Chapter XI: Preface: To the Seventh Edition (10)

BASILIDIANS. A sect of the Gnostic heretics, the followers of Basilides, who taught that from the Unborn FATHER was born his Mind, and from him the WORD, from him Understanding (φρόνησις), from him Wisdom and Power, and from them Excellencies, and Princes, and Angels, who made a heaven. He then introduced a successive series of angelic beings, each set derived from the preceding one, to the number of 365, and each the author of their own peculiar heaven. To all these angels and heavens he gave names, and assigned the local situations of the heavens. The first of them is called Abraxas, a mystical name, containing in it the number 365: the last and lowest is the one which we see; the creators of which made this world, and divided its parts and nations amongst them. In this division the Jewish nation came to the share of the prince of the angels; and as he wished to bring all other nations into subjection to his favourite nation, the other angelic princes and their nations resisted him and his nation. The Supreme FATHER, seeing this state of things, sent his first-begotten MIND, who is also called CHRIST, to deliver those who should believe in him from the power of the creators. He accordingly appeared to mankind as a man, and wrought mighty deeds. He did not, however, really suffer, but changed forms with Simon of Cyrene, and stood by laughing, while Simon suffered; and afterwards, being himself incorporeal, ascended into heaven. Building upon this transformation, Basilides taught his disciples that they might at all times deny him that was crucified, and that they alone who did so understood the providential dealings of the MOST HIGH, and by that knowledge were freed from the power of the angels, whilst those who confessed him remained under their power. Like Saturninus, however, but in other words, he asserted that the soul alone was capable of salvation, but the body necessarily perishable. He taught, moreover, that they who knew his whole system, and could recount the names of the angels, &c., were invisible to them all, and could pass through and see them, without being seen in return; that they ought likewise to keep themselves individually and personally unknown to common men, and even to deny that they are what they are; that they should assert themselves to be neither Jews nor Christians, and by no means reveal their mysteries.—_Epiph. Hæres._ xxiv. c. 1. _Cave, Hist. Liter. Sæc. Gnosticum_.

BASON (or BASIN) [so spelt in the sealed books] FOR THE OFFERTORY. “Whilst the sentences for the Offertory are in reading, the deacons, churchwardens, and other fit persons appointed for that purpose, shall receive the alms for the poor, and _other devotions_ of the people, in a decent bason, to be provided by the parish for that purpose.”—_Rubric._

It is clear from this expression, “other devotions,” that our reformers did not intend to interfere with the ancient destination of alms in the holy communion; but that they intended that all our gifts, whether for the relief of the poor—to which indeed the Church assigns the first place—or for any other good purpose, should be made as an offering to GOD; the word _devotions_ signifying an act of giving up and dedicating to Almighty GOD, and accompanied with prayer. In Exeter cathedral, and others as we believe, the alms are still apportioned to these three purposes,—relief of the poor, support of the fabric of the church, and of the clergy. To this latter use in the early Church they were almost exclusively devoted, the clergy being the chief almoners for the poor, as the Church by her rightful office now is. It is often objected to giving largely in the Offertory that there are now poor laws; but surely the laws of the state should not cramp the free-will offerings of CHRIST’S people. Is it too much to make the Church the steward of our offerings for the cause of CHRIST? It were much to be wished that all gifts were again made through this quiet and authorized channel. It is quite within the province of the donor to specify the object on which he wishes the gift to be expended, and the clergy will gladly aid the people in obedience to their holy mother the Church.

BATH-KOL, or BATH-COL, signifies _Daughter of the Voice_. It is a name by which the Jewish writers distinguish what they call a revelation from GOD, after verbal prophecy had ceased in Israel, that is, after the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The generality of their traditions and customs are founded on this Bath-Kol. They pretend, that GOD revealed them to their elders, not by prophecy, but by secret inspiration, or tradition: and this they call the Daughter of the Voice. The Bath-Kol, as Dr. Prideaux shows, was a fantastical way of divination, invented by the Jews, like the _Sortes Virgilianæ_ among the heathens. With the heathen, the words dipt at, in opening the works of Virgil, were the oracle by which they prognosticated those future events of which they desired to be informed. In like manner by the Jews, when they appealed to Bath-Kol, the next words which they heard were considered as the desired oracle. Some Christians, when Christianity began to be corrupted, used the Scriptures in the same manner as the heathens employed the works of Virgil.

BATTLE, or more properly BATTEL, _Wager of_. One of the forms of ordeal, or appeal to the judgment of GOD in the old Norman courts of this kingdom. (See _Ordeal_.) In cases of murder, and some others, when the evidence against the accused did not amount to positive proof, he was allowed to assert his innocence by this appeal. If a prosecutor appeared, before he could put in his charge, it was necessary, in cases of murder, that he should prove himself to be of the blood of the deceased. In cases of homicide, that he was allied to the slain as a relation, or vassal, or lord, and could speak of the death on the testimony of his own senses. The accused might then plead not guilty, and, at his option, throw down his glove, and declare his readiness to defend his innocence with his body. If the appellant took up the glove, and professed himself willing to prove the charge in the same manner, the judges, unless the guilt or innocence of the accused were evident, proceeded to award a trial by battle. The appellee, with the book of the Gospels in his right hand, and the right hand of his adversary in his left, took the following oath: “Hear me, thou whom I hold by the right hand, I am not guilty of the felony with which thou hast charged me. So help me GOD and HIS saints. And this will I defend with my body against thee, as this court shall award.” Then exchanging hands, and taking the book, the appellant swore, “Hear me, thou whom I hold by the hand. Thou art perjured, because thou art guilty. So help me GOD and HIS saints. And this will I prove against thee with my body, as this court shall award.” On the day appointed by the court, the two combatants were led to battle. Each had his head, arms, and legs bare, was protected by a square target of leather, and employed as a weapon a wooden stave one ell in length, and turned at the end. If the appellee was unwilling to fight, or in the course of the day was unable to continue the combat, he was immediately hanged, or condemned to forfeit his property, and lose his members. If he slew the appellant, or forced him to call out “Craven,” or protracted the fight till the stars appeared in the evening, he was acquitted. Nor did his recreant adversary escape punishment. If he survived the combat, he was fined sixty shillings, was declared infamous, and stript of all the privileges of a freeman.

In the court of chivalry the proceedings were different. When the cause could not be decided on the evidence of witnesses, or the authority of documents, the constable and mareschal required pledges from the two parties, and appointed the time of battle, the place, and the weapons,—a long sword, a short sword, and a dagger; but allowed the combatants to provide themselves with defensive armour according to their own choice. A spot of dry and even ground, sixty paces in length and forty in breadth, was enclosed with stakes seven feet high, around which were placed the serjeants-at-arms, with other officers, to keep silence and order among the spectators. The combatants entered at opposite gates; the appellant at the east, the defendant at the west end of the lists: and each severally swore that his former allegations and answers were true; that he had no weapons but those allotted by the court; that he wore no charms about him; and that he placed his whole confidence on GOD, on the goodness of his cause, and on his own prowess. Then taking each other by the hand, the appellant swore that he would do his best to slay his adversary, or compel him to acknowledge his guilt: the defendant, that he would exert all his powers to prove his own innocence. When they had been separately conducted to the gates at which they entered, the constable, sitting at the foot of the throne, exclaimed thrice, “Let them go,” adding to the third exclamation, “and do their duty.” The battle immediately began: if the king interposed, and took the quarrel into his own hands, the combatants were separated by the officers with their wands, and then led by the constable and mareschal to one of the gates, through which they were careful to pass at the same moment, as it was deemed a disgrace to be the first to leave the place of combat. If either party was killed, or cried “Craven,” he was stripped of his armour on the spot where he lay, was dragged by horses out of the lists, through a passage opened in one of the angles, and was immediately hanged or beheaded in presence of the mareschal.

Trial by battle was used not only in military and criminal cases, but also in one kind of civil action, namely, in writs of right, which were not to determine the _jus possessionis_, but the less obvious and more profound question of the _jus proprietatis_. In the simplicity of ancient times, it was thought not unreasonable that a matter of such difficulty should be left to the decision of Providence by the wager of battle. In this case the battle was waged by champions, because, in civil actions, if any party to the suit dies, the suit must abate, or end, and therefore no judgment could be given.

The last trial by battle that was waged in the court of Common Pleas at Westminster was in the thirteenth year of Queen Elizabeth, A. D. 1571, as reported by Sir James Dyer; and was held in Tothill Fields “non sine magnâ juris consultorum perturbatione.” There was afterwards one in the court of Chivalry in 1631, and another in the county palatine of Durham in 1628.

The Wager of Battle was accounted obsolete, until it was unexpectedly demanded and admitted in 1817, in a case of supposed murder; and it has since been abolished by act of parliament, 59 George III. c. 46.

BAY. (More anciently _Severy_.) One whole compartment of a building. As the whole structure consists of a repetition of bays, the description of one bay comprises most of the terms used in architectural nomenclature. The accompanying block figures are purposely composed of discordant parts, to comprise the greater number of terms.

EXTERIOR.

A. Aisle.

I. Basement.

II. Parapet.

_a._ Corbel table.

_b._ Cornice.

_c._ Gurgoyle.

III. Buttress.

_d._ Pedimental set-off.

_e._ Plain set-off.

_f._ Finial.

_g._ Flying buttress, or arch-buttress.

IV. Aisle roof.

C. Clerestory.

INTERIOR.

A. Aisle.

V. Pier.

_h._ Capital.

_i._ Shaft.

_k._ Base.

_l._ Band.

VI. Pier arch.

_m._ Spandril.

VII. Vaulting shaft.

_n._ Corbel.

_o._ Capital.

B. Triforium.

VIII. Triforium arcade.

_p._ Blank arches.

_q._ Pierced arches.

C. Clerestory.

D. Vault.

_r._ Groining ribs.

_s._ Bosses.

COMMON TO EXTERIOR & INTERIOR.

E. Aisle windows.

_t._ Jamb shafts.

_u._ Tracery (Perpendicular).

_v._ Mullions.

_w._ Transom.

_x._ Batement lights.

F. Clerestory windows.

_y._ Tracery (Geometrical).

_z._ Cusping or foliation.

_aa._ Tracery (Flowing).

_bb._ Hood, in the exterior more correctly dripstone.

_cc._ Corbel, or label.

DECORATIONS COMMON TO BOTH.

1. Arcading (Norman to Decorated.)

2. Panelling (Perpendicular).

3. Niche.

4. Panel.

5. String.

BEADS, or BEDES. A word of Saxon origin, which properly signifies _prayers_; hence _Bidding the Bedes_ meant _desiring the prayers_ of the congregation, and from the forms used for this purpose before the Reformation is derived the _Bidding of prayer_, prescribed by the English canons of 1603. (See _Bidding Prayer_.) From denoting the prayers themselves, the word came to mean the little balls used by the Romanists in rehearsing and numbering their Ave-marias and Paternosters. (See _Rosary_.) A similar practice prevails among the dervises and other religious persons throughout the East, as well Mahometans as Buddhists and other heathens. The ancient form of the Bedes, or Bidding Prayer, is given in the Appendix to Collier’s Eccl. Hist. vol. ii. No. 54, which shows that our present Bidding Prayer was founded on that model.

BEATIFICATION. (See _Canonization_.) In the Romish Church, the act by which the pope declares a person happy after death. Beatification differs from canonization. In the former the pope does not act as a judge in determining the state of the beatified, but only grants a privilege to certain persons to honour him by a particular religious worship, without incurring the penalty of superstitious worshippers. In canonization, the pope blasphemously speaks as a judge, and determines, _ex cathedrâ_, on the state of the canonized. It is remarkable, that particular orders of monks assume to themselves the power of beatification.

BEDDERN, BEDERNA. The name still retained of the vicar’s college at York, and of the old collegiate building at Beverley. Query, whether it may be somewhat the same as _Bedehouse_, i. e. an hospital?—_Jebb._

BEGUINES. A congregation of nuns, founded either by St. Begghe, duchess of Brabant, in the seventh century, or by Lambert le Begue, a priest and native of Liege, who lived in the twelfth century. They were established first at Liege, and afterwards at Nivelle, in 1207, or, as some say, in 1226. From this last settlement sprang the great number of Beguinages, which are spread over all Flanders, and which have passed from Flanders into Germany. In the latter country, some of them fell into extravagant errors, and persuaded themselves that it was possible in the present life to attain to the highest perfection, even to impeccability, and a clear view of GOD, and in short, to so eminent a degree of contemplation, that, after this, there was no necessity of submitting to the laws of mortal men, civil or ecclesiastical. The Council of Vienne, in 1311, condemned these errors, but permitted those who continued in the true faith to live in chastity and penitence, either with or without vows. There still subsist many communities of Beguines in Flanders.—_Hist. des Ord. Relig._ viii. c. i.

BEL AND THE DRAGON (THE HISTORY OF). An apocryphal and uncanonical book of Scripture. It was always rejected by the Jewish Church, and is extant neither in the Hebrew nor the Chaldee language, nor is there any proof that it ever was so. St. Jerome gives it no better title than “the fable of Bel and the Dragon.” It is, however, permitted to be read, as well as the other apocryphal writings, for the instruction and improvement of manners.

Selden (_De Diis Syris, Syntagma_ ii. cap. 17) thinks, this little history ought rather to be considered as a sacred poem or fiction, than a true account. As to the Dragon, he observes, that serpents (_dracones_) made a part of the hidden mysteries of the Pagan religion; as appears from Clemens Alexandrinus, Julius Firmicus, Justin Martyr, and others. And Aristotle relates, that, in Mesopotamia, there were serpents which would not hurt the natives of the country, and infested only strangers. Whence it is not improbable that both the Mesopotamians themselves and the neighbouring people might worship a serpent, the former to avert the evil arising from those reptiles, the latter out of a principle of gratitude. But of this there is no clear proof, nor is it certain that the Babylonians worshipped a dragon or serpent.—_Aristot._ περὶ θαυμασιων ἀκουσματων.

BELFRY. The place where the bells are hung; sometimes being a small arch placed on the gable of the church, sometimes a tower or turret. The belfries were originally detached from the church, as may be still seen in many places in Italy. Instances of this have been known in England, as at Chichester, and at Salisbury (the belfry in the latter place was destroyed some years ago). The great central towers of our cathedrals and abbeys were not originally constructed for bells, but for _lanterns_, to give light to the central portion of the church. The bells were contained in the towers, or turrets, at the west end, or at the angles of the church. Many churches had more than one bell tower. In Canterbury cathedral the ring of bells is contained in the south-western tower; the small bell, or Bell-Hurry, which is rung just before the service, is placed in the great central tower.

BELIEVERS (πιστοὶ, or _Faithful_). A name given to the baptized in the early Church, as distinguished from the _Catechumens_. The believer was admitted to all the rites of Divine worship, and instructed in all the mysteries of the Christian religion.—_Bingham._

BELLS. Bells of a small size are very ancient, but larger ones are of a much later date. The lower part of the blue robe worn by the Jewish high priest was adorned with pomegranates and gold bells. The kings of Persia are said to have had the hem of their robes adorned in like manner. The high priest probably gave notice to the people, and also desired permission to enter the sanctuary, by the sound of these bells, and by so doing escaped the punishment of death annexed to an indecent intrusion.

On the origin of church bells, Mr. Whitaker, in his “History of Manchester,” observes, that bells being used, among other purposes, by the Romans, to signify the times of bathing, were naturally applied by the Christians of Italy to denote the hours of devotion, and summon the people to church.

“Bells,” says Nicholls, “were not in use in the first ages of Christianity. For, before the Christians received countenance from the civil power, they were called together by a messenger, who went about from house to house, some time before the hour the congregation met. After this they made use of a sounding plank hanging by a chain, and struck with a hammer. The precise time when bells first came in use is not known. Paulinus, bishop of Nola, in Campania, in order to give notice to the most remote inhabitants when prayers began, hung up a large brass vessel, which, when struck upon by a hammer, gave such a sound as he desired for his purpose. This was about the year 420. Hence the two Latin names for a great bell—_Nola_, from the town; and _Campana_, from the country where they were first used.”

But, whatever may be the connexion of bells with the city of Nola, there is no ground for referring the first use of them to Paulinus; Bingham pronounces the opinion to be “certainly a vulgar error.” Others say they took the latter of these names, not from their being invented in Campania, but because it was there the manner of hanging and balancing them, now in use, was first practised; at least that they were hung on the model of a sort of balance invented or used in Campania.

The Greek Christians are usually said to have been unacquainted with bells till the ninth century, when their construction was first taught them by a Venetian. But it is not true that the use of bells was entirely unknown in the ancient Eastern churches, and that they called the people to church, as at present, with wooden mallets, like the _clappers_ or _cresselles_, used instead of bells in many churches of the Romish communion, during the holy week. (See _Cresselle_.) Leo Allatius, in his Dissertation on the Greek Temples, proves the contrary from several ancient writers. He says bells first began to be disused among them after the taking of Constantinople by the Turks; who, it seems, prohibited them, lest their sound should disturb the repose of the souls which, according to them, wander in the air.

In Britain, bells were used in churches before the conclusion of the seventh century, in the monastic societies of Northumbria, and as early as the sixth, even in those of Caledonia. And they were therefore used from the first erection of parish churches among us. Those of France and England appear to have been furnished with several bells. In the time of Clothaire II., king of France, A. D. 610, the army of that king was frightened from the siege of Sens, by ringing the bells of St. Stephen’s Church. The second excerption of Egbert, about A. D. 750, which is adopted in a French capitulary of 801, commands every priest, at the proper hours, to sound the bells of his church, and then to go through the sacred offices to GOD. And the Council of Eanham, in 1009, requires all the mulcts for sins to be expended in the reparation of the church, clothing and feeding the ministers of GOD, and the purchase of church vestments, church books, and church _bells_. These were sometimes composed of iron in France; and in England, as formerly at Rome, were frequently made of brass; and, as early as the ninth century, there were many cast of a large size and deep note. Ingulphus mentions, that Turketulus, abbot of Croyland, who died about A. D. 870, gave a great bell to the church of that abbey, which he named _Guthlac_; and afterwards six others, viz. two which he called _Bartholomew_ and _Betelin_, two called _Turkettul_ and _Tatwin_, and two named _Pega_ and _Bega_, all which rang together; the same author says, “Non erat tunc tanta consonantia campanarum in totâ Angliâ.” Not long after, Kinsius, archbishop of York, (1051–1061,) gave two great bells to the church of St. John, at Beverley, and at the same time provided that other churches in his diocese should be furnished with bells. Mention is made by St. Aldhelm, and William of Malmesbury, of bells given by St. Dunstan to churches in the West. The number of bells in every church gave occasion to a curious and singular piece of architecture in the campanile or bell tower: an addition which is more susceptible of the grander beauties of architecture than any other part of the edifice. It was the constant appendage to every parish church of the Saxons, and is actually mentioned as such in the laws of Athelstan.

The uses of church bells are summed up in the following monkish distichs:—

“Laudo Deum verum, plebem voco, congrego clerum,
Defunctos ploro, pestem fugo, festa decoro.”

“Funero plango, fulgura frango, sabbata pango,
Excito lentos, dissipo ventos, paco cruentos.”

Before bells were hung, they were formerly, and in the Romish communion they still are, washed, crossed, blessed, anointed with chrism, and named by the bishop. This ceremony was commonly styled _baptizing_ them. (See _Martène de Antiq. Eccl. Ritibus_, ii. 296.) Some say that it was introduced by Pope John XIII., who occupied the pontifical chair from 965 to 972, and who first consecrated a bell in the Lateran church, and gave it the name of John the Baptist. But it is evidently of an older standing, there being an express prohibition of the practice in a capitular of Charlemagne in 789—_ut clocæ non baptizentur_.

The following are the regulations of the Church of England on the subject of bells.

By a constitution of Archbishop Winchelsea, the parishioners shall find, at their own expense, bells with ropes.

Canon 81. The churchwardens or questmen, and their assistants, shall not suffer the bells to be rung superstitiously, upon holy days or eves abrogated by the Book of Common Prayer, nor at any other times, without good cause to be allowed by the minister of the place, and by themselves.

Canon 111. The churchwardens shall present all persons, who by untimely ringing of bells do hinder the minister or preacher.

Canon 15. Upon Wednesdays and Fridays weekly, the minister at the accustomed hour of service shall resort to the church or chapel, and warning being given to the people by tolling of a bell, shall say the litany.

Canon 67. When any is passing out of this life, a bell shall be tolled, and the minister shall not then slack to do his last duty. And after the party’s death, (if it so fall out,) there shall be rung no more but one short peal, and one other before the burial, and one other after the burial.

Rubric concerning the service of the church. “And the curate that ministereth in every parish church or chapel, being at home, and not being otherwise reasonably hindered, shall say the same in the parish church or chapel when he ministereth, and shall cause a bell to be tolled thereunto a convenient time before he begin, that the people may come to hear GOD’S word, and to pray with him.”

Although the churchwardens may concur in directing the ringing or tolling of the bells on certain public and private occasions, the incumbent may prevent the churchwardens from ringing or tolling them at undue hours, or without just cause. Proceedings may be instituted in the ecclesiastical court against churchwardens who have violently and illegally persisted in ringing the bells without consent of the incumbents.

Bells were used in Ireland at a very early period. Harris, in his edition of Ware, (vol. ii. p. 129,) quotes Bede as an authority for the use of bells in the sixth century, and observes on Molyneux’s opinion that the popular name of the round tower in Ireland was derived from a Germanico-Saxon word, signifying a bell. Mr. Petrie, in his recent laborious essay on the Irish Round Towers, has shown that these towers, as their name denotes, their form and locality suggest, and tradition teaches, were intended for ecclesiastical belfries. And in the same work, as well as in the documents collected by Irish antiquarians, it is shown that bells were known in Ireland as far back as the age of St. Patrick. Some of these ancient bells are still in existence.

Nankin, in China, was anciently famous for the largeness of its bells; but their enormous weight having brought down the tower in which they were hung, the whole building fell to ruin, and the bells have ever since been disregarded. One of these bells is near 12 English feet high, the diameter 7½ feet, its circumference 23 feet, and the thickness of the metal about the edges 7 inches; its figure almost cylindrical, except for a swelling in the middle. From these dimensions its weight is computed at 50,000 lbs.

In the churches of Russia the bells are numerous, and distinguished by their immense size; they are hung, particularly at Moscow, in belfries or steeples detached from the churches, with gilt or silvered cupolas, or crosses; and they do not swing, but are fixed immoveably to the beams, and rung by a rope tied to the clapper, and pulled sideways. One of these bells, in the belfry of St. Ivan’s church at Moscow, weighed 127,836 English lbs. It has always been esteemed a meritorious act of religion to present a church with bells, and the piety of the donor has been estimated by their magnitude. The emperor Bodis Godunof gave a bell of 288,000 lbs. to the cathedral of Moscow, but he was surpassed by the empress Anne, (or, as Dr. Clarke and others say, Alexis, in 1653,) at whose expense a bell was cast, weighing no less than 443,772 lbs., which exceeds in size every bell in the known world. Its height is 21 feet, the circumference at the bottom 67 feet 4 inches, and its greatest thickness 23 inches. The beam to which this vast machine was fastened being accidentally burnt by a fire in 1737, the bell fell down, and a fragment was broken off towards the bottom, which left an aperture large enough to admit two persons abreast without stooping.

In the Russian Divine service the number of strokes on the bell announces what part of it is beginning. Several blows are struck before the mass; three before the commencement of the liturgy; and, in the middle of it, a few strokes apprize the people without, that the hymn to the holy Virgin is about to be sung, when all work is immediately suspended, they bow and cross themselves, repeating silently the verse then singing in the church.—_Overall._ For some curious directions as to the chiming of the bells in ancient times in Lichfield cathedral, see _Dugd. Monast._ ed. 1830, vi. 1256.—_Jebb._

BELL, BOOK, AND CANDLE. Between the seventh and the tenth century, the sentence of excommunication was attended with great solemnities. The most important was the extinction of lamps or candles by throwing them on the ground, with an imprecation, that those against whom the curse was pronounced might be extinguished or destroyed by the vengeance of GOD. The people were summoned to attend this ceremony by the sound of a bell, and the curses accompanying the ceremony were pronounced out of a book by the minister, standing in a balcony. Hence originated the phrase of cursing by bell, book, and candle.

BEMA. The name of the bishop’s throne in the primitive church, or, as some understand it, the whole of the upper end of the church, containing the altar and the apsis. This seat or throne, together with those of the presbyters, was always fixed at the upper end of the chancel, in a semicircle beyond the altar. For anciently, the seats of the bishops and presbyters were joined together, and both were called thrones. The manner of their sitting is related by Gregory Nazianzen in his description of the church of Anastasia, where he speaks of himself as bishop, sitting upon the high throne, and the presbyters on lower benches on each side of him.—_Bingham._ (See _Apsis_ and _Cathedral_.)

BENEDICITE. A canticle used at Morning Prayer, after the first lesson. This canticle is so called because, in the Latin version, it so begins. It is called “The Song of the Three Children,” because Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (whom the prince of the eunuchs named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Dan. i. 7) are reported to have sung it in the burning fiery furnace, into which they were cast by order of Nebuchadnezzar for adhering stedfastly to their GOD, (Dan. iii. 19,) &c., and in which GOD preserved them in a miraculous manner (ver. 27).—_Dr. Bennet._

This and the Te Deum are the only hymns used in our service that are of man’s composing. Our Church being careful, even beyond all the ancient Churches, in singing to GOD, to sing in the words of GOD.—_Dr. Bisse._ This statement of Dr. Bisse is not altogether correct. The hymns “Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts,” and the “Gloria in Excelsis,” though suggested by Holy Scripture, are human compilations. And the metrical _Veni Creator_ is also of man’s composing. The Benedicite was prescribed to be used in Lent, by King Edward VI.’s First Book.—_Jebb._

BENEDICTINES. An order of monks who profess to follow the rules of St. Benedict. The Benedictines, being those only that are properly called monks, wear a loose black gown, with large white sleeves, and a capuche, or cowl, on their heads, ending in a point behind. In the canon law they are styled black friars, from the colour of their habit. The rules of St. Benedict, as observed by the English monks before the dissolution of the monasteries, were as follows: they were obliged to perform their devotions seven times in twenty-four hours, the whole circle of which devotions had respect to the passion and death of CHRIST: they were obliged always to go two and two together: every day in Lent they were obliged to fast till six in the evening; and abated of their usual time of sleeping and eating; but they were not allowed to practise any voluntary austerity without leave of their superior: they never conversed in their refectory at meals, but were obliged to attend to the reading of the Scriptures: they all slept in the same dormitory, but not two in a bed: they lay in their clothes: for small faults they were shut out from meals: for greater they were debarred religious commerce, and excluded from the chapel: incorrigible offenders were excluded from the monasteries. Every monk had two coats, two cowls, a table book, a knife, a needle, and a handkerchief; and the furniture of his bed was a mat, a blanket, a rug, and a pillow.

The time when this order came into England is well known, for in 596 Gregory the Great sent hither Augustine, prior of the monastery of St. Andrew at Rome, with several other Benedictine monks. Augustine became archbishop of Canterbury; and the Benedictines founded several monasteries in England, as also the metropolitan church of Canterbury. Pope John XXII., who died in 1354, after an exact inquiry, found, that, since the first rise of the order, there had been of it twenty-four popes, near 200 cardinals, 7000 archbishops, 15,000 bishops, 15,000 abbots of renown, above 4000 saints, and upwards of 37,000 monasteries. There have been likewise of this order twenty emperors and ten empresses, forty-seven kings, and above fifty queens, twenty sons of emperors, and forty-eight sons of kings, about one hundred princesses, daughters of kings and emperors, besides dukes, marquises, earls, countesses, &c., innumerable. This order has produced a vast number of eminent authors and other learned men. Rabanus set up the school of Germany. Alcuinus founded the university of Paris. Dionysius Exiguus perfected the ecclesiastical computation. Guido invented the scale of music, and Sylvester the organ. They boast to have produced Anselm, Ildephonsus, Venerable Bede, &c. There are nuns likewise who follow the order of St. Benedict: among whom those who call themselves mitigated, eat flesh three times a week, on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays; the others observe the rule of St. Benedict in its rigour, and eat no flesh unless they are sick. The Benedictines were the most extensive and powerful order in England. All the cathedral convents, with the exception of the Augustinian monastery of Carlisle, were of this order, as were four out of the five that were converted into cathedrals by Henry VIII., viz. Gloucester, Oxford, Peterborough, and Chester: and all the mitred abbeys, with the exception of Waltham and Cirencester, which were Augustinian. In Ireland they yielded in importance and numbers to the Augustinians. They were the great patrons of church architecture and of learning in England. The chief branches of the Benedictine order in England were the Cluniacs, founded by Bernon, abbot of Gigniac, in 913; and the Cistercian, founded by Robert, abbot of Molême, at Citeaux in Burgundy, in 1098. (See _Cluniacs_ and _Cistercians_.)

BENEDICTION. A solemn act of blessing performed by the bishops and priests of the Church. In the Jewish Church, the priests, by the command of God, were to bless the people, by saying, “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee. The LORD make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” In the Church of England, several forms of blessing are used agreeing with the particular office of which they form a part. The ordinary benediction at the close of Divine service, from the end of the Communion office, is in these words: “The peace of GOD, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of GOD, and of his SON JESUS CHRIST our LORD: and the blessing of GOD Almighty, the FATHER, the SON, and the HOLY GHOST, be amongst you, and remain with you always.” The former part of this is taken from Philippians iv. 7, and the latter may be considered as a Christian paraphrase of Numbers vi. 24, &c. Other forms of blessing, or modifications of the above, may be found in the offices for Confirmation, Matrimony, and Visitation of the Sick. The benediction at the end of the Communion Service must be said by the bishop, if he be present.

In the Romish Church, on Holy Thursday, the officiating priest blesses, consecrates, and exorcises, three sorts of oils. The first is that used in extreme unction; the second that of the Chrysma; the third that of the Catechumens; ending with this salutation, Ave sanctum oleum, “Hail holy oil!” after which the new-made holy oils are carried in procession into the sacristy.—_Piscara, Praxis Cerem._

In Spain, and some parts of France bordering upon Spain, the custom of blessing meats at Easter is still preserved. This is supposed to be done in opposition to the heresy of the Priscillianists, which infected Spain and Guienne: for Priscillian held, that the devil, and not GOD, was the creator of flesh, and that the faithful ought to reject it as impure and wicked. This blessing is scarce ever used, except in those churches, and near those places, where that heresy formerly prevailed.—_Alcet’s Ritual._

On Easter eve they perform the ceremony of blessing the new fire. At the ninth hour, the old fire is put out, and at the same time an Acolyth lights the new fire without the church. The officiating priest, with his attendants, walks in procession to the place where the ceremony is to be performed. After repeating a form of prayer, he makes the sign of the cross over the fire. In the mean time the Thuriferary puts some coals into the thurible, into which the priest throws some frankincense, having first blessed it: then he sprinkles the fire with holy water, saying, _Asperges me, Domine_, “Thou wilt sprinkle me, O Lord.” This ceremony of the holy fire seems to be borrowed from pagan superstition; for the ancient Romans used to renew the fire of Vesta in the month of March, as Ovid informs us;

Adde quod arcanâ fieri novus ignis in æde
Dicitur, et vires flamma refecta capit.

Add that the hallowed fire new vigour takes,
And round the sacred walls with added lustre breaks.

The principal use of this holy fire, among the Roman Catholics, is to light therewith the Paschal taper; which likewise receives its benediction, or blessing, by the priest’s putting five grains of incense, in the form of a cross, into the taper. This blessed taper must remain on the gospel-side of the altar from Easter eve to Ascension day.—_Baudry, Manual. Cerem._ _Fast._ lib. iii. 144. _Piscara, Praxis Cerem._

The blessing of baptismal fonts (another piece of Popish superstition) is performed, among other ceremonies, by the priest’s blowing thrice on the water, and in three different places; and afterwards plunging a taper thrice into it, observing to sink it deeper the second time than the first, and the third than the second, saying at each immersion, _Descendat in hanc plenitudinem fontis virtus Spiritus Sancti_, i. e. “May the influence of the Holy Spirit descend on this water.”—_Piscara_, ibid.

On the eve before Christmas, the holy father blesses a sword, enriched with precious stones, wrought in the form of a dove; with a ducal hat fixed on the point of it, richly adorned with jewels. (_Sacra Cerem. Eccl. Rom._) This he sends as a present to some prince, for whom he has a particular affection, or some great general, who has deserved it by fighting against the enemies of the Church. Pope Pius II. sent the hat and sword to Lewis XI., with four Latin verses engraved on the blade, by which his Holiness exhorted him to destroy the Ottoman empire. The popes, according to Aymon, ground this custom on what is said in the Second Book of the Maccabees, c. v., that “Judas the Maccabee, going to fight Nicanor, general of the army of Antiochus, saw in a dream the high priest Onias praying to God for the Jewish people, and the prophet Jeremiah presenting him with a sword, and saying these words; ‘Receive, Judas, this holy sword, which is given thee by the Lord, to destroy the enemies of Israel.’”

But one of the most extraordinary benedictions of this kind is that of _bells_; in the performance of which there is a great deal of pomp and superstition. (See _Bells_.)

BENEDICTUS. The Latin for “blessed,” which is the first word in one of the hymns to be said or sung after the second lesson in the Morning Service of the Church. The Benedictus is taken from Luke i., from the 68th to the 72nd verse, being part of the song of Zacharias the priest, concerning his son John the Baptist, who was to be the forerunner of CHRIST, but was then only in his infancy.

When the gospel was first published to the world, the angels sang praise; and all holy men, to whom it was revealed, entertained these “good tidings” with great joy. And since it is our duty also, whenever we hear the gospel read, to give glory to GOD, therefore the Church appoints this hymn, which was composed by holy Zacharias upon the first notice that GOD had sent a SAVIOUR to mankind, and is one of the first evangelical hymns indited by GOD’S SPIRIT upon this occasion. Its original therefore is Divine, its matter unexceptionable, and its fitness for this place unquestionable.—_Dean Comber._

This prophecy of Zacharias, called “Benedictus,” for the reason already mentioned, was uttered on the birth of John the Baptist; and is a thanksgiving for the redemption of mankind, of which he was to publish the speedy approach. It copies very nearly the style of the Jewish prophets, who described spiritual blessings by temporal imagery. Thus meaning to praise the “Father of mercies” (2 Cor. i. 3) for delivering all nations from the dominion of the wicked one, it “blesses the LORD GOD of Israel for saving his people from their enemies, and from the hand of those that hate them.” Now this kind of language was laid aside after our SAVIOUR’S ascension; and therefore the prophecy before us is not of later date, but genuine. Yet it sufficiently explains to what sort of “salvation” it refers, by mentioning “the remission of sins, the giving of light to them that sat in darkness, and the guiding of their feet into the way of peace.” And so it may teach us both the fitness and the method of assigning to the Old Testament predictions an evangelical interpretation. The people, in repeating it, should remember, that the words, “And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest,” belong, not to our SAVIOUR, but to the Baptist. And it is easily to be apprehended, that if, in the dawning which preceded “the Sun of righteousness,” (Mal. iv. 2,) good Zacharias offered up his thanks with such transport, we, to whom he shines out in full splendour, ought to recite it with double gratitude.—_Abp. Secker._

Though the hundredth psalm is almost constantly used after the second lesson, there seems no good reason why this hymn should be laid aside. They are both equally indited by the HOLY SPIRIT, and both admirably calculated to assist the devotion and elevate the affections of a Christian congregation: and the hymn, being placed first, seems to have been intended for more general use than the psalm.—_Waldo._

The Church hath appointed two songs of praise and thanksgiving to be used, either of them after each lesson, but not so indifferently but that the former practice of exemplary Churches and reason may guide us in the choice. For the “Te Deum,” “Benedictus,” “Magnificat,” and “Nunc Dimittis,” being the most expressive jubilations and rejoicings for the redemption of the world, may be said more often than the rest, especially on Sundays and other festivals of our LORD.—_Bishop Sparrow._

The Benedictus was used exclusively after the second lesson in the First Book of King Edward VI.

BENEFICE. In the ecclesiastical sense of the word, means a church endowed with a revenue for the performance of Divine service, or the revenue itself assigned to an ecclesiastical person, by way of stipend for the service he is to do that church.

As to the origin of the word, we find it as follows, in _Alcet’s Ritual_: “This word was anciently appropriated to the lands, which kings used to bestow on those who had fought valiantly in the wars; and was not used in this particular signification, but during the time that the Goths and Lombards reigned in Italy, under whom those fiefs were introduced, which were peculiarly termed Benefices, and those who enjoyed them, Beneficiarii, or vassals. For notwithstanding that the Romans also bestowed lands on their captains and soldiers, yet those lands had not the name of Benefices appropriated to them, but the word benefice was a general term, which included all kinds of gifts or grants, according to the ancient signification of the Latin word. In imitation of the new sense, in which that word was taken with regard to fiefs, it began to be employed in the Church, when the temporalities thereof began to be divided, and to be given up to particular persons, by taking them out of those of the bishops. This the bishops themselves first introduced, purposely to reward merit, and assist such ecclesiastics as might be in necessity. However, this was soon carried to greater lengths, and at last became unlimited, as has since been manifest in the clericate and the monasteries. A benefice therefore is not merely a right of receiving part of the temporalities of the Church, for the service a person does it; a right, which is founded upon the gospel, and has always subsisted since the apostolic age; but it is that of enjoying a part of the temporalities of the Church, assigned and determined in a special form, so as that no other clergyman can lay any claim or pretension to it.—And in this age it is not barely the right of enjoying part of the temporalities of the Church; but is likewise a fixed and permanent right, in such a manner that it devolves on another, after the death of the incumbent; which anciently was otherwise; for, at the rise of benefices, they were indulged to clergymen only for a stated time, or for life; after which they reverted to the Church.”

It is not easy to determine when the effects of the Church were first divided. It is certain that, till the 4th century, all the revenues were in the hands of the bishops, who distributed them by their _Œconomi_ or stewards; and they consisted chiefly in alms and voluntary contributions. When the Church came to have inheritances, part of them were assigned for the maintenance of the clergy, of which we find some footsteps in the 5th and 6th centuries; but the allotment seems not to have been a fixed thing, but to have been absolutely discretional, till the 12th century.

Benefices are divided by the canonists into _simple_ and _sacerdotal_. The first sort lays no obligation, but to read prayers, sing, &c. Such kind of Beneficiaries are canons, chaplains, chantors, &c. The second is charged with the cure of souls, the guidance and direction of consciences, &c. Such are rectories, vicarages, &c. The canonists likewise specify three ways of vacating a benefice; viz. _de jure_, _de facto_, and _by the sentence of a judge_. A benefice is void _de jure_, when a person is guilty of crimes, for which he is disqualified by law to hold a benefice; such are heresy, simony, &c. A benefice is void both _de facto_ and _de jure_, by the natural death, or resignation, of the incumbent. Lastly, a benefice is vacated _by sentence of the judge_, when the incumbent is dispossessed of it by way of punishment for immorality, or any crime against the state.

The Romanists, again, distinguish benefices into _regular_ and _secular_. Regular benefices are those held by a religious or monk of any order, abbey, priory, or convent. Secular benefices are those conferred on the secular priests; of which sort are most of their cures.

The Church distinguishes between _dignities_ and _benefices_. The former title is only applicable to bishoprics, deaneries, archdeaconries, and prebends: the latter comprehends all ecclesiastical preferments under those degrees; as rectories and vicarages. It is essential to these latter, that they be bestowed freely, reserving nothing to the patron; that they be given as a provision for the clerk, who is only an _usu-fructuary_, and hath no inheritance in them; and that all contracts concerning them between patron and incumbent be, in their own nature, void.

BENEFICIARIES, or BENEFICIATI. The inferior, non-capitular members of cathedrals, &c., were so called in many Churches abroad; as possessing a benefice or endowment in the Church. They very much corresponded to our minor canons and vicars choral, &c.—_Jebb._

BENEFIT OF CLERGY. The _privilegium clericale_, or, in common speech, the benefit of the clergy, had its origin from the pious regard paid by Christian princes to the Church of CHRIST. The exemptions which they granted to the Church were principally of two kinds: 1. Exemption of _places_ consecrated to religious offices from criminal arrests, which was the foundation of sanctuaries. (See _Sanctuary_, _Asylum_.) 2. Exemptions of the persons of the clergy from criminal process before the secular magistrate in a few particular cases, which was the true origin and meaning of the _privilegium clericale_. Originally the law was held that no man should be admitted to the privilege of the clergy but such as had the _habitum et tonsuram clericalem_. But, in process of time, a much wider and more comprehensive criterion was established, every one that could read being accounted a clerk or clericus, and allowed the benefit of clerkship, whether in holy orders or not.

BEREANS. An obscure sect of seceders from the Scottish establishment, which originated in the exclusion of one Barclay from the parish of Fettercairn, in Kincardineshire, in 1773. They adopted the name of Bereans in allusion to the text—“These (the Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts xvii. 11.) The Bereans reject all natural religion,—they take faith to be a simple credence of GOD’S word,—they consider personal assurance of the essence of faith, and unbelief as the unpardonable sin. They deny any spiritual interpretation to the historical books of the Old Testament, and reckon the Psalms so exclusively typical or prophetical of CHRIST, as to be without application to the experience of individual Christians.

BEREFELLARII. In the collegiate church of Beverley the seven inferior clergymen, ranking next after the prebendaries, were so called. The origin of the name is unknown; though it appears from ancient records, that it was a popular and vulgar one; their proper designation being _Rectores Chori_; that is, a sort of minor canons. They were also called _Personæ_. (See _Rector Chori_, and _Persona_.)—See _Dugdale’s Monasticon_, ed. 1830, vi. 1307.—_Jebb._

BERENGARIANS. A denomination, in the eleventh century, which adhered to the opinions of Berenger, archdeacon of Angers, the learned and able opponent of Lanfranc, whose work has been in part recovered, and was printed a few years since at Berlin. “It was never my assertion,” says he, “that the bread and wine on the altar are only sacramental signs. Let no one suppose that I affirm that the bread was not become the body of CHRIST from being simple bread by consecration on the altar. It plainly becomes the body of CHRIST, but not the bread which in its matter and essence is corruptible, but in as far as it is capable of becoming what it was not, it becomes the body of CHRIST, but not according to the manner of the production of his very body, for that body, once generated on earth so many years ago, can never be produced again. The bread, however, becomes what it never was before consecration, and from being the common substance of bread, is to us the blessed body of CHRIST.” His followers, however, did not hold to his doctrines, which, in themselves, were a Catholic protest against Romish errors.—_Cave, Hist. Literar. Sæc. Hildebrand_.

BIBLE. (See _Scripture_ and _Canon of Scripture_.) The name applied by Christians by way of eminence to the sacred volume, in which are contained the revelations of God. The names and numbers of the canonical books will be found under the word _Scripture_.