Auto da fe (Act of Faith) was the ritual execution of heretics by the Inquisition after a confession had been extracted. The ceremony always took place on a Sunday, but not at regular intervals, maybe once every two, three or four years. The victims were walked in procession wearing the sanbenito, the coroza, the rope around the neck, and carrying a yellow waxcandle in their hand. The sanbenito was a penitential tunic of yellow cloth reaching to the knees and painted on it was a picture of the person who wore it, burning in flames with figures of dragons and devils in the act of fanning the flames. The costume indicated to the watching crowds the wearer was to be burned alive as an incorrigible heretic. If the person was only to do penance, then the sanbenito had on it a cross, and no painting or flames. If the victim was converted just before being led out, then the sanbenito was painted with the flames downward (known as fuego resuelto) and indicated that the wearer was not to be burned alive, but to be first strangled before burning.
At one time the sanbenito were hung up in the churches as monuments to the Inquisition. The coroza was a pasteboard cap, one metre high, ending in a point. On it were likewise painted crosses, flames and devils. Gags were kept on hand in case a victim insulted the tribunal or revealed what had occurred to them as they were led along to the place of execution where a large scaffold was erected.
The stake where the victim was to be burned varied in form, and was either a simple stake mounted in the ground, or was about three metres tall, with a small board near the top where the victim sat and was chained to the stake. Following prayers and attempts to convert the victim to the Roman Catholic faith, burning furzes were thrust into the face until the victim's face was burned before furzes around the base of the stake were ignited and the victim burned to death.
Victims were burned, because the inquisitors were forbidden to 'shed blood', the Roman Catholic church maintaining the line that it is untainted with blood. Research Auto da Fe
The Carthusians were a religious order instituted by Saint Bruno in 1084. He built several hermitages four leagues from Grenoble in south-east France, and, with six companions, united the ascetic with the monastic life. They practised the greatest abstinence, wore coarse garments, and ate only vegetables and the coarsest bread. From their original seat they were called Carthusians. Their fifth general, Guigo (died 1137), prescribed, besides the usual monastic vows, eternal silence and solitude. In the following centuries they received additional statutes, which forbade altogether the eating of flesh, and allowed them to speak only during certain hours on Thursdays and the days on which the chapter met. With increasing wealth some modifications were introduced in their silent and solitary life. Their habit is a hair-cloth shirt, a white tunic, a black cloak, and a cowl. The Carthusians were introduced into England about 1180, and built the Charterhouse (a name corrupted from Chartreuse) in 1371. Their chief house was long La Grande Chartreuse. Research Carthusians
A crucifix is a Christian image, often worn as an amulet, comprising an image of Christ on the cross. As an amulet the crucifix offers the wearer Christ's protection against evil. As a rule the figures on the most ancient crucifixes were not carved, but were engraved on gold, silver, or iron crosses. At a later period they were painted on wood, and it is only in the 9th century, in the pontificate of Leo III, that the figure of Christ appears carved upon the cross in bass-relief.
Originally the body was represented clothed in a tunic reaching to the feet; afterwards the clothing was removed with the exception of a cloth round the loins. Until the llth century Christ is represented alive; since that period he has been represented as dead. In the earlier crucifixes, also, the number of nails by which Christ is fixed to the cross is four, one through each hand and each foot, while in the more modern ones one foot is laid above the other and a single nail driven through both. Many crucifixes bear also the superscription in an abbreviated form, and accessory symbols and figures. Research Crucifix
In Greek and Roman mythology, Hercules (called by the Greeks Heracles) was the most celebrated hero or semi-divine personage, he was the son of Zeus (Jupiter) by Alcmena, the wife of Amphitryon and was brought up at Thebes, and before he was eight months old he had strangled two snakes sent by the jealous Hera (Juno) to devour him.
In his youth he had several distinguished instructors, among them the CentaurCheiron. Early in life he had, at the command of Zeus, to subject himself for twelve years to the will of Eurystheus, on the understanding that after he had acquitted himself of this duty he should be reckoned in the number of the gods. He, therefore, went to Mycenae, and performed at the bidding of Eurystheus the tasks known as the twelve labours of Hercules. These were
Bring from the infernal regions Cerberus the three headed dog of Hades.
Besides these labours, he also achieved of his own accord others equally celebrated. Thus, he assisted the gods in their wars against the giants, and it was through him alone that Zeus obtained the victory.
Having attempted to plunder the temple at Delphi, he became engaged in conflict with Apollo, and was punished by being sold to Omphale, queen of Lydia, as a slave, who restored him to liberty and married him. Having latterly returned to Greece, he became the husband of Dejanira, who unwittingly brought about his death by giving him a tunic poisoned with the blood of the Centaur Neasus, which she innocently believed would retain for her Hercules' love. The poison took effect whenever the garment was put on, and as the distemper was incurable, Hercules placed himself on a burning pile on the top of Mount OEta, was received up into heaven, and being there reconciled to Hera, received her daughter Hebe in marriage. At the death of Hercules Deianira killed her self also through grief.
In ancient works of art Hercules is generally represented naked, with strong and well-proportioned limbs; he is sometimes covered with the skin of the Nemaean lion, and holds a knotted club in his hand, on which he often leans. The principal ancient statue of him which remains is the Farnese Hercules at Naples, a work of the Athenian Griycon, The myth of Hercules is believed by many writers to represent the course of the sun through the twelve signs of the zodiac. His marriage with Hebe was explained even by the ancients as symbolic of the renewing of the sun's course after its completion. Research Hercules
The eye is the organ of vision of animals, consisting in man of the globe of the eye, the muscles which move it, and of its appendages, which are the eyelids and eyebrows, and the lachrymal apparatus. The walls of the globe of the eye are formed principally of two fibrous membranes; one white and opaque - the sclerotic (from the Greek skleros meaning hard) - which envelops two-thirds of the globe posteriorly; and the other transparent, and resembling a horny plate, whence its name, cornea (from the Latin. corneus, meaning horny). The sclerotic is a tough fibrous coat, and is the part to which the phrase 'white of the eye' is applied. In the front of the globe the sclerotic is abruptly transformed into the transparent portion (the cornea), which is circular, and which forms a window through which one can see into the interior.
A mucousmembrane, the conjunctiva, so named because it unites the eye to the lid, spreads over the anterior portion of the globe, and then folds back on itself and lines the internal surface of the, eyelids. On the internal surface of the sclerotic is a vascular membrane called the choroid. This is essentially the blood-vessel coat of the eyeball. The front part of the choroid terminates about the place where the sclerotic passes into the cornea in a series of ridges, the ciliary processes. The circular space thus left in front by the termination of the choroid is occupied by the iris, a round curtain, the structure seen through the cornea, differently coloured in different individuals. In its centre is a round hole, the pupil, which appears as if it were a black spot. The iris forms a sort of transverse partition dividing the cavity of the eyeball into two chambers, a small anterior chamber filled with the aqueous humour, and a large posterior chamber filled with vitreous humour. The iris consists of a framework of connective tissue, and its posterior surface is lined by cells containing pigment which gives the colour to the eye. In its substance are bundles of involuntary muscular fibres, one set being arranged in a ring round the margin of the pupil, the other set radiating from the pupil like the spokes of a wheel. In a bright light the circular fibres contract and the pupil is made smaller; but in the dark these fibres relax and cause the pupil to dilate more or less widely, thus allowing only that quantity of luminous rays to enter the eye which is necessary to vision.
Just behind the pupil is the crystalline lens, resembling a small, very strongly magnifying glass, convex on each side, though more so behind. The greater or less convexity of the surfaces of the lens determines whether the vision is long or short. The internal surface of the choroid, or rather the pigmentary layer which covers it, is lined by the retina or nervous tunic upon which the objects are depicted that we see.
The ocular globe is put in motion in the orbit by six muscles, grouped two by two, which raise or lower the eye, turn it inward or outward, or on its antero-posterior axis. In these movements the centre of the globe is immovable, and the eye moves round its transverse and vertical diameters. These three orders of movements are independent of each other, and may be made singly or in combination, in such a manner as to direct the pupil towards all points of the circumference of the orbit.
Each eye is furnished with two eyelids, moved by muscles, which shield it from too much light and keep it from being injured. They are fringed with short fine hairs called eyelashes; and along the edge of the lids is a row of glands similar to the sebaceous glands of the skin. The eyebrows, ridges of thickened integument and muscle, situated on the upper circumference of the orbit and covered with short hairs, also regulate to some extent the admission of light by muscular contraction. In reptiles, some fishes (sharks, etc), in birds, and in some mammals a third eyelid or nictitating membrane is present, and can be drawn over the surface of the eye so as to clear it of foreign matters, and also to modify the light.
The lachrymal apparatus is composed of, firstly, the lachrymal gland, which lies in a depression of the orbitalarch; secondly, of the lachrymal canals, by which the tears are poured out upon the conjunctiva a little above the border of the upper lid; thirdly, the lachrymal ducts, which are destined to receive the tears after they have bathed the eye, and of which the orifices or lachrymal points are seen near the internal commissure of the lids; fourthly, the lachrymal sac, in which the lachrymal ducts terminate, and which empties the tears into the nasalcanal.
The tears, by running over the surface of the conjunctiva, render it supple and facilitate the movements of the globe and eyelids by lessening the friction. The influence of moral or physical causes increases their secretion, and when the lachrymal ducts do not suffice to carry them off they run over the lids.
The retina renders the eye sensible of light, and we may therefore consider it as the essential organ of vision. The function of the other portions is to converge the luminous rays to a focus on the surface of the retina, a condition necessary for distinct vision and the clear perception of objects. The visual impressions are transmitted from the retina to the brain by means of the optic nerve. The two optic nerves converge from the base of the orbit toward the centre of the base of the skull, where there is an interlacement of their fibres in such a manner that a portion of the right nerve goes to the left side of the brain, and a part of the left nerve to the right side; this is called the chiasma or commissure of the optic nerves. The principal advantage of having two eyes is in the estimation of distance and the perception of relief. In order to see a point as single by two eyes we must make its two images fall on corresponding points of the retinas; and this implies a greater or less convergence of the optic axes according as the object is nearer or more remote.
According to one estimate, four-fifths of everything we know reaches the brain through our eyes. The eyes transmit constant streams of images to the brain by electrical signals. The eyes receive information from light rays. The light rays are either absorbed or reflected. Objects that absorb all of the light rays appear black, whereas those that reflect all the light rays appear white. coloured objects absorb certain parts of the light spectrum and reflect others. When you look at something, the light rays reflected from the object enter the eye. The light is refracted by the cornea and passes through the watery aqueous humor and pupil to the lens. The iris controls the amount of light entering the eye. Then the lens focuses the light through the vitreous humor onto the retina, forming an image in reverse and upsidedown. Light- sensitive cells in the retina transmit the image to the brain by electrical signals. The brain perceives the image the right side up.
To accommodate the eye to different distances the lens is capable of altering itself with great precision and rapidity. When we look at a near object the anterior surface of the lens bulges forward, becoming more convex the nearer the object; the more distant the object the more the lens is flattened. When the transparency of the cornea, the crystalline lens, or any of the humours, is destroyed, either partially or entirely, then will partial or total blindness follow, since no image can be formed, upon, the retina; but although all the humours and the cornea be perfectly transparent, and retain their proper forms, which is likewise necessary to distinct vision, yet, from weakness or inactivity of the optic nerve, or injury of the central ganglia with which it is connected, weakness of sight or total blindness may ensue. Defective vision may also arise from the crystalline lens being so convex as to form an image before the rays reach the retina (a defect known as short sight or myopia), in which case distinct vision will be procured by interposing a concave lens between the eye and the object of such a curvature as shall cause the rays that pass through the crystalline lens to meet on the retina; or the lens may be too flat, as is the case in old age, a defect which is corrected by convex lenses.
In the lower forms of life the organs of sight appear as mere pigment spots. Ascending higher, simple lenses or refracting bodies occur. Insects, crustaceans, etc, have large masses of simple eyes or ocelli aggregated together to form compound eyes - the separate facets or lenses being optically distinct, and sometimes numbering many thousands. In the molluscs well-developed eyes approaching in structure those of the highest animals are found; and in all vertebrate animals the organ of vision corresponds generally to what has been described, though they vary much in structure and adaptation to the surroundings of the animal. Research Eye
The 2nd Light Horse was a British cavalry regiment raised in 1759. They first saw action at the siege of BelleIsle in 1761 and later fought in the American war of Independence. They were later renamed the 16th Lancers and earned the nickname 'ScarletLancers' because they were the only lancers to wear a scarlettunic. They are the only British cavalry regiment to break an infantry square, which they did at Aliwal in the Punjab in January 1846. Research 2nd Light Horse
An acton was a quilted or padded tunic worn under a coat of mail as a defence against bruising in combat. They were popular in the 15th century. Research Acton
Armour is body protection worn in battle. The invention of gunpowder led, by degrees, to the virtual abandonment of armour until the Great War, when the helmet reappeared as a defence against shrapnel. Modern armour, used by the army, police, security guards, and people at risk from assassination, uses nylon and fibreglass and is often worn beneath clothing.
Some kind of defensive covering was probably of almost as early invention as weapons of offence. The principal pieces of defensive armour used by the ancients were shields, helmets, cuirasses, and greaves. In the earliest ages of Greece the shield is described as of immense size, but in the time of the Peloponnesian war about 420 BC, it was much smaller. The Romans had two sorts of shields; the scutum, a large rectangular highly convex shield, carried by the legionaries ; and the parma, a small round or oval flat shield, carried by the light-armed troops and the cavalry. In the declining days of Rome the shields became larger and more varied in form. The helmet was a characteristic piece of armour among the Assyrians, Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans. Like all other body armour it was usually made of bronze. The helmet of the historical age of Greece was distinguished by its lofty crest. The Roman helmet in the time of the early emperors fitted close to the head, and had a neck-guard and hinged cheek-pieces fastened under the chin, and a small bar across the face for a visor. Both Greeks and Romans wore cuirasses, at one time of bronze, but latterly of flexible materials. Greaves for the legs were worn by both, but among the Romans usually on one leg. The ancient Germans had large shields of plaited osier covered with leather, afterwards their shields were small, bound with iron, and studded with bosses. The Anglo-Saxons had round or oval shields of wood, covered with leather, and having a boss in the centre; and they had also corselets, or coats of mail, strengthened with iron rings. The Normans were well protected by mail; their shields were somewhat triangular in shape, their helmets conical. In Europe generally metal armour was used from the tenth to the eighteenth century, and at first consisted of a tunic made of iron rings firmly sewn flat upon strong cloth or leather. The rings were afterwards interlinked one with another so as to form a garment of themselves,
called chain- mail.
Great variety is found in the pattern of the armour, and in some cases small pieces of metal were used instead of rings, forming what is called scale-armour. A suit of armour consisting of larger pieces of metal, called plate-armour, was now introduced, and the whole body came to be encased in a heavy metal covering. The various forms of ring or scale armour were gradually superseded by the plate-armour, which continued to be worn until long after the introduction of firearms and field-artillery. A complete suit of armour was an elaborate and costly equipment, consisting of a number of different pieces, each with its distinctive name. In 19th century European armies the metal cuirass was still to some extent in use, the cuirassiers being heavy cavalry; and it is was said that this piece of armour provided a useful defence against the rifle bullets of the time. During all the time that the use of heavy armour prevailed, the horsemen, who alone were fully armed, formed the principal strength of armies; and infantry were generally regarded as of hardly any account. England was, however, an exception, as the English archers were almost at all times, before the invention of gunpowder, an important and sometimes the chief force in the army. Research Armour More pictures of Armour
The Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards (Grenadier Guards) was raised at Bruges in 1656 by King Charles II whilst he was in exile in Belgium. King Charles, allied to the Spanish, was short of funds and so only five regiments were raised. The most loyal supporters formed 'The Royal Regiment of Guards'. On his return to England the King raised another Regiment of Foot Guards, namely the King's Regiment of Guards, for his protection. On the death of Thomas, LordWentworth in 1665, these two Regiments were linked to form the First Regiment of Foot Guards. This title remained from then until 1815 when, due to the Regiment's actions at Waterloo, it was granted its presenttitle. The Grenadier Guards is the only Regiment in the British Army that has gained its title directly from the part it played in action. It is in consequence of this that the Grenade is worn as a badge on the forage cap, the tunic and the Colours of the Regiment. A new uniform embodying the Grenade was first worn at Christmas 1815. Research Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Auto da Fe
