Chapter VI: Act 1836: , which created two new dioceses (Ripon and Manchester), (5)

The necessity of conforming to exact phraseology in diplomas and of
observing regularity in expressing formulas naturally led to the
compilation of formularies. From the early middle ages the art of
composition, not only of charters but also of general correspondence,
was commonly taught in the monasteries. The teacher was the
_dictator_, his method of teaching was described by the verb
_dictare_, and his teaching was _dictamen_ or the _ars dictaminis_.
For the use of these monastic schools, formularies and manuals
comprising formulas and models for the composition of the various acts
and documents soon became indispensable. At a later stage such
formularies developed into the models and treatises for epistolary
style which have had their imitations even in modern times. The
widespread use of the formularies had the advantage of imposing a
certain degree of uniformity on the phrasing of documents of the
western nations of Europe. Those compilations which are of an earlier
period than the 11th century have been systematically examined and are
published; those of more recent date still remain to be thoroughly
edited. The early formularies are of the simpler kind, being
collections of formulas without dissertation. The _Formulae Marculfi_,
compiled by the monk Marculf about the year 650, was the most
important work of this nature of the Merovingian period and became the
official formulary of the time; and it continued in use in a revised
edition in the early Carolingian chancery. Of the same period there
are extant formularies compiled at various centres, such as Angers,
Tours, Bourges, Sens, Reichenau, St Gall, Salzburg, Passau,
Regensburg, Cordova, &c. (see Giry, _Manuel de diplomatique_, pp.
482-488). The _Liber diurnus Romanorum Pontificum_ was compiled in the
7th and 8th centuries, and was employed in the papal chancery to the
end of the 11th century. Of the more developed treatises and manuals
of epistolary rhetoric which succeeded, and which originated in Italy,
the earliest example was the _Breviarium de dictamine_ of the monk
Alberic of Monte Cassino, compiled about the year 1075. Another
well-known work, the _Rationes dictandi_, is also attributed to the
same author. Of later date was the _Ars dictaminis_ of Bernard of
Chartres of the 12th century. Among special works on formularies are:
E. de Roziere, _Recueil general des formules usitees dans l'empire des
Francs_ (3 vols., Paris, 1861-1871); K. Zeumer, _Formulae Merovingici
et Karolini aevi_ (Hanover, 1886); and L. Rockinger, _Briefsteller und
Formelbucher des 11 bis. 14 Jahrhunderts_ (Munich, 1863-1864).

_Organization._--The formalities observed by the different chanceries of medieval Europe, which are to be learned from a study of the documents issued by them, are so varied and often so minute, that it is impossible to give a full account of them within the limits of the present article. We can only state some of the results of the investigations of students of diplomatic.

Papal Chancery.

The chancery which stands first and foremost is the papal chancery. On account of its antiquity and of its steady development, it has served as a model for the other chanceries of Europe. Organized in remote times, it adopted for the structure of its letters a number of formulas and rules which developed and became more and more fixed and precise from century to century. The Apostolic court being organized from the first on the model of the Roman imperial court, the early pontiffs would naturally have collected their archives, as the emperors had done, into _scrinia_. Pope Julius I., A.D. 337-353, reorganized the papal archives under an official _schola notariorum_, at the head of which was a _primicerius notariorum_. Pope Damasus, A.D. 366-384, built a record office at the Lateran, _archivium sanctae Romanae ecclesiae_, where the archives were kept and registers of them compiled. The collection and orderly arrangement of the archives provided material for the establishment of regular diplomatic usages, and the science of formulae naturally followed.

For the study of papal documents four periods have been defined, each successive period being distinguished from its predecessor by some particular development of forms and procedure. The first period is reckoned from the earliest times to the accession of Leo IX., A.D. 1048. For almost the whole of the first eight centuries no original papal documents have survived. But copies are found in canonical works and registers, many of them false, and others probably not transcribed in full or in the original words; but still of use, as showing the growth of formulas. The earliest original document is a fragment of a letter of Adrian I., A.D. 788. From that date there is a series, but the documents are rare to the beginning of the 11th century, all down to that period being written on papyrus. The latest existing papyrus document in France is one of Sergius IV., A.D. 1011; in Germany, one of Benedict VIII., A.D. 1022. The earliest document on vellum is one of John XVIII., A.D. 1005. The nomenclature of papal documents even at an early period is rather wide. In their earliest form they are Letters, called in the documents themselves, _litterae_, _epistola_, _pagina_, _scriptum_, sometimes _decretum_. A classification, generally accepted, divides them into: 1. Letters or Epistles: the ordinary acts of correspondence with persons of all ranks and orders; including constitutions (a later term) or decisions in matters of faith and discipline, and encyclicals giving directions to bishops of the whole church or of individual countries. 2. Decrees, being letters promulgated by the popes of their own motion. 3. Decretals, decisions on points of ecclesiastical administration or discipline. 4. Rescripts (called in the originals _preceptum_, _auctoritas_, _privilegium_), granting requests to petitioners. But writers differ in their terms, and such subdivisions must be more or less arbitrary. The comprehensive term "bull" (the name of the leaden papal seal, _bulla_, being transferred to the document) did not come into use until the 13th century.

Copies of papal deeds were collected into registers or _bullaria_. Lists showing the chronological sequence of documents are catalogues of acts. When into such lists indications from narrative sources are introduced they become _regesta_ (_res gestae_): a term not to be confused with "register."

Clearness and conciseness have been recognized as attributes of early papal letters; but even in those of the 4th century certain rhythmical periods have been detected in their composition which became more marked under Leo the Great, A.D. 440-461, and which developed into the _cursus_ or prose rhythm of the pontifical chancery of the 11th and 12th centuries.

In the most ancient deeds the pope styles himself _Episcopus_, sometimes _Episcopus Catholicae Ecclesiae_, or _Episcopus Romanae Ecclesiae_, rarely _Papa_. Gregory I, A.D. 590, was the first to adopt the form _Episcopus, servus servorum Dei_, which became general in the 9th century, and thenceforth was invariable.

The second period of papal documents extends from Leo IX. to the accession of Innocent III., A.D. 1048-1198. At the beginning of the period formulae tended to take more definite shape and to become fixed. In the superscription of bulls a distinction arose: those which conferred lasting privileges employing the words _in perpetuum_ to close this clause; those whose benefaction was of a transitory character using the form of salutation, _salutem et apostolicam benedictionem_. But it was under Urban II., A.D. 1088-1099, that the principal formulae became stereotyped. Then the distinction between documents of lasting, and those of transitory, value became more exactly defined; the former class being known as greater bulls, _bullae majores_ (also called _privilegia_), the latter lesser bulls, _bullae minores_. The leading characteristics of the greater bulls were these: The first line containing the superscription and closing with the words _in perpetuum_ (or, sometimes, _ad perpetuam_, or _aeternam_, _rei memoriam_) was written in tall and slender ornamental letters, close packed; the final clauses of the text develop with tendency to fixity; the pope's subscription is accompanied with the _rota_ on the left and the _benevalete_ monogram on the right; and certain elaborate forms of dating are punctiliously observed. The introduction of subscriptions of cardinals as witnesses had gradually become a practice. Under Victor II., A.D. 1055-1057, the practice became more confirmed, and after the time of Innocent II., A.D. 1130-1145, the subscriptions of the three orders were arranged according to rank, those of the cardinal bishops being placed in the centre under the papal subscription, those of the priests under the _rota_ on the left, and those of the deacons under the _benevalete_ on the right. In the lesser bulls simpler forms were employed; there was no introductory line of stilted letters; the salutation, _salutem et apostolicam benedictionem_, closed the superscription; the final clauses were shortened; there was neither papal subscription, nor _rota_, nor _benevalete_; the date was simple.

From the time of Adrian I., A.D. 772-795, the system of double dating was followed in the larger bulls. The first date was written by the scribe of the document, _scriptum per manum N._ with the month (rarely the day of the month) and year of the indiction. The second, the actual date of the execution of the deed, was entered (ostensibly) by some high official, _data_, or _datum, per manum N._, and contained the day of the month (according to the Roman calendar), the year of indiction, the year of pontificate (in some early deeds, also the year of the empire and the post-consulate year), and the year of the Incarnation, which, however, was gradually introduced and only became more common in the course of the 11th century. For example, a common form of a full date would run thus: _Datum Laterani, per manum N., sanctae Romanae ecclesiae diaconi cardinalis, xiiii. kl. Maii, indictione V., anno dominicae Incarnationis mxcvii., pontificatus autem domini papae Urbani secundi X^o_. The simpler form of the date of a lesser bull might be: _Datum Laterani, iii. non. Jan., pontificatus nostri anno iiii_.

By degrees the use of the lesser bulls almost entirely superseded that of the greater bulls, which became exceptional in the 13th century and almost ceased after the migration to Avignon in 1309. In modern times the greater bulls occasionally reappear for very solemn acts, as _bullae consistoriales_, executed in the consistory.

The third period of papal documents extends from Innocent III. to Eugenius IV., A.D. 1198-1431. The pontificate of Innocent III. was a most important epoch in the history of the development of the papal chancery. Formulas became more exactly fixed, definitions more precise, the observation of rules and precedents more constant. The staff of the chancery was reorganized. The existing series of registers of papal documents was then commenced. The growing use of lesser bulls for the business of the papal court led to a further development in the 13th century. They were now divided into two classes: _Tituli_ and _Mandamenta_. The former conferred favours, promulgated precepts, judgments, decisions, &c. The latter comprised ordinances, commissions, &c., and were executive documents. There are certain features which distinguish the two classes. In the _tituli_, the initial letter of the pope's name is ornamented with openwork and the other letters are stilted. In the _mandamenta_, the initial is filled in solid and the other letters are of the same size as the rest of the text. In the _tituli_, enlarged letters mark the beginnings of the text and of certain clauses; but not in the _mandamenta_. In the former the mark of abbreviation is a looped sign; in the latter it is a horizontal stroke. In the former the old practice of leaving a gap between the letters s and t, and c and t, whenever they occur together in a word (e.g. _is te_, _sanc tus_), and linking them by a coupling stroke above the line is continued; in the latter it disappears. The leaden bulla attached to a _titulus_ (as a permanent deed) is suspended by cords of red and yellow silks; while that of a _mandamentum_ (a temporary deed) hangs from a hempen cord.

In the fourth period, extending from 1431 to the present time, the _tituli_ and _mandamenta_ have continued to be the ordinary documents in use; but certain other kinds have also arisen. Briefs (_brevia_), or apostolic letters, concerning the personal affairs of the pope or the administration of the temporal dominion, or conceding indulgences, came into general use in the 13th century in the pontificate of Eugenius IV. They are written in the italic hand on thin white vellum; and the name of the pope with his style as _papa_ is written at the head of the sheet, e.g. _Eugenius papa iiii_. They are closed and sealed with Seal of the Fisherman, _sub anulo Piscatoris_. Briefs have almost superseded the _mandamenta_. The documents known as Signatures of the court of Rome or Latin letters, and used principally for the expedition of indulgences, were first introduced in the 15th century. They were drawn in the form of a petition to the pope, which he granted by the words _fiat ut petatur_ written across the top. They were not sealed; and only the pontifical year appears in the date. Lastly, the documents to which the name of _Motu proprio_ is given are also without seal and are used in the administration of the papal court, the formula _placet et ita motu proprio mandamus_ being signed by the pope.

The character of the handwriting employed by the papal chancery is discussed in the article PALAEOGRAPHY. Here it will be enough to state that the early style was derived from the Lombardic hand, and that it continued in use down to the beginning of the 12th century; but that, from the 10th century, owing to the general adoption of the Caroline minuscule writing, it began to fall and gradually became so unfamiliar to the uninitiated, that, while it still continued in use for papal bulls, it was found necessary to accompany them with copies written in the more intelligible Caroline script. The intricate, fanciful character, known as the _Litera sancti Petri_, was invented in the time of Clement VIII., A.D. 1592-1605, was fully developed under Alexander VIII., 1689-1691, and was only abolished at the end of the year 1878 by Leo XIII.

Merovingian chancery.

Of the chancery of the Merovingian line of kings as many as ninety authentic diplomas are known, and, of these, thirty-seven are originals, the earliest being of the year 625. The most ancient examples were written on papyrus, vellum superseding that material towards the end of the 7th century. All these diplomas are technically letters, having the superscription and address and, at the foot, close to the seal, the valedictory _benevalete_. They commence with a monogrammatic invocation, which, together with the superscription and address written in fanciful elongated letters, occupies the first line. The superscription always runs in the form, _N. rex Francorum_. The most complete kinds of diplomas were authenticated by the king's subscription, that of the _referendarius_ (the official charged with the custody of the royal seal), the impression of the seal, and exceptionally by subscriptions of prelates and great personages. The royal subscription was usually autograph; but, if the sovereign were too young or too illiterate to write, a monogram was traced by the scribe. The referendary, if he countersigned the royal subscription, added the word _optulit_ to his own signature; if he subscribed independently, he wrote _recognovit et subscripsit_, the end of the last word being usually lost in flourishes forming a _ruche_. The date gave the place, day, month and year of the reign. The Merovingian royal diplomas are of two classes: (1) Precepts, conferring gifts, favours, immunities and confirmations, entitled in the documents themselves as _praeceptum_, _praeceptio_, _auctoritas_; some drawn up in full form, with preamble and ample final clauses; others less precise and formal. (2) Judgments (_judicia_), which required no preamble or final clauses as they were records of the sovereign's judicial decisions; they were subscribed by the referendary and were sealed with the royal seal. Other classes of documents were the _cartae de mundeburde_, taking persons under the royal protection, and _indiculi_ or letters transmitting orders or notifying decisions; but no examples have survived.

Carolingian chancery.

The diplomas of the early Carolingians differed, as was natural, but little from those of their predecessors. As mayors of the palace, Charles Martel and Pippin took the style of _vir inluster_. On becoming king, Pippin retained it; _Pippinus, vir inluster, rex Francorum_, and it continued to be part of the royal title till Charlemagne became emperor. The royal subscription was in form of a sign-manual or mark, but Charlemagne elaborated this into a monogram of the letters of his name built up on a cross. In 775 the royal title of Charlemagne became _Carolus, gratia Dei rex Francorum et Langobardorum, ac patricius Romanorum_, the last words being assumed on his visit to Rome in 774. On becoming emperor in 800, he was styled _Imperator, Romanum gubernans imperium, rex Francorum et Langobardorum_. It is to be noticed that thenceforth his name was spelt with initial K (as it was on the monogram), having previously been written with C in the deeds. Most of his diplomas were authenticated by the subscription of the chancellor and impression of the seal. A novelty in the form of dating was also introduced, two words, _datum_ (for time) and _actum_ (for place), being now employed. The character of the writing of the diplomas, founded on the Roman cursive hand, which had become very intricate under the Merovingians, improved under their successors, yet the reform which was introduced into the literary script hardly affected the cursive writing of diplomatic until the latter part of Charlemagne's reign. The archaic style was particularly maintained in judgments, which were issued by the private chancery of the palace, a department more conservative in its methods than the imperial chancery. It was in the reign of Louis Debonair, A.D. 814-840, that the Carolingian diploma took its final shape. A variation now appears in the monogram, that monarch's sign-manual being built up, not on a cross as previously, but on the letter H., the initial of his name Hludovicus, and serving as the pattern for successive monarchs of the name of Louis.

In the Carolingian chancery the staff was exclusively ecclesiastical; at its head was the chancellor, whose title is traced back to the _cancellarius_, or petty officer under the Roman empire, stationed at the bar or lattice (_cancelli_) of the basilica or other law court and serving as usher. As keeper of the royal archives his subscription was indispensable for royal acts. The diplomas were drawn up by the notaries, an important body, upon whom devolved the duty of maintaining the formulae and traditions of the office. It has been observed that in the 9th century the documents were drawn carefully, but that in the 10th century there was a great degeneration in this respect. Under the early Capetian kings there was great confusion and want of uniformity in their diplomas; and it was not until the reign of Louis VI., A.D. 1108, that the formulae were again reduced to rules.

Imperial German chancery.

The acts of the imperial chancery of Germany followed the patterns of the Carolingian diplomas, with little variation down to the reign of Frederick Barbarossa, A.D. 1152-1190. The sovereign's style was _N. divina favente clementia rex_; after coronation at Rome he became _imperator augustus_. At the end of the 10th century, Otto III. developed the latter title into _Romanorum imperator augustus_. Under Henry III., and regularly from the time of Henry V., A.D. 1106-1125, the title before coronation has been _Romanorum rex_. The royal monogram did not necessarily contain all the letters of the name; but, on the other hand, from the year 976, it became more complicated and combined the imperial title with the name. For example, the monogram of Henry II. combines the words _Henricus Romanorum imperator augustus_. The flourished _ruches_ also, as in the Frankish chanceries, were in vogue. Eventually they were used by certain of the chancellors as a sign-manual and took fanciful shapes, such as a building with a cupola, or even a diptych. They disappear early in the 12th century, the period when in other respects the chancery of the Holy Roman Empire largely adopted a more simple style in its diplomas. Lists of witnesses, in support of the royal and official subscriptions, were sometimes added in the course of the 11th century, and they appear regularly in documents a hundred years later.

Diplomatic in England.

For the study of diplomatic in England, material exists in two distinct series of documents, those of the Anglo-Saxon period, and those subsequent to the Norman Conquest. The Anglo-Saxon kings appear to have borrowed, partially, the style of their diplomas from the chanceries of their Frankish neighbours, introducing at the same time modifications which give those documents a particular character marking their nationality. In some of the earlier examples we find that the lines of the foreign style are followed more or less closely; but very soon a simpler model was adopted which, while it varied in formulas from reign to reign, lasted in general construction down to the time of the Norman Conquest. The royal charters were usually drawn up in Latin, sometimes in Anglo-Saxon, and began with a preamble or exordium (in some instances preceded by an invocation headed with the chrismon or with a cross), in the early times of a simple character, but, later, drawn out not infrequently to great length in involved and bombastic periods. Then immediately followed the disposing or granting clause, often accompanied with a few words explaining the motive, such as, for the good of the soul of the grantor; and the text was closed with final clauses of varying extent, protecting the deed against infringement, &c. In early examples the dating clause gave the day and month (often according to the Roman calendar) and the year of the indiction; but the year of the Incarnation was also immediately adopted; and, later, the regnal year also. The position of this clause in the charter was subject to variation. The subscriptions of the king and of the personages witnessing the deed, each preceded by a cross, but all written by the hand of the scribe, usually closed the charter. A peculiarity was the introduction, in many instances, either in the body of the charter, or in a separate paragraph at the end, of the boundaries of the land granted, written in the native tongue. The sovereigns of the several kingdoms of the Heptarchy, as well as those of the United Kingdom, usually styled themselves _rex_. But from the time of AEthelstan, A.D. 825-840, they also assumed fantastic titles in the text of their charters, such as: _rex et primicerius_, _rex et rector_, _gubernator et rector_, _monarchus_, and particularly the Greek _basileus_, and _basileus industrius_. At the same time the name of Albion was also frequently used for Britain.

A large number of documents of the Anglo-Saxon period, dating from the 7th century, has survived, both original and copies entered in chartularies. Of distinct documents there are nearly two hundred; but a large proportion of these must be set aside as copies (both contemporary and later) or as spurious deeds.

Although there is evidence, as above stated, of the use of seals by certain of the Mercian kings, the method of authentication of diplomas by seal impression was practically unknown to the Anglo-Saxon sovereigns, save only to Edward the Confessor, who, copying the custom which obtained upon the continent, adopted the use of a great seal.

With the Norman Conquest the old tradition of the Anglo-Saxons disappeared. The Conqueror brought with him the practice of the Roman chancery, which naturally followed the Capetian model; and his diplomas of English origin differed only from those of Normandy by the addition of his new style, _rex Anglorum_, in the superscription. But even from the first there was a tendency to simplicity in the new English chancery, not improbably suggested by the brief formalities of Anglo-Saxon charters, and, side by side with the more formal royal diplomas, others of shorter form and less ceremony were issued, which by the reign of Henry II. quite superseded the more solemn documents. These simpler charters began with the royal superscription, the address, and the salutation, e.g. _Willelmus, Dei gratia rex Anglorum, N. episcopo et omnibus baronibus et fidelibus suis Francis et Anglis salutem_. Then followed the notification and the grant, e.g. _Sciatis me concessisse_, &c., generally without final clauses, or, if any, brief clauses of protection and warranty; and, at the end, the list of witnesses and the date. The regnal year was usually cited; but the year of the Incarnation was also sometimes given. The great seal was appended. To some of the Conqueror's charters his subscription and those of his queen and sons are attached, written by the scribe, but accompanied with crosses which may or may not be autograph. By the reign of John the simpler form of royal charters had taken final shape, and from this time the acts of the kings of England have been classified under three heads: viz. (1) Charters, generally of the pattern described above; (2) Letters patent, in which the address is general, _Universis presentes litteras inspecturis_, &c.; the corroborative clause describes the character of the document, _In cujus rei testimonium has literas nostras fieri fecimus patentes_; the king himself is his own witness, _Teste me ipso_; and the great seal is appended; (3) Close letters, administrative documents conveying orders, the king witnessing, _Teste me ipso_.

The style of the English kings down to John was, with few exceptions, _Rex Anglorum_; thenceforward, _Rex Angliae_. Henry II. added the feudal titles, _dux Normannorum et Aquitanorum et comes Andegavorum_, which Henry III. curtailed to _dux Aquitaniae_. John added the title _dominus Hiberniae_; Edward III., on claiming the crown of France, styled himself rex _Angliae et Franciae_, the same title being borne by successive kings down to the year 1801; and Henry VIII., in 1521, assumed the title of _fidei defensor_. The formula _Dei gratia_ does not consistently accompany the royal title until the reign of Henry II., who adopted it in 1173 (see L. Delisle, _Memoire sur la chronologie des chartes de Henri II._, in the _Bibl. de l'Ecole des Chartes_, lxvii. 361-401).

Private deeds.

The forms adopted in the royal chanceries were naturally imitated in the composition of private deeds which in all countries form the mass of material for historical and diplomatic research. The student of English diplomatic will soon remark how readily the private charters, especially conveyances of real property, fall into classes, and how stereotyped the phraseology and formulae of each class become, only modified from time to time by particular acts of legislation. The brevity of the early conveyances is maintained through successive generations, with only moderate growth as time progresses through the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries. The different kinds of deeds which the requirements of society have from time to time called into existence must be learned by the student from the text-books. But a particular form of document which was especially in favour in England should be mentioned. This was the chirograph (Gr. [Greek: cheir], a hand, [Greek: graphein], to write), which is found even in the Anglo-Saxon period, and which got its name from the word _chirographum_, _cirographum_ or _cyrographum_ being written in large letters at the head of the deed. At first the word was written, presumably, at the head of each of the two authentic copies which the two parties to a transaction would require. Then it became the habit to use the word thus written as a tally, the two copies of the deed being written on one sheet, head to head, with the word between them, which was then cut through longitudinally in a straight, or more commonly waved or indented (_in modum dentium_) line, each of the two copies thus having half of the word at the head. Any other word, or a series of letters, might thus be employed; and more than two copies of a deed could thus be made to tally. The chirograph was the precursor of the modern indenture, the commonest form of English deeds, though no longer a tally. In other countries, the notarial instrument has performed the functions which the chirograph and indenture have discharged for us.

AUTHORITIES.--General treatises, handbooks,, &c., are J. Mabillon, _De
re diplomatica_ (1709); Tassin and Toustain, _Nouveau Traite de
diplomatique_ (1750-1765); T. Madox, _Formulare Anglicanum_ (1702); G.
Hickes, _Linguarum septentrionalium thesaurus_ (1703-1705); F. S.
Maffei, _Istoria diplomatica_ (1727); G. Marini, _I Papiri
diplomatici_ (1805); G. Bessel, _Chronicon Gotwicense (De diplomatibus
imperatorum ac regum Germaniae)_ (1732); A. Fumagalli, _Delle
istituzioni diplomatiche_ (1802); M. F. Kopp, _Palaeographia critica_
(1817-1829); K. T. G. Schonemann, _Versuch eines vollstandigen Systems
der Diplomatik_ (1818); T. Sickel, _Lehre von den Urkunden der ersten
Karolinger_ (1867); J. Ficker, _Beitrage zur Urkundenlehre_
(1877-1878); A. Gloria, _Compendio delle lezioni di paleografia e
diplomatica_ (1870); C. Paoli, _Programma scolastico di paleografia
Latina e di diplomatica_ (1888-1890); H. Bresslau, _Handbuch der
Urkundenlehre fur Deutschland und Italien_ (1889); A. Giry, _Manuel de
diplomatique_ (1894); F. Leist, _Urkundenlehre_ (1893); E. M.
Thompson, _Handbook of Greek and Latin Palaeography_, cap. xix.
(1906); J. M. Kemble, _Codex diplomaticus aevi Saxonici_ (1839-1848);
W. G. Birch, _Cartularium Saxonicum_ (1885-1893); J. Munoz y Rivero,
_Manuel de paleografia diplomatica Espanola_ (1890); M. Russi,
_Paleografia e diplomatica de' documenti delle provincie Napolitane_
(1883). Facsimiles are given in J. B. Silvestrestre _Paleographie
universelle_ (English edition, 1850); and in the _Facsimiles_, &c.,
published by the Palaeographical Society (1873-1894) and the New
Palaeographical Society (1903, &c.); and also in the following
works:--A. Champollion-Figeac, _Chartes et manuscrits sur papyrus_
(1840); J. A. Letronne, _Diplomes et chartes de l'epoque
merovingienne_ (1845-1866); J. Tardif, _Archives de l'Empire:
Facsimile de chartes et diplomes merovingiens et carlovingiens_
(1866); G. H. Pettz, _Schrifttafeln zum Gebrauch bei diplomatischen
Vorlesungen_ (1844-1869); H. von Sybel and T. Sickel, _Kaiserurkunden
in Abbildungen_ (1880-1891); J. von Pflugk-Harttung, _Specimina
selecta chartarum Pontificum Romanorum_ (1885-1887); _Specimina
palaeographica regestorum Romanorum pontificum_ (1888); _Recueil de
fac-similes a l'usage de l'Ecole des Chartes_ (not published) (1880,
&c.); J. Munoz y Rivero, _Chrestomathia palaeographica: scripturae
Hispanae veteris specimina_ (1890); E. A. Bond, _Facsimiles of Ancient
Charters in the British Museum_ (1873-1878): W. B. Sanders,
_Facsimiles of Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts_ (charters) (1878-1884); G. F.
Warner and H. J. Ellis, _Facsimiles of Royal and other Charters in the
British Museum_ (1903). (E. M. T.)

DIPOENUS and SCYLLIS, early Greek sculptors, who worked together, and are said to have been pupils of Daedalus. Pliny assigns to them the date 580 B.C., and says that they worked at Sicyon, which city from their time onwards became one of the great schools of sculpture. They also made statues for Cleonae and Argos. They worked in wood, ebony and ivory, and apparently also in marble. It is curious that no inscription bearing their names has come to light.

DIPPEL, JOHANN KONRAD (1673-1734), German theologian and alchemist, son of a Lutheran pastor, was born at the castle of Frankenstein, near Darmstadt, on the 10th of August 1673. He studied theology at Giessen. After a short visit to Wittenberg he went to Strassburg, where he lectured on alchemy and chiromancy, and occasionally preached. He gained considerable popularity, but was obliged after a time to quit the city, owing to his irregular manner of living. He had up to this time espoused the cause of the orthodox as against the pietists; but in his two first works, published under the name "Christianus Democritus," _Orthodoxia Orthodoxorum_ (1697) and _Papismus vapulans Protestantium_ (1698), he assailed the fundamental positions of the Lutheran theology. He held that religion consisted not in dogma but exclusively in love and self-sacrifice. To avoid persecution he was compelled to wander from place to place in Germany, Holland, Denmark and Sweden. He took the degree of doctor of medicine at Leiden in 1711. He discovered Prussian blue, and by the destructive distillation of bones prepared the evil-smelling product known as Dippel's animal oil. He died near Berleburg on the 25th of April 1734.

An enlarged edition of Dippel's collected works was published at
Berleburg in 1743. See the biographies by J. C. G. Ackermann (Leipzig,
1781), H. V. Hoffmann (Darmstadt, 1783), K. Henning (1881) and W.
Bender (Bonn, 1882); also a memoir by K. Bucher in the _Historisches
Taschenbuch_ for 1858.

DIPSOMANIA (from [Gr. dipsa], thirst, and [Greek: mania], madness), a term formerly applied to the attacks of delirium (q.v.) caused by alcoholic poisoning. It is now sometimes loosely used as equivalent to the condition of incurable inebriates, but strictly should be confined to the pathological and insatiable desire for alcohol, sometimes occurring in paroxysms.

DIPTERA ([Greek: dis], double, [Greek: ptera], wings), a term (first employed in its modern sense by Linnaeus, _Fauna Suecica_, 1st ed., 1746, p. 306) used in zoological classification for one of the Orders into which the _Hexapoda_, or Insecta, are divided. The relation of the Diptera (two-winged flies, or flies proper) to the other Orders is dealt with under Hexapoda (q.v.).

The chief characteristic of the Diptera is expressed in the name of the Order, since, with the exception of certain aberrant and apterous forms, flies possess but a single pair of membranous wings, which are attached to the meso-thorax. Wing-covers and hind-wings are alike absent, and the latter are represented by a pair of little knobbed organs, the halteres or balancers, which have a controlling and directing function in flight. The other structural characters of the Order may be briefly summarized as:--mouth-parts adapted for piercing and sucking, or for suction alone, and consisting of a proboscis formed of the labium, and enclosing modifications of the other usual parts of the mouth, some of which, however, may be wanting; a thorax fused into a single mass; and legs with five-jointed tarsi. The wings, which are not capable of being folded, are usually transparent, but occasionally pigmented and adorned with coloured spots, blotches or bands; the wing-membrane, though sometimes clothed with minute hairs, seldom bears scales; the wing-veins, which are of great importance in the classification of Diptera, are usually few in number and chiefly longitudinal, there being a marked paucity of cross-veins. In a large number of Diptera an incision in the posterior margin of the wing, near the base, marks off a small lobe, the posterior lobe or alula, while connected with this but situated on the thorax itself there is a pair of membranous scales, or squamae, which when present serve to conceal the halteres. The antennae of Diptera, which are also extremely important in classification, are thread-like in the more primitive families, such as the _Tipulidae_ (daddy-long-legs), where they consist of a considerable number of joints, all of which except the first two, and sometimes also the last two, are similar in shape; in the more specialized families, such as the _Tabanidae_ (horse-flies), _Syrphidae_ (hover-flies) or _Muscidae_ (house-flies, blue-bottles and their allies), the number of antennal joints is greatly reduced by coalescence, so that the antennae appear to consist of only three joints. In these forms, however, the third joint is really a complex, which in many families bears in addition a jointed bristle (arista) or style, representing the terminal joints of the primitive antenna. Although in the case of the majority of Diptera the body is more or less clothed with hair, the hairy covering is usually so short that to the unaided eye the insects appear almost bare; some forms, however, such as the bee-flies (_Bombylius_) and certain robber-flies (_Asilidae_) are conspicuously hairy. Bristles are usually present on the legs, and in the case of many families on the body also; those on the head and thorax are of great importance in classification.

Between 40,000 and 50,000 species of Diptera are at present known, but these are only a fraction of those actually in existence. The species recognized as British number some 2700, but to this total additions are constantly being made. As a rule flies are of small or moderate size, and many, such as certain blood-sucking midges of the genus _Ceratopogon_, are even minute; as extremes of size may be mentioned a common British midge, _Ceratopogon varius_, the female of which measures only 1-1/4 millimetre, and the gigantic _Mydaidae_ of Central and South America as well as certain Australian robber-flies, which have a body 1-3/4 in. long, with a wing-expanse of 3-1/4 in. In bodily form Diptera present two main types, either, as in the case of the more primitive and generalized families, they are gnat- or midge-like in shape, with slender bodies and long, delicate legs, or else they exhibit a more or less distinct resemblance to the common house-fly, having compact and stoutly built bodies and legs of moderate length. Diptera in general are not remarkable for brilliancy of coloration; as a rule they are dull and inconspicuous in hue, the prevailing body-tints being browns and greys; occasionally, however, more especially in species (_Syrphidae_) that mimic Hymenoptera, the body is conspicuously banded with yellow; a few are metallic, such as the species of _Formosia_, found in the islands of the East Indian Archipelago, which are among the most brilliant of all insects. The sexes in Diptera are usually alike, though in a number of families with short antennae the males are distinguished by the fact that their eyes meet together (or nearly so) on the forehead. Metamorphosis in Diptera is complete; the larvae are utterly different from the perfect insects in appearance, and, although varying greatly in outward form, are usually footless grubs; those of the _Muscidae_ are generally known as maggots. The pupa either shows the appendages of the perfect insect, though these are encased in a sheath and adherent to the body, or else it is entirely concealed within the hardened and contracted larval integument, which forms a barrel-shaped protecting capsule or puparium.

Diptera are divided into some sixty families, the exact classification of which has not yet been finally settled. The majority of authors, however, follow Brauer in dividing the order into two sections, Orthorrhapha and Cyclorrhapha, according to the manner in which the pupa-case splits to admit of the escape of the perfect insect. The general characteristics of the pupae in these two sections have already been described.

In the Orthorrhapha, in the pupae of which the appendages of the perfect insect are usually visible, the pupa-case generally splits in a straight line down the back near the cephalic end; in front of this longitudinal cleft there may be a small transverse one, the two together forming a T-shaped fissure. In the Cyclorrhapha on the other hand, in which the actual pupa is concealed within the hardened larval skin, the imago escapes through a circular orifice formed by pushing off or through the head end of the puparium. The Diptera Orthorrhapha include the more primitive and less specialized families such as the _Tipulidae_ (daddy-long-legs), _Culicidae_ (gnats or mosquitoes), _Chironomidae_ (midges), _Mycetophilidae_ (fungus-midges), _Tabanidae_ (horse-flies), _Asilidae_ (robber-flies), &c. The Diptera Cyclorrhapha on the other hand consist of the most highly specialized families, such as the _Syrphidae_ (hover-flies), _Oestridae_ (bot and warble flies), and _Muscidae_ (_sensu latiore_--the house-fly and its allies, including tsetse-flies, flesh-flies, _Tachininae_, or flies the larvae of which are internal parasites of caterpillars, &c). It is customary to divide the Orthorrhapha into the two divisions Nematocera and Brachycera, in the former of which the antennae are elongate and in a more or less primitive condition, as described above, while in the latter these organs are short, and, as already explained, apparently composed of only three joints.

Within the divisions named--Orthorrhapha Nematocera, Orthorrhapha Brachycera and Cyclorrhapha--the constituent families are usually grouped into a series of "superfamilies," distinguished by features of structure or habit. Certain extremely aberrant Diptera, which, in consequence of the adoption of a parasitic mode of life, have undergone great structural modification, are further remarkable for their peculiar mode of reproduction, on account of which the families composing the group are often termed Pupipara. In these forms the pregnant female, instead of laying eggs, as Diptera usually do, or even producing a number of minute living larvae, gives birth at one time but to a single larva, which is retained within the oviduct of the mother until adult, and assumes the pupal state immediately on extrusion. The Pupipara are also termed Eproboscidea (although they actually possess a well-developed and functional proboscis), and by some dipterists the Eproboscidea are regarded as a suborder and contrasted as such with the rest of the Diptera, which are styled the suborder Proboscidea. By other writers Proboscidea and Eproboscidea are treated as primary divisions of the Cyclorrhapha. In reality, however, the families designated Eproboscidea (_Hippoboscidae_, _Braulidae_, _Nycteribiidae_ and _Streblidae_), are not entitled to be considered as constituting either a suborder, or even a main division of the Cyclorrhapha; they are simply Cyclorrhapha much modified owing to parasitism, and in view of the closely similar mode of reproduction in the tsetse-flies the special designation Pupipara should be abandoned. Before leaving the subject of classification it may be noted in passing that in 1906 Professor Lameere, of Brussels, proposed a scheme for the classification of Diptera which as regards both the limits of the families and their grouping into higher categories differs considerably from that in current use.

Little light on the relationship and evolution of the various families of Diptera is afforded by fossil forms, since as a rule the latter are readily referable to existing families. With the exception of a few species from the Solenhofen lithographic Oolite, fossil Diptera belong to the Tertiary Period, during which the members of this order attained a high degree of development. In amber, as proved by the deposits on the shores of the Baltic, the proverbial "fly" is more numerous than any other creatures, and with very few exceptions representatives of all the existing families have been found. The famous Tertiary beds at Florissant, Colorado, have yielded a considerable number of remarkably well-preserved _Tipulidae_ (in which family are included the most primitive of existing Diptera), as also species belonging to other families, such as _Mycetophilidae_ and even _Oestridae_.

Diptera as an order are probably more widely distributed over the earth's surface than are the representatives of any similar division of the animal kingdom. Flies seem capable of adapting themselves to extremes of cold equally as well as to those of heat, and species belonging to the order are almost invariably included in the collections brought back by members of Arctic expeditions. Others are met with in the most isolated localities; thus the Rev. A. E. Eaton discovered on the desolate shores of Kerguelen's Island apterous and semi-apterous Diptera (_Tipulidae_ and _Ephydridae_) of a degraded type adapted to the climatic peculiarities of the locality. Many bird parasites belonging to the _Hippoboscidae_ have naturally been carried about the world by their hosts, while other species, such as the house-fly, blow-fly and drone-fly, have in like manner been disseminated by human agency. Most families and a large proportion of genera are represented throughout the world, but in some cases (e.g. _Glossina_--see TSETSE-FLY) the distribution of a genus is limited to a continent. As a rule the general _facies_ as well as dimensions are remarkably uniform throughout a family, so that tropical species often differ little in appearance from those inhabiting temperate regions. Many instances of exaggerated and apparently unnatural structure nevertheless occur, as in the case of the genera _Pangonia_, _Nemestrina_, _Achias_, _Diopsis_ and the family _Celyphidae_, and, as might be expected, it is chiefly in tropical species that these peculiarities are found. To a geographical distribution of the widest extent, Diptera add a range of habits of the most diversified nature; they are both animal and vegetable feeders, an enormous number of species acting, especially in the larval state, as scavengers in consuming putrescent or decomposing matter of both kinds. The phytophagous species are attached to various parts of plants, dead or alive; and the carnivorous in like manner feed on dead or living flesh, or its products, many larvae being parasitic on living animals of various classes (in Australia the larva of a species of _Muscidae_ is even a parasite of frogs), especially the caterpillars of Lepidoptera, which are destroyed in great numbers by _Tachininae_. The recent discovery of a bloodsucking maggot, which is found in native huts throughout the greater part of tropical and subtropical Africa, and attacks the inmates when asleep, is of great interest.

It may confidently be asserted that, of insects which directly or indirectly affect the welfare of man, Diptera form the vast majority, and it is a moot point whether the good effected by many species in the rapid clearing away of animal and vegetable impurities, and in keeping other insect enemies in check, counterbalances the evil and annoyance wrought by a large section of the Order. The part played by certain blood-sucking Diptera in the dissemination of disease is now well known (see MOSQUITO and TSETSE-FLY), and under the term _myiasis_ medical literature includes a lengthy recital of instances of the presence of Dipterous larvae in various parts of the living human body, and the injuries caused thereby. That Diptera of the type of the common house-fly are often in large measure responsible for the spread of such diseases as cholera and enteric fever is undeniable, and as regards blood-sucking forms, in addition to those to which reference has already been made, it is sufficient to mention the vast army of pests constituted by the midges, sand-flies, horse-flies, &c., from the attacks of which domestic animals suffer equally with man, in addition to being frequently infested with the larvae of the bot and warble flies (_Gastrophilus_, _Oestrus_ and _Hypoderma_). Lastly, as regards the phytophagous forms, there can be no doubt that the destruction of grass-lands by "leather-jackets" (the larvae of crane-flies, or daddy-long-legs,--_Tipula oleracea_ and _T. paludosa_), of divers fruits by _Ceratitis capitata_ and species of _Dacus_, and of wheat and other crops by the Hessian-fly (_Mayetiola destructor_) and species of _Oscinis_, _Chlorops_, &c., is of very serious consequence.

With many writers it is customary to treat the fleas as a sub-order of Diptera, under the title Aphaniptera or Siphonaptera. Since, however, although undoubtedly allied to the Diptera, they must have diverged from the ancestral stem at an early period, before the existing forms of Diptera became so extremely specialized, it seems better to regard the fleas as constituting an independent order (see FLEA). (E. E. A.)

DIPTERAL (Gr. for "double-winged"), the architectural term applied to those temples which have a double range of columns in the peristyle, as in the temple of Diana at Ephesus.

DIPTYCH (Gr. [Greek: diptychos], two-folding), (1) A tablet made with a hinge to open and shut, used in the Roman empire for letters (especially love-letters), and official tokens of the commencement of a consul's, praetor's or aedile's term of office. The latter variety of diptych was inscribed with the magistrate's name and bore his portrait, and was issued to his friends and the public generally. They were made of boxwood or maple. More costly examples were in cedar, ivory (q.v.), silver or sometimes gold. They were often sent as New Year gifts.

(2)In the primitive church when the worshippers brought their own offerings of bread and wine, from which were taken the Communion elements, the names of the contributors were recorded on diptychs and read aloud. To these names were early added those of deceased members of the community whom it was desired to commemorate. This custom rapidly developed into a kind of commemoration of saints and benefactors, living and dead; especially, in each church, were the names of those who had been its bishops recorded. The custom was maintained until the lists became so long that it was impossible to read them through, and the observance in this form had to be abandoned. The insertion of a name on the diptych, thereby securing the prayers of the church, was a privilege from which a person could be excluded on account of suspicion of heresy or by the intrigues of enemies. His name could, if written, be expunged under similar circumstances. The names thus written were read from the ambo, in which the diptych was kept. The reading of these names during the canon of the mass gave rise to the term _canonization_. By various councils it was ordained that the name of the pope should always be inserted in the diptych list.

The addition of _dates_ resulted from the custom of recording baptisms and deaths; and thus the diptych developed into a calendar and formed the germ of the elaborate system of festologies, martyrologies and calendars which developed in the church.

The diptych went by various names in the early church--mystical tablets, anniversary books, ecclesiastical matriculation registers or books of the living. According to the names inscribed, bishops, the dead or the living, a diptych might be a _diptycha episcoporum_, _diptycha mortuorum_ or _diptycha vivorum_.

In course of time the list of the names swelled to such proportions that the space afforded by the diptych was insufficient. A third fold was consequently provided, and the tablet became a _triptych_ (though the name _diptych_ was retained as a general term for the object). Further room was afforded by the insertion of leaves of parchment or wood between the folds. The custom of reading names from the diptychs died out about the 8th century. The diptychs, however, were retained as altar ornaments. From the original consular documents onwards, the outsides of the folds had always been richly ornamented, and when they ceased to be of immediate practical use they became merely decorative. Instead of the list of names the inside was ornamented like the outer, and in the middle ages the best painters of the day would often paint them. When folded, the portraits of the donor and his wife might be shown; when open there would be three paintings, one on each fold, of a religious character. (R. A. S. M.)

DIR, an independent state in the North-West Frontier Province of India, lying to the north-east of Swat. Its importance chiefly arises from the fact that it commands the greater part of the route between Chitral and the Peshawar frontier. The quarrels and intrigues between the khan of Dir and Umra Khan of Jandol were among the chief events that led up to the Chitral Campaign of 1895. During that expedition the khan made an agreement with the British Government to keep the road to Chitral open in return for a subsidy. Including the Bashkars, an aboriginal tribe allied to the Torwals and Garhuis, who inhabit Panjkora Kohistan, the population is estimated at about 100,000.

DIRCE, in Greek legend, daughter of Helios the sun-god, the second wife of Lycus, king of Thebes. She sorely persecuted Antiope, his first wife, who escaped to Mount Cithaeron, where her twin sons Amphion and Zethus were being brought up by a herdsman who was ignorant of their parentage. Having recognized their mother, the sons avenged her by tying Dirce to the horns of a wild bull, which dragged her about till she died. Her body was cast into a spring near Thebes, which was ever afterwards called by her name. Her punishment is the subject of the famous group called "The Farnese Bull," by Apollonius and Tauriscus of Tralles, in the Naples museum (see GREEK ART, Plate I. fig. 51).

DIRECT MOTION, in astronomy, the apparent motion of a body of the solar system on the celestial sphere in the direction from west to east; so called because this is the usual direction of revolution and rotation of the heavenly bodies.

DIRECTORS, in company law, the agents by whom a trading or public company acts, the company itself being a legal abstraction and unable to do anything. As joint-stock companies have multiplied and their enterprise has extended, the position of directors has become one of increasing influence and importance. It is they who control the colossal funds now invested in trading companies, and who direct their policy (for shareholders are seldom more than dividend-drawers). Upon their uprightness, vigilance and sound judgment depends the welfare of the greatest part of the trade of the country concerned. It is not to be wondered at that in view of this influence and independence of action the law courts have held directors to a strict standard of duty, and that the parliament of the United Kingdom has singled out directors from other agents for special legislation in the Directors Liability Act 1890, the Larceny Act 1861, the Companies Act 1867 and the Winding-up