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
The flamingo is a bird of the genus Phoenicopterus formerly placed in the order of wading birds, but now generally ranked among the Natatores or swimmers, and constituting a family Phoenicopteridae, allied to the Anatidae or ducks. Its body is rather smaller than that of the stork, but owing to the great length of the neck and legs it stands from 5 to 6 feet high. The beak is naked, lamellate at the edges, and bent as if broken; the feet are palmated and four-toed.
The common flamingo (Phoenicopterus antiquorum) occurs abundantly in various parts of Southern Europe, Northern Africa, etc. It is entirely pink, except the quill-feathers, which are jet-black. The tongue is fleshy, and one of the extravagances of the Romans during the later period of the empire was to have dishes composed solely of flamingoes' tongues. The flamingoes live and migrate in large flocks, frequenting desert sea-coasts and salt-marshes. They are extremely shy and watchful. While feeding they keep together, drawn up artificially in lines, which at a distance resemble those of an army; and, like many other gregarious birds, they employ some to act as sentinels, for the security of the rest.
Their food comprises molluscs, spawn, crustaceans, etc, which they fish up by means of their long neck, turning their head in such a manner as to take advantage of the crook in their beak. They breed in companies in inundated marshes, raising the nest to a certain height by heaping up the mud with their feet into a small hillock, which is concave at the top. In this the female lays her eggs, and it was formerly believed that she sat on them with her legs hanging down, like those of a man on horseback. But the nests are not so high as to allow of this, and the birds really sit with their legs doubled up under them. An American species of flamingo is Phoenicopterus ruber. Research Flamingo
George Crook was an American soldier. He was born in 1828 and died in 1890. He commanded the Pitt River expedition in 1857, and during service in the American Civil War was brevetted lieutenant-colonel and commanded the second cavalry division at Chickamauga. He had charge of the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac from March 36, 1865, until the surrender at Appomattox, and from 1866 on was chiefly occupied in quelling Indian disturbances. In 1888 he was appointed a major-general of the US army. Research George Crook
Thomas Boston was a Scottish divine. He was born in 1677 at Dunse and died 1732. He was educated at Edinburgh University. received license to preach in 1697, and in 1707 was appointed to the parish of Ettrick in Selkirkshire, where he remained all his life. Besides engaging hotly in the ecclesiastical controversies of his time, Thomas Boston published a volume of sermons, several theological treatises, and his two well-known works, The Crook in the Lot and Human Nature in its Fourfold State. Research Thomas Boston
In Finnish mythology, Kuu was the moon formed from the whites of the celestial duck-eggs laid in the crook of Luonnotar's knee. Kuu's light streamed across the world, glittering on the ice-fields and these glitters passing into the ground as silver. Research Kuu
In Finnish mythology, Otava was one of the constellations of stars formed from specks of albumen in duck-eggs laid at the crook of Luonnotar's knee when the universe was created. Light from Otava reached the earth and warmed the ground, fertilizing it to produce bear-offspring. Research Otava
The Battle of Cedar Creek was the final battle of Philip Sheridan's campaign against the Confederate Early in the Shenandoah Valley and occurred on October the 19th 1864 during the American Civil War. Each general led about 30,000 men. During the early part of the fight Philip Sheridan himself was absent, the Battle of Winchester, or Opequan, still being in progress. Wright therefore commanded the Federals. His forces,. under the immediate command of Emory and Crook, were drawn up along Cedar Creek and were there attacked at daybreak by the Confederates, who fell upon the Eighth Corps and routed it utterly. Wright immediately reformed his line, making a change of front and a retrograde movement, but losing heavily during the formation. At this point Philip Sheridan came up, assumed command and fell upon the Confederates, putting them to flight with great slaughter. This was the last attempt of the Confederates toward the North by the Shenandoah Valley. Research Battle of Cedar Creek
The Battle of Deatonsville took place on April the 6th 1864 during the American Civil War. The Confederate army under Robert E Lee, while in full retreat from Petersburg, at the close of the last campaign about that city and Richmond, was struck near Deatonsville, Virginia, by Crook, commanding the left of Sheridan's pursuing forces. Crook's forces were repulsed by superior numbers, but his assault enabled Custer to join him and attackRobert E Lee a little further on at Sailor's Creek. Ewell's forces were cut off and compelled to surrender. Research Battle of Deatonsville
Accidental Hero is a comedy starring Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, Andy Garcia and Joan Cusack in a story about a small-time crook on his way to meet his son when he encounters a plane crash and helps several passengers to escape, before disappearing before he can be hailed as a hero. Accidental Hero was directed by Stephen Frears in 1992. Research Accidental Hero
Father Hood is a comedy starring Patrick Swayze and Halle Berry in a story about a petty crook who finally gets a big job but has to take his teenage daughter and young son along with him. Father Hood was directed by Darrell James Roodt in 1993. Research Father Hood
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Abbreviations
Research Crozier
