A cave, or cavern is an opening of some size in the solid crust of the earth beneath the surface. Caves are principally met with in limestone rocks, sometimes in sandstone and in volcanic rocks. Some of them have a very grand or picturesque appearance, such as Fingal's Cave in Staffordshire, others, such as the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, which incloses an extent of about 40 miles of subterranean windings, are celebrated for their great size and subterranean waters, others for their gorgeous stalactites and stalagmites; others are of interest to the geologist and archaeologist from the occurrence in them of osseous remains of animals no longer found in the same region, perhaps altogether extinct, or for the evidence their clay floors and rudely-sculptured walls, and the prehistoric implements and human bones found in them, offer of the presence of early man.
Caves in which the bones of extinct animals are found owe their origin, for the most part, to the action of rain-water on limestone rocks. The deposit contained in them usually consists of clay, sand, and gravel combined. In this are embedded the animal remains, and stones either angular or rounded. Some of the remains found in European caverns belong to animals now found only in the tropical or subtropical regions, and others are the remains of animals now living in more northerly areas; others, again, are the relics of extinct animals. Among the latter class of animals are the cave bear and lion, the mammoth and mastodon, species of rhinoceros, etc. Of others that have only migrated may be mentioned the reindeer, which is no longer found in Southern Europe; and the Hyoena crocuta, found in the Gibraltar caves, which now lives in South Africa. The ibex, the chamois, and a species of ground squirrel, are shown to have once lived in the Dordogne, but are now found only on the heights of the Alps and Pyrenees.
Thus it is evident that the geographical conditions of the country must have been very different from what they are now. Man's relation to these extinct animals, and his existence at the time these changes took place, are demonstrated by such discoveries as those of human bones and worked flints beneath layers of hyena droppings, as in Wokey's Hole, near Wells, England; mixed up indiscriminately, as in Kent's Hole, near Torquay, with bones of elephant, rhinoceros, hyena, etc; and by the fact that many bones of the extinct animals are split up, evidently for the sake of the marrow.
In the Dordogne and Savigne caves fragments of horn have been found bearing carved, or rather deeply scratched, outline figures of ibex, reindeer, and mammoth. Among the most remarkable bone-caves are those of Kirkdale, in Yorkshire; Kent's Hole, Wokey's Hole; of Franconia, in Bavaria; the banks of the Meuse, near Liege; and the south of France. Research Cave
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
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
The Order of St George was a military order instituted in Russia in 1769 by the Empress Catharine II as a reward of military achievements. It consisted of four classes to which a fifth, intended for non-commissioned officers and privates, was added in 1807.
The Oredr of St George is an order instituted in Bavaria by the Emperor Charles VII. (Charles Albert) in 1729, and reorganized by King Louis II in 1871. Since the re-organisation the order, which had previously been a mere decoration for the nobility, it devoted itself to such services as the care of the wounded on battlefields, etc.
The Order of St George is a Sicilian military order, instituted by Joseph Napoleon on the 24th of February, 1808, and remodelled by King Ferdinand IV in 1819. Research Order of St George
The Peasants' War was a German revolt from 1524 to 1526 in which the peasantry and the lower classes of the towns rose up against their feudal overlords. It was caused by the growing economic, religious, and judicial oppression to which the lower classes of Germany were subjected by the nobles and clergy. Fighting between peasants and retainers of the nobles broke out in 1524 in Stuhlingen, and the insurrection rapidly spread over much of central, western, and southern Germany except Bavaria; it also was strong in Austria. In 1525 the peasants formulated their demands, which included the right to choose their own ministers, the abolition of serfdom, the right to fish and kill wild game, the abolition of many kinds of feudal dues, and the guarantee of fair treatment in courts presided over by the feudal nobles. The revolt was particularly violent in Thuringia, where it was made a religious issue by the sect of Anabaptists, headed by the German religious leader Thomas Munzer. Munzer was successful in overthrowing the feudal regime and in maintaining for a time a community of peasants in which all property was commonly owned; in 1525, however, he was defeated decisively and executed. By the end of 1525, after both sides had committed atrocities and thousands were killed, the nobles in the SwabianLeague succeeded in putting down the rebellion everywhere in Germany; the revolt continued into the following year in Austria. The peasants of Germany won no concessions by their revolt; in Austria the nobles abolished a few of the evils that brought it about. Paradoxically, it was the opposition of Martin Luther, whose principles were adopted by the dissatisfied peasants and lent inspiration to the revolt, that contributed to the defeat of the peasants. Luther, sympathetic with their aspirations, was adamantly against their armed revolt. Research Peasants' War
Agnes Bernauer was the daughter of a poor Augsburg citizen, whom DukeAlbert of Bavaria, only son of the reigning prince, secretly married. He conducted her to his own castle of Vohburg; but his father wishing to marry him to Anne, daughter of the Duke of Brunswick, he was compelled to proclaim his marriage with Agnes, giving her for residence the castle of Straubing on the Danube. The incensedDuke of Bavaria, however, caused her to be seized in her castle during the absence of his son, accused her of sorcery, and had her drowned in the Danube in 1435. Albert in revenge took arms against his father, but the Emperor Sigismund finally reconciled them. The DukeErnest raised a chapel to the memory of Agnes, and Albert married the Princess of Brunswick. Research Agnes Bernauer
Andreas Hofer was a Tyrolese patriot. He was born in 1767 and died in 1810. In 1796 he led a rifle company against the French on Lake Garda, and after the Peace of Luneville took a prominent part in the organization of the Tyrol militia. In 1809 he took the lead in an insurrection of the Tyrolese for shaking off the yoke of Bavaria, to which their country had been transferred by the Treaty of Presburg. In a short time, with intermittent assistance from the Austrians, he defeated the French and Bavarian troops, and nearly the whole country was liberated. Andreas Hofer then carried on the military and civil administration, under the most singular circumstances, until the Peace of Vienna was proclaimed. Misled by false reports he commenced hostilities anew, and thus forfeited the protection of the amnesty. He remained concealed for some time, but was at last betrayed to the French, and carried to Mantua, where he was tried by a court-martial and shot, on February the 20th, 1810. His family was indemnified for the loss of their property by the Emperor of Austria in 1819, and his son ennobled. Research Andreas Hofer
Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford) was an Anglo-American soldier and scientist. He was born in 1753 at Massachusetts and died in 1814. He sympathized with the pre-Revolutionary movements in America, but the jealousy of his fellow-officers in the New Hampshire regiments alienated his patriotism. He carried dispatches from Howe to England in 1776. He raised the King's American Dragoons in New York in 1781 and was appointed lieutenant-colonel. He went to England in 1783. He entered the service of the Elector of Bavaria, acquired great influence, and was made prime minister and a count in 1790. He contributed valuable observations and discoveries to science, particularly on the nature and effects of heat and in chemistry, of which he was one of the founders. Research Benjamin Thompson
The Boii were a Celtic people whose original seat is supposed to have been between the Upper Saone and the higher parts of the Seine and Marne. They migrated to Cisalpine Gaul, crossed the Po, and established themselves between it and the Apennines, in the country previously occupied by the Umbrians. After a more or less constant strife with the inhabitants of Southern Italy they attacked the Romans in support of Hannibal in 218 BC, and though defeated, maintained the war until their subjugation by Scipio Nasica in 191 BC. The remnant of the tribe sought refuge among the Tauriscans in the territory since called after them Bohemia, from which there was a later migration, about 58 BC, to Bavaria, to which also they gave their name. Research Boii
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Cave
