement within the Roman Catholic church in the 16th and 17th centuries that sought to revitalise the church and to oppose Protestantism. Some historians object to the term as implying only the negative elements in the movement, and they prefer designations such as Catholic Reformation or Catholic Restoration. They stress the high spirituality that animated many leaders of the movement, which often had no direct relation to the Protestant Reformation. Research Counter reformation
The ISO (International Standards Organisation) assigns a two character code to each country name. These codes are used by Internet 'whois' databases (these two character abbreviations are the whois country codes) and also other applications.
County Courts are an ancient institution in England. Their jurisdiction was formerly very restricted, but they have had extensive powers conferred on them by acts of parliament. The new county courts were established in 1846, chiefly with the view of affording a speedy and cheap mode of recovering debts under 50 pounds, but their jurisdiction is now pretty wide and varied. Research County Courts
A coupe was a small four-wheeled closed carriage for two persons, carrying a driver outside. The term has come to also describe a motor car with a single-compartment body containing two or three seats or a half-compartment in a railwaycoach. Research Coupe
A couplet is two rhymed lines of verse, either comprising a self-contained poem, or forming a unit in a longer poem. Couplets in English are usually written in ten-syllable (decasyllabic) lines, a form first used by the 14th- century poet Geoffrey Chaucer. This evolved into the so-called heroic
couplet popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. The heroic couplet, two rhyming iambic pentameter lines, is also called a closed couplet because the meaning and the grammatical structure are complete within two lines. Research Couplet
The courier con is a confidence trick which has been successfully played out many times in the United Kingdom. The con takes the form of the con artist establishing a premium-rate telephone line which costs a lot to telephone, with most of the proceeds going to the con artist. The con artist then dons suitable motorcycle or other courier clothing, including a dummy personal-mobile-radio, and calls at an office building purporting to be there to collect a package. Since a courier has not been called for the supposed package to go to the declared destination, the receptionist will inform the 'courier' of the apparent mistake. The 'courier' then asks if they can telephone their office to get instructions, or report the error, or similar. The con artist may even make a pretence of trying to use the dummy radio, claiming the battery is flat or it doesn't work in buildings. Most often the receptionist will allow the 'courier' to make a telephone call, which is of course made not to an office but to the premium-rate telephone line, at the expense of the unsuspecting company occupying the office. The longer the con artist can remain on the telephone, carrying on an imaginary conversation, the more revenue can be generated, before they politely leave with suitable apologies. Research Courier Con
Court is the suite of the sovereign, or the place where the sovereign sojourns with his suite. A court is also a place where the sovereign administers justice through his judges. Research Court
Court Hand was an old and peculiar hand or style of writing used in English law-courts from the sixteenth to the early eighteenth centuries, Research Court Hand
A Court Martial is a court for the trial of offences against the military or naval discipline or for the administration of martial law. Research Court Martial
The Court of High Commission was an ecclesiastical court created by an Act of Elizabeth I in 1559, by which all spiritual jurisdiction was vested in the crown. Under Charles I and Laud it assumed illegal powers, and was abolished in 1641. Research Court of High Commission
A Court of request was a local court established to try small actions. For the most part these courts were abolished in 1846. Research Court of Request
Courtly love was a code of behaviour that defined the relationship between aristocratic lovers in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. Influenced by contemporary chivalric ideals and feudalism, courtly love required adherence to certain rules elaborated in the songs of the troubadours between the 11th and the 13th centuries and stemming originally from the Ars Amatoria of the Roman poet Ovid. According to these conventions, a nobleman, usually a knight, in love with a married woman of equally high birth - or, often, higher rank - had to prove his devotion by heroic deeds and by amorous writings presented anonymously to his beloved. Once the lovers had pledged themselves to each other and consummated their passion, complete secrecy had to be maintained. Because most noble marriages in the Middle Ages were little more than business contracts, courtly love was a form of sanctioned adultery, sanctioned because it threatened neither the contract nor the religious sacrament of marriage. In fact, faithlessness of the lovers toward
each other was considered more sinful than the adultery of this extramarital relationship. Research Courtly Love
In the chivalric period of the middle ages, courts of love were courts composed of knights, poets, and ladies, who discussed and gave decisions on subtle questions of love and gallantry. The first of these courts was probably established in Provence about the 12th century. They reached their highest splendour in France, under Charles VI, through the influence of his consortIsabella of Bavaria, whose court was established in 1380. An attempted revival was made under Louis XIV by CardinalRichelieu. Research Courts of Love
Couvade is a custom prevalent in ancient as well as modern times among some of the aboriginal races in all parts of the world. After the birth of a child the father takes to bed, and receives the food and compliments usually given elsewhere to the mother. The custom was observed, according to Diodorus, among the Corsicans; and Strabo notices it among the Spanish Basques, by whom, as well as by the Gascons, it was still to some extent practised at the start of the 20th century. Travellers from Marco Polo downwards have met with a somewhat similar custom among the Chinese, the Dyaks of Borneo, the negroes, the aboriginal tribes of North and South America, etc. Research Couvade
In Scotch history, Covenant was the name given to a bond or oath drawn up by the Scottish reformers, and signed in 1557, and to the similar document or Confession of Faith drawn up in 1581, in which all the errors of Popery were explicitly abjured. The latter was subscribed by James VI and his council, and all his subjects were required to attach their subscription to it. It was again subscribed in 1590 and 1596. The subscription was renewed in 1638, and the subscribers engaged by oath to maintain religion in the same state as it was in 1580, and to reject all innovations introduced since that time. The Solemn League and Covenant was a solemn contract entered into between the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and commissioners from the English parliament in 1643, having for its object a uniformity of doctrine, worship, and discipline throughout Scotland, England, and Ireland, according to the word of God and the example of the best reformed churches. In 1662 it was abjured by act of parliament, both in England and Scotland. Research Covenant
The Coventicle Act of 1664 declared that a meeting of more than five persons (except the household) for religious worship not in accordance with the Book of Common Prayer was a seditious assembly. It was repealed by the Toleration Act of 1689. Research Coventicle Act
The Coventry Act was passed to prevent malicious maiming and wounding in 1671, in consequence of Sir John Coventry being maimed in the streets of London by Sir Thomas Sandy's and others on 21st December 1670. Under the act, it became a capital offence to lie in wait with intent to disfigure someone's nose. The act was repealed in 1828. Research Coventry Act
A covered wagon was a large wagon with a high, bonnet-like canvas top.
Covered wagons were used by the early American pioneers to transport themselves and their possessions across America during the 19th century migrations. Research Covered Wagon
Covers is the unit of measurement of guests at dinner, or customers eating at a restaurant. Thus, ten customers at a restaurant are referred to as ten covers. Research Covers
The Covode Investigation was an action taken in America in 1860 by the Thirty-sixth Congress during President James Buchanan's administration in inquiring into certain charges made by two Anti-Lecompton Democrats of the House, who alleged that the administration had endeavoured to influence them corruptly to vote for the Lecompton Bill. A committee of five, chaired by John Covode, investigated the charges, the Republican majority sustaining them, the Democratic minority exonerating the President. No action was taken. Research Covode Investigation
The Cowper-Temple Clause was a clause inserted in the English Education Act of 1870, on an amendment by Mr. Cowper-Temple (afterwards Lord Mount-Temple) to exclude from all rate-built schools every catechism and formula distinctive of any denominational creed. Research Cowper-Temple Clause
Coyne and livery was food and entertainment for soldiers and forage for their horses exacted by an army from the people whose lands they passed through, or from towns where they rested on their march. Coyne and Livery was an ancient right or custom in Ireland which enabled the lord or chief to quarter his soldiers on his tenants. Coyne and livery was abolished in Ireland in 1603. Research Coyne and Livery
Cracklin is a species of china which is ornamented by a net-work of small cracks in all directions. The ware receives the small cracks in the kiln, with the effect that the glaze or enamel which is afterwards applied appears to be cracked all over. Research Cracklin
The Cramp Twins is an English animated television show based upon the graphic comic novels by Brian Wood written in 1995 and 1997 and published by Bloomsbury Publishing about two ten-year old, very different twin boys - Lucien, a nature loving, inoffensive and helpful geek and Wayne, a vicious, junk-loving bully, Cramp, who live with their easy going, hen-pecked salesman father and their housework loving, clean-aholic mother. Research Cramp Twins
A cran was a British measure used for herrings being the number of herrings as fill a barrel. In 1816 the cran was fixed at 42 gallons and in 1832 at 45 gallons and finally in 1852 it was fixed at 37.5 imperial gallons. Research Cran
The crank was a Victorian instrument of punishment introduced in prisons and consisting of a handle attached to a wooden box. The prisoner had to turn the crank 10,000 revolutions each day, with so many revolutions required before each meal was supplied. Should a prisoner be too quick in completing the required revolutions, the warders could adjust the tension of the crank by means of a screw - from whence the expression 'screws' to describe prison warders - thereby making the labour on the crank more difficult. Research Crank
Cranmer's bible was Coverdale's bible corrected by Archbishop Cranmer and published in 1540. In 1549 every parishchurch in England was required to have a copy under a penalty of 40 shillings a month for failing to do so. Research Cranmer's Bible
The crantara (named from the Gaelic crean-tarigh or cross of shame, implying infamy for disobedience), was the cross which formed the rallying symbol in the Highlands of Scotland on any sudden emergency. Research Crantara
A crater was a large earthenware vessel used for mixing wines in Greece and Rome. The term also describes the outlet of a volcano or the hole made in the earth by an explosion. Research Crater
Crazing denotes a surface covered in fine cracks giving the appearance of a small pattern. The term is encountered with regard to glazed materials such as pots, and also in the painting and decorating trades. Research Crazing
Creationism is the doctrine that a soul is specially created for each humanfoetus as soon as it is formed in the womb, as opposed to Traducianism, which teaches that the souls of children as well as their bodies are begotten by the parents; and to Infusionism, which holds that souls are pre-existent, and that a soul is divinely infused into each human fcetus as soon as it is formed by generation.
The term Creationism is also now widely applied to that theory of the origin of the universe which is opposed to Evolution, that is the literal theory put forward in the book of Genesis in the bible. Research Creationism
Creative Evolution is a tenet of philosophy put forward by Bergson that asserts that evolution is not purely mechanistic (as Darwin claimed) but that inherited characteristics and the effect of the environment are used by the individual, perhaps unconsciously, in an act of self-creation. Research Creative Evolution
A creche is a day nursey for young children. Originally, creches were public nurseries for the children of poor women who had to go out to work during the day. At the early creches, for a small payment, the children were nursed and fed during the day, remaining with their parents at night. These institutions were first started in Paris in 1844 and they were soon afterwards introduced into Great Britain, and by 1905 were common in large towns. Research Creche
A credence table was a 'tasting' table used in Italy at a time when attempts to poison princes and nobles was a common practice. Today a credence table is a small table in a church by the side of the altar on which the bread and wine are placed ready for the Eucharist. Research Credence Table
Creed is a summary of belief with which the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds begin. These two creeds, together with the Athanasian Creed, are the most ancient authoritative Christian creeds, though numerous ancient formularies of faith are preserved in the writings of the early fathers, Irenaeus, Origen, Tertullian, etc., which agree in substance, though with some diversity of expression.
The Nicene Creed was so called from being adopted as the creed of the church at the Council of Nicaea or Nice, 325 AD, though its terms were subsequently somewhat altered.
The Apostles' Creed probably dates from the end of the 4th century; but there is no evidence of its being accepted in its present form until the middle of the 8th.
The Athanasian Creed was certainly not drawn up by St Athanasius, but probably belongs to the 5th century, if not as late as the end of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century. In addition to these three creeds, the Roman Catholic Church has the creed of Pius IV, put forth in 1564, and consisting of the Nicene Creed with additional articles adopted by the Council of Trent, to which is now added a profession of belief in the definitions of the Vatican Council.
The English Church adopts as 'thoroughly to be received and believed' the three ancient creeds, which as part of her liturgy may be read in the Book of Common Prayer, but does not consider any of them to be inspired. Besides these creeds, there are numerous Confessions of Faith, which have been adopted by different churches and sects. The Thirty-nine Articles of the Book of Common Prayer form a confession of faith for the Anglican Church. The creed of the Church of Scotland and other Presbyterian churches is contained in the Confession of Faith, drawn up by the Westminster Assembly of Divines, and completed in 1646. Research Creed
A creek is a small inlet, bay, or cove; a recess in the shore of the sea or of a river. In America and Australia the term is often applied to a small river or rivulet. Research Creek
Cremation is the burning of the bodies of the dead, a practice which was frequent in ancient times instead of burial, and which was strongly advocated in Europe and America during the Victorian era on hygienic grounds by many scientific men on account of the dangers to the living caused by the presence of graveyards and cemeteries. Various methods of cremation were proposed, the great difficulty being faced was how to consume the body without permitting the escape of noxious exhalations, and without mingling the ashes with foreign substances. In Siemens' process, a modification of a plan of Sir Henry Thompson, this is successfully accomplished. Research Cremation
The Creole Case was an incident that occurred on November the 7th 1841 when seventeen Negroes rose against the officers of the American brig 'Creole' which was bound from Hampton Roads to New Orleans carrying a cargo of slaves. One of the vessel's owners was killed, and the vessel was captured and sailed into Nassau where everyone was set free except those charged with murder. The US demanded the return of the prisoners, but this demand was refused by Great Britain until the matter was finally resolved by a treaty signed on August the 9th 1842. During the negotiations, J R Giddings of Ohio offered a series of resolutions which laid down the fundamentals positions of the American anti-slavery party. Research Creole Case
Crescent is a geometrical form resembling the moon in its first quarter, and used as a charge in heraldry. It is perhaps better known as the symbol of the Ottoman Turks and a symbol of Islam. The crescent as an emblem is of very high antiquity, being that of the Greek goddess Artemis or Diana. It is found on medals of many ancient cities, particularly of Byzantium, from whence it is supposed to have been borrowed by the Ottomans. The crescent has given name to a Turkish order of knighthood from the form of the badge, instituted by Selim, sultan of Turkey, in 1801. Research Crescent
A cresselle was a wooden rattle formerly used in the Roman Catholic church during Passion Weel instead of bells, to give notice of Divine worship. Research Cresselle
A cresset is a basket of open iron-work in which wood or coal is burned as a beacon. Formerly the cresset was used where lighthouses are now erected. The name was also given in the middle ages and later indifferently to the fixed candlesticks in great halls and churches and to lamps or fire-pans suspended on pivots and carried on poles in processions, municipal and military watches, etc. Research Cresset
Criminal law is the law relating to crimes. The general theory of the common law is, that all wrongs are divisible into two species: first, civil or private wrongs or torts; secondly, criminal or public wrongs. The former are to be redressed by private suits or remedies instituted by the parties injured. The latter are redressed by the state acting in its sovereign capacity.
The general description of the private wrongs is, that they comprehend those injuries which affect the rights and property of the individual, and terminate there; that of public wrongs or offences being, that they comprehend such acts as injure, not merely individuals, but the community at large, by endangering the peace, the comfort, the good order, the policy, and even the existence of society. In the first, therefore, so far as the law is concerned, the compensation of the individual whose rights have been infringed is held to be a sufficient atonement; but in the second class of offences it is demanded that the offender make satisfaction to the community as acting prejudicially to its welfare. The exact boundaries between these classes are not, however, always easy to be discerned, even in theory; for there are few private wrongs which do not exert an influence beyond the individual whom they directly injure. The divisions, torts and crimes, are thus not necessarily mutually exclusive, cases sometimes occurring in which the person injured obtains damages, while at the same time the criminal is subjected to punishment, not as against the individual, but as against the state. It is, moreover, obvious that legal criminality is not in any strict sense the measure of the morality of actions, though the legal enactment tends to enforce itself as a moral law. In large part it is only an approximate expression of the current sense of justice, this expression being both aided and hindered by the historical and constantly reflexive character of legal method.
The basis of the criminal law of Great Britain is to be found in a series of loose definitions and descriptions, of which many, and those among the more important, date from the 13th century. The irregular superstructure reared upon these consists mainly of parliamentary enactments which originated in the 18th century, but have been twice re-enacted in the 19th century - the first time between 1826 and 1832, and the second time in 1861, with an intermediary attempt at amendment in 1837. The laws as formulated, however, by no means always represent the law as interpreted, the whole system being further complicated by a mass of judicial comments and particular constructions. Thus while there is a statutory division of crimes into treasons, felonies, and misdemeanours, the distinctions between them are so uncertain that it is possible to regard the first head as merely the isolation of a sub-case of felony; while in respect of the second and third classes, the distinction can only be clearly marked by an enumeration of the crimes arbitrarily assigned to each in the common law and judges' decisions.
Even in severity of punishment a misdemeanour may rank as high as a felony. The Criminal Statutes Consolidation Acts - the result of a series of commissions extending over thirty years - accomplished little more in the way of systematization than the introduction of greater exactitude into the definition of certain individual offences and the gradation of penalties. The aim of criminal law as at present constituted, and since the end of the 19th century, is both retributive and preventive - in its former aspect being based upon the primitive passion of retaliation, in the latter primarily upon the fundamental instinct of self-preservation. The prevention of crime may, however, be effected in a threefold manner: by imposing a penalty which shall operate by fear to deter people from committing crimes, or by rendering it physically impossible for a person of known criminal tendency to repeat an offence, or by the reformation of the criminal. With the higher evolution of society the principle of retaliation has fallen into theoretic disrepute, though still a practical legal factor; and the problems of penology are made to turn almost exclusively upon the principle of prevention in these three aspects, and especially on the two last. The discovery in the 19th century that fear of a penalty only operated up to a certain point, beyond which an excessive punishment exercised a brutalizing tendency, led to a large mitigation of penal severity accompanied by a wide desire for the abolition of capital punishment, though this took almost one hundred years to be realised in Great Britain; while, on the other hand, various schemes have been devised for making punishment reformatory. These original changes in criminal law date in a large measure from the publication of Beccaria's Dei Delitti e delle Pene (On Offences and Penalties) in 1764. Research Criminal Law
A crimp was an agent whose business was to procure sailors etc. especially by seducing them from their employment or by kidnapping them. Research Crimp
A crimping-house was a place used to entrap people into the army and later into the mercantile marine. Some of them in London were destroyed by the populace following the death of a young man killed while trying to escape from one in 1794. The Merchant Shipping Act of 1894 made crimping illegal and subject to punishment by a heavy fine. Research Crimping-House
The Crittenden Compromise was a proposal for constitutional amendments made in 1860 by Kentuckian senator John Crittenden as a compromise between pro- and anti-slavery factions. One of the proposals would have allowed slavery in southern territories below 36 degrees 30 minutes north, but not above it. The United States was to pay the owner for any fugitive slave rescued. The proposition met with no success in Congress. Research Crittenden Compromise
Crocin is a colouring matter obtained from the fruit of Gardenia grandiflora, Chinese yellow pods, largely used in China for dyeingsilk, wool, and other fabrics yellow. Research Crocin
A cromlech is an ancient erection consisting of two or more stones standing like pillars, with a large flat or slightly inclined stone placed on top appearing somewhat like a table so as to form a rectangular chamber, beneath the floor of which is sometimes found a cist inclosing a skeleton and relics. Sometimes the cromlech was encircled by a ring of standing-stones, as in the case of the Standing-stones of Stennis, in Orkney; and sometimes it was itself buried beneath a large mound of earth. Research Cromlech
A cross is one straight body laid at any angle across another, or a symbol of similar shape. Among the ancients a piece of wood fastened across a tree or upright post formed a cross, on which were executed criminals of the worst class. It had, therefore, a place analogous to that of the modern gallows as an instrument of infamous punishment until it acquired honour from the crucifixion of Christ. The custom of making the sign of the cross in memory of Christ may be traced to the 3rd century. Constantine had crosses erected in public places, palaces, and churches, and adopted it, according to a legend, as the device for a banner (labarum) in consequence of a dream representing it as the symbol of victory. In his time also Christians painted it at the entrance of their houses as a sign of their faith, and subsequently the churches were for the most part built in the form of a cross. It did not, however, become an object of adoration until after the alleged discovery of the true cross by the EmpressHelena in 326. Its adoption as the Christian symbol may be held to connect itself with the fact that it was used emblematically long before the Christian era, in the same way that traces of belief in a trinity, in a war in heaven, in a paradise, a flood, a Babel, an immaculate conception, and remission by the shedding of blood, are to be found diffused amongst widely sundered peoples. The general meaning attached to the sign appears to have been that of life and regeneration.
Since its adoption by Christianity it has undergone many modifications of shape, and has been employed in a variety of ways for ornaments, badges, heraldic bearings, etc. After the introduction of the cross into the military ensigns of the Crusaders its use in heraldry became frequent, and its form was varied more than that of any other heraldic ordinary, some of the varieties being of great beauty.
The name cross is also given to various architectural structures, of which a cross in stone was a prominent feature; thus we have market crosses, preaching crosses, monumental crosses, etc. Research Cross
Cross dressing is the dressing in clothing usually worn by the opposite sex. When carried out for sexual pleasure it is known as transvestism. Research Cross Dressing
Crossroads was a British soapoperatelevision series following the daily lives of the staff and guests of a fictional Birmingham motel. Crossroads was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling and ran from 1964 to 1988. Research Crossroads
Crown Jewels are jewelled emblems of royalty. The British Crown Jewels are kept on public display at the Tower of London and comprise crowns, orbs, sceptres, swords and an anointingspoon. Research Crown Jewels
Crown-glass is the hardest and most colourless kind of window-glass, made almost entirely of sand and alkali and a little lime, and used in connection with flint-glass for optical instruments in order to destroy the disagreeable effect of the aberration of colours. Research Crown-Glass
The crozier or crosier is a bishop's staff of office. It generally resembles a shepherd's crook in shape, and may have developed from the hooked staff carried by the Roman augurs. The original form of the staff resembled a shepherd's crook, but from the middle of the 14th century the archbishops began to carry, sometimes in addition to the pastoralcrook, sometimes instead of it, a crosier terminating in a cross or double cross. The crosier is carried by bishops and archbishops themselves only in procession and when pronouncing benediction; on all other occasions it is carried before them by a priest. At Rome the right of bearing the crosier is peculiar to the pope himself, his crosier being in the form of a triple cross. The crosier or dikanion used in the Greek Church originally consisted of a simple staff ending in a large knob. At a later period it terminated in a ball (representing the world) with a cross above and two serpents twined round the upper part of the staff. The staff used in the ArmenianChurch is headed with a serpent in the form of a crook. Research Crozier
Crucifixion is a mode of execution, by affixing criminals to a wooden cross, formerly widely practised. Different kinds of crosses were employed, especially that consisting of two beams at right angles, and the St Andrew's cross. Research Crucifixion
A cruive is a trap for fish, especially salmon, consisting of a sort of hedge of stakes on a tidal river or the sea-beach. When the tide flows the fish swim over the wattles, but are left by the ebb. Research Cruive
There is evidence of the use of crystal balls as a means of divination in medieval times, and 'scrying' in some of its many forms was by no means rare in the Greek and Roman periods. The essential requisite for the exercise of this species of divination is a polished surface of some sort upon which the scryer shall gaze intently; for this purpose mirrors, globules of lead or mercury, polished steel, the surface of water, and even pools of ink, have been employed and have been found to ensure quite as satisfactory results as the crystal ball. The points of light reflected from the polished surface serve to attract the attention of the gazer and to fix the eye until, gradually, the optic nerve becomes so fatigued that it finally ceases to transmit to the sensorium the impression made from without and begins to respond to the reflex action proceeding from the brain of the gazer. In this way the impression received from within is apparently projected and seems to come from without.
It is easy to understand that the results must vary according to the idiosyncrasy of the various scryers; for everything depends upon the sensitiveness of the optic nerve. In many cases the effect of prolonged gazing upon the brilliant surface will simply produce a loss of sight, the optic nerve will be temporarily paralysed and will as little respond to stimulation from within as from without; in other cases, however, the nerve will be only deadened as regards external impressions, while retaining sufficient activity to react against a stimulus from the brain centres. It is almost invariably stated that, prior to the appearance of the desired visions, the crystal seems to disappear and a mist rises before the gazer's eye. The Achaians, as Pausanius relates, frequently used a mirror to divine diseases or to learn whether there was danger of sudden death. Research Crystal Gazing
The cubit was a Hebrew, Roman and English unit of measurement based upon the length of a man's forearm. The English cubit was reckoned at 18 inches, the Hebrew 22 inches and the Roman 17.5 inches. Research Cubit
A cucking-stool was a kind of chair formerly used as an instrument of punishment. Scolds, cheating bakers or brewers, and other petty offenders were placed in it, usually at their own doors, to be hooted at and pelted by the mob. It has been frequently confounded with the ducking stool. Research Cucking-Stool
Cudbear is a purple or violet coloured powder used in dyeing violet-purple and crimson, prepared from the Lecanora tartarea and other lichens growing on rocks in Sweden, Scotland, etc. The colour, however, is somewhat fugitive, and in Britain it is used chiefly to give strength and brilliancy to the indigo blues. There is little essential difference between cudbear and archil. Research Cudbear
Cufic is a term derived from the town of Cufa or Kufa in the pashalic of Bagdad, and applied to a certain class of Arabic written characters. The Cufic characters were the written characters of the Arabian alphabet in use from about the 6th century of the Christian era until about the llth. They are said to have been invented at Cufa, and were in use at the time of the composition of the Koran. They were succeeded by the Neskhi characters, which are still in use. Under the name of Cufic coins are comprehended the ancient coins of the Mohammedan princes, which have been found in modern times to be important for illustrating the history of the East. They, are of gold (dinar), silver (dirhem), and brass (fals), but the silver coins are most frequent, and numbers of them have been discovered on the shores of the Baltic, and in the central provinces of European Russia. Research Cufic
Cuir-bouilly is leather softened by boiling, then impressed with ornaments and used for shields, girdles, sword-sheaths, coffers, purses, shoes, and many other articles. Cuir-bouilly was also used in the 16th century, for hangings for rooms gilded and painted, and, when heightened by gold or silver, known as cuir dore, or cuir argente. Research Cuir-bouilly
Culilawan Bark (clove-bark) is a valuable aromatic pungent bark, the produce of a kind of cinnamon tree, Cinnamomum Culilawan, a tree of the Moluccas, useful in indigestion, diarrhoea, etc. Research Culilawan Bark
The Cullinan Diamond was a diamond of over 3000 carats found in Cullinan mine in the Transvaal in 1907. It was bought by the Transvaal government for 150,000 pounds and presented to King Edward VII as the largest diamond known. It has subsequently been cut into 9 large stones. Research Cullinan Diamond
A cultivator (also knwn as a horse-hoe or grubber) is an agricultural implement with long, strong, broad-pointed iron teeth or tines, for tearing up or loosening the soil. Research Cultivator
A cumulative vote is a system by which every voter is entitled to as many votes as there are persons to be elected, and may give them all to one candidate, or may distribute them among the candidates, as he thinks fit. The principle was first introduced into Britain by the Elementary Education Act of 1870. Research Cumulative Vote
Cuneiform describes the form of writing used in inscriptions by the ancient Babylonians, Persians and Hittites. The characters are all in the form of a wedge and were developed from earlier ideographs and represent not so much individual characters as syllables or entire words. Research Cuneiform
A curfew is a signal given, generally by the ringing of a bell, to warn inhabitants of a town to extinguish their fires. It was used to avoid the danger of fires at night when houses were built of wood. The practice was introduced as a law by William The Conqueror, who directed that at the ringing of a bell at 8 o'clock all fires and lights should be extinguished. The law was repealed by Henry I in 1100, and today the term describes ordering citizens to remain indoors between certain hours. The name curfew was given to a utensil formerly used for covering a fire. Research Curfew
Curia was anciently one of the thirty divisions of the Roman people, which Romulus is said to have established. The term also describes the place of assembly for each of these divisions. The comitia curiata was the assembly of the people in curiae. Research Curia
Curia Romana is the name given to the judicial and administrative organisations for the Government of the Roman Catholic Church, including the body of Cardinals and officials who reside at Rome. Research Curia Romana
Originally, in Latin, a curriculum was the course over which a race was run, hence the term became used for the whole course of study at a university necessary to qualify for a particular degree, and later extended to school education also. Research Curriculum
Currying is the art of dressing cow-hides, calves'-skins, seal-skins, etc, principally for shoes, saddlery, or harness, after they have come from the tanner. In dressing leather for shoes the leather is first soaked in water until it is thoroughly wet; then the flesh side is shaved to a proper surface with a knife of peculiar construction, rectangular in form with two handles and a double edge, The leather is then thrown into the water again, scoured upon a stone until the white substance called bloom is forced out, then rubbed with a greasy substance and hung up to dry. When thoroughly dry it is grained with a toothed instrument on the flesh side and bruised on the grain or hair side for the purpose of softening the leather. A further process of paring and graining makes it ready for waxing or colouring, in which oil and, traditionally, lamp-black, are used on the flesh side. It is then sized, dried, and tallowed. In the process the leather is made smooth, lustrous, supple, and water-proof. Research Currying
Cusco-bark also known as cuzco-bark is the bark of Cinchona pubescens, which comes from Cuzco, in South America. It contains a peculiar alkaloid called cusco-cinchonine, or cusconine, which resembles cinchonine in its physical qualities, but differs from it in its chemical properties. When applied medicinally it excites warmth in the system, and was therefore formerly recommended to be given in cold intermittents and low typhoid states of the system. Research Cusco-Bark
A custodia is a shrine of precious metal in the shape of a cathedral, in which the host or the relics of a saint are carried in procession on certain solemn occasions. Research Custodia
A cutting edge pointed knife is a basic knifedesign in which the cutting edge is straight and the blade back is curved. This design does not allow the cutting edge to sway, but instead is suited to a chopping action. Research Cutting Edge Pointed
Cuttle-bone is the dorsal plate of Sepia officinalis, formerly used in medicine as an absorbent and now used for polishing wood and as a tooth powder. Research Cuttle-bone
A cutty-stool was a low stool of repentance. It was a seat set apart in Presbyterian churches in Scotland, on which offenders against chastity were exhibited before the congregation and submitted to the minister's rebukes before they were readmitted to church privileges. Research Cutty-stool
Cycle is a term used for every uniformly-returning succession of the same events. On such successions or cycles of years rests all chronology, particularly the calendar. Our common solar year, determined by the periodical return of the sun to the same point in the ecliptic, everybody knows contains fifty-two weeks and one day, and leap-year a day more. Consequently in different years the same day of the year cannot fall upon the same day of the week. And as every fourth year is a leap-year, it will take twenty-eight years (4x7) before the days return to their former order according to the Julian calendar. Such a period is called a solar cycle. The cycle of the moon, or golden number, or Metonic cycle, is a period of nineteen years after which the new and full moons return on the same days of the month. Research Cycle
The Cyrillic alphabet (Cyrillitza) was invented by St Cyril in 845. It contains forty-two letters and is fashioned from ancient Greek. Research Cyrillic
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