An altar is a pile or structure raised above the ground for receiving sacrifices to some divinity. The Greek and Roman altars were various in form, and often highly ornamental; in temples they were usually placed before the statue of the god. In the Jewish ceremonial the altar held an important place, and was associated with many of the most significant rites of religion. Two altars were erected in the tabernacle in the wilderness, and the same number in the temple, according to instructions given to Moses in MountSinai. These were called the altar of burnt-offering and the altar of incense. In some sections of the Christian church the communion-table, or table on which the eucharist is placed, is called an altar. In the primitive church it was a table of wood, but subsequently stone and metal were introduced with rich ornaments, sculpture, and painting. After the introduction of Gothic art the altar frequently became a lofty and most elaborate structure. Originally there was but one altar in a church, but latterly there might be several in a large church, the chief or high altar standing at the east end. Over an altar there is often a painting (an altar-piece), and behind it there may be an ornamental altar-screen separating the choir from the east end of the church. Lights are often placed on or near the altar. Research Altar
Chariot is a term applied to horse-drawn vehicles used both for pleasure and in war. Ancient chariots, such as those used among the Egyptians, Assyrians, Greeks, and Romans, were of various forms. A common form was open behind and closed in front, and had only two wheels.
The chariot was strongly and even elegantly built, but not well adapted for speed. In ancient warfare chariots were of great importance; thus we read of the 900 iron chariots of Sisera, as giving him a great advantage against the Israelites. The Philistines in their war against Saul had 30,000 chariots.
The sculptures of ancient Egypt show that the chariots formed the strength of the Egyptian army, these vehicles being two - horsed and carrying the driver and the warrior, sometimes a third man, the shield-bearer. There is no representation of Egyptian soldiers on horseback, and consequently when Moses in his song of triumph over Pharaoh speaks of the horse and his rider, rider must be understood to mean chariot-rider. In the Egyptian chariots the framework, wheels, pole, and yoke were of wood, and the fittings of the inside, the bindings of the framework, as well as the harness were chiefly of raw hide or of tanned leather.
We have also numbers of sculptures which give a clear idea of the Assyrian chariots. These resembled the Egyptian in all essential features, containing almost invariably three men - the warrior, the shield-bearer, and the charioteer. A peculiarity of both is the quiver or quivers full of arrows attached to the side. The Assyrian war-chariot was drawn by three horses abreast, and all the appointments were rich and elaborate. It had two quivers crossing each other on the side, filled with arrows, and each also containing a small axe. A socket for holding the spear was also attached. From the front of the chariot a singular ornamental appendage stretched forward.
War-chariots had sometimes scythe-like weapons attached to each extremity of the axle, as among the ancient Persians and Britons. Among the Greeks and Romans chariot-races were common.
In Britain the name chariot was formerly given to a kind of light travelling carriage. Research Chariot
Decalogue is the ten commandments, which, according to the bible were given by God to Moses on two tables. The Jews call them the ten words. Jews and Christians have divided the ten commandments differently; and in some Catholic catechisms the second commandment has been united with the first, and the tenth has been divided into two. Research Decalogue
Divorce is a separation, by law, of husband and wife, and is either a divorce a vinculo matrimonii, that is, a complete dissolution of the marriage bonds, or a divorce a mensa et thoro (from bed and board), whereby the parties are legally separated, but not unmarried.
The causes admitted by different codes of laws as grounds for the modification or entire dissolution of the marriage contract, as well as the description of tribunal which has jurisdiction of the proceedings, and the form of the proceedings, are various.
Divorce was permitted by the law of Moses, but forbidden in the New Testament, except for unchastity. The early laws of Rome permitted the husband to divorce his wife for adultery and many other alleged offences. The facility of divorce continued, without restriction, under the Roman emperors, but as the modern nations of Europe emerged from the ruins of the Roman Empire, they adopted the doctrine of the New Testament. Marriage, under the Roman Church, instead of a civil contract, came to be considered a sacrament of the church, which it was unlawful to dissolve. The ecclesiastical courts could indeed annul a marriage, but only for a cause that existed at the time the marriage was contracted, such as prior contracts, impotency, etc. For any cause arising after marriage they could only pronounce a divorce a mensa et thoro, which did not leave either party free to marry again, except by papal dispensation.
A divorce a vinculo matrimonii, for any cause arising subsequent to marriage, could formerly be obtained in England only by an act of parliament, and the ecclesiastical courts must have previously pronounced a divorce a mensa et thoro. The act passed in 1857, however, established a new court for trying divorce causes, called the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes, subsequently absorbed into the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division of the High Court of Justice.
In Victorian England, the husband could obtain a divorce for simple adultery; but if the wife is the petitioner, she had to show that her husband had been guilty of certain kinds of adultery, or of adultery coupled with desertion or gross cruelty. Either party could marry again after divorce. A divorce could not be obtained if it appeared that the petitioner had been guilty of the same offence, or that there had been collusion between the parties to obtain a divorce, or if they had condoned the offence by living together as man and wife after discovery. The husband could claim damages from the adulterer, and the court could also order the adulterer to pay the costs of the proceedings, in whole or in part. The act also abolished divorces a mensa et thoro, substituting, however, judicial separations. Since the late 20th century, divorce in BritainEngland has become a simple affair with either party simply having to claim that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.
A decree for a divorce is always in the first instance a decree nisi. In Scotland, from the time of the Reformation, divorce might be obtained by either party on the ground of adultery, marriage being held to be only a civil contract, and as such under the jurisdiction of the civil courts. Condonation or collusion was sufficient to prevent a divorce from being obtained on the ground of adultery, but not recrimination, that is, a counter charge of adultery. Wilful desertion was also held a valid reason for divorce.
In France divorce was legalized in 1884, with conditions, after having been prohibited for many years. Research Divorce
Naive art is a term applied to painting (and to a much lesser degree sculpture) produced in more or less sophisticated modern societies but lacking conventional representational skills. Colours are characteristically bright and non-naturalistic, perspective non-scientific, and the vision childlike or literal-minded. Interest in the freshness and directness of vision of outstanding naive artists such as Henri Rousseau developed in France in the early years of the 20th century, and since then many other
naive artists, for example Grandma Moses in the USA, have won critical recognition. Research Naive Art
Passover is a Jewish festival to commemorate the deliverance of the Israelites, when the angel of death (that slew the first born of the Egyptians) passed over their houses, and spared all who did as Moses commanded them. Research Passover
The Qabbala (Cabala, Caballa, Kabbala) is an ancient esoteric tradition of the Jews. It was supposedly given to Moses on mountSinai in a revelation. Research Qabbala
Aaron was a Jewish patriarch and the brother and assistant of Moses. Together with Moses he led the Israelites out of Egypt, and became the first Jewish high priest. Aaron was of the tribe of Levi. At Sinai, when the people became impatient at the long-continued absence of Moses, he complied with their request in making a golden calf, and thus became involved with them in the guilt of gross idolatry. The office of high-priest, which he first filled, was made hereditary in his family. He died at Mount Hor, allegedly at the age of 123, and was succeeded by his son Eleazar. Research Aaron
Benjamin Robert Haydon was an English painter. He was born in 1786 at Plymouth and died in 1846. He was admitted as a student to the Royal Academy in 1805 and exhibited his first picture in 1807 - Joseph and Mary Reposing (in Egypt), and his Dentatus in 1809. His Judgment of Solomon appeared in 1814. In 1815 he established a school in opposition to the Academy, an undertaking
which ended in pecuniary failure in 1823. His life was plagued with debts and he was several times in prison for debt, always complaining of injustice and neglect, finally he supposedly became deranged when he failed to be employed in decorating the new houses of parliament and he eventually committed suicide.
He was the chief English historical painter of his time, and a man of great intellectual ability generally. But he was self-willed, perverse, and devoid of tact. Of his pictures the principal are - Christ's Entry into Jerusalem, the Raising of Lazarus, the Mock Election, Chairing the Member, Pharaoh Dismissing Moses, the Burning of Rome, the Banishment of Aristides, and Quintus Curtiua Leaping into the Gulf. He left an interesting autobiography. Research Benjamin Haydon
Boz was a pseudonym adopted by Charles Dickens and under which he wrote a series of literary sketches for the Morning Chronicles which were later published by him in a book called Sketches by Boz. The Pickwick Papers first appeared under this pseudonym, which is a corruption of Moses, a name jocularly given to his youngest brother. Research Boz
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Altar
