Skip to content

Chapter VII: DUNCAN FARQUHARSON GREGORY (1813-1844), brother of the preceding, (6)

Text size

_History._--Before the settlement in it of Griqua clans the district was thinly inhabited by Bushmen and Hottentots. At the end of the 18th century a horde known as Bastaards, descendants of Dutch farmers and Hottentot women, led a nomadic life on the plains south of the Orange river. In 1803 a missionary named Anderson induced a number of the Bastaards with their chief Barend Barends to settle north of the river, and a mission station was formed at a place where there was a strong flowing fountain, which has now disappeared, which gave the name of Klaarwater to what is now known as Griquatown or Griquastad. Klaarwater became a retreat for other Bastaards, Hottentot refugees, Kaffirs and Bechuanas. From Little Namaqualand came a few half-breeds and others under the leadership of Adam Kok, son of Cornelius Kok and grandson of Adam Kok (c. 1710-1795), a man of mixed white and Hottentot blood who is regarded as the founder of the modern Griquas. The settlement prospered, and in 1813, at the instance of the Rev. John Campbell, who had been sent by the London Missionary Society to inspect the country, the tribesmen abandoned the name of Bastaards in favour of that of Griquas,[1] some of them professing descent from a Hottentot tribe, originally settled near Saldanha Bay, called by the early Dutch settlers at the Cape Chariguriqua or Grigriqua. Under the guidance of missionaries the Griquas made some progress in civilization, and many professed Christianity. Adam Kok and Barends having moved eastward in 1820, those who remained behind elected as their head man a teacher in the mission school named Andries Waterboer, who successfully administered the settlement, and by defeating the Makololo raiders greatly increased the prestige of the tribe. Meanwhile Adam Kok and his companions had occupied part of the country between the Modder and Orange rivers. In 1825 Kok settled at the mission station of Philippolis (founded two years previously), and in a short time had exterminated the Bushmen inhabiting that region. He died about 1835, and after a period of civil strife was succeeded by his younger son, Adam Kok III. This chief in November 1843 signed a treaty placing himself under British protection. Many Dutch farmers were settled on the land he claimed. In 1845 he received British military aid in a contest with the white settlers, and in 1848 helped the British under Sir Harry Smith against the Boers (see ORANGE FREE STATE: _History_). Eventually finding himself straitened by the Boers of the newly established Orange Free State, he removed in 1861-1863 with his people, some 3000 in number, to the region (then depopulated by Kaffir wars) now known as Griqualand East. His sovereign rights to all territory north of the Orange he sold to the Free State for L4000. He founded Kokstad (q.v.) and died in 1876. Waterboer, the principal Griqua chief, had entered into treaty relations with the British government as early as 1834, and he received a subsidy of L150 a year. He proved a stanch ally of the British, and kept the peace on the Cape frontier to the day of his death in 1852. He was succeeded by his son Nicholas Waterboer, under whom the condition of the Griquas declined--a decline induced by the indolence of the people and intensified by the drying up of the water supplies, cattle plague and brandy drinking. During this period white settlers acquired farms in the country, and the loss of their independence by the Griquas became inevitable. The discovery of diamonds along the banks of the Vaal in 1867 entirely altered the fortunes of the country, and by the end of 1869 the rush to the alluvial diggings had begun. At the diggers' camps the Griquas exercised no authority, but over part of the district the South African Republic and the Orange Free State claimed sovereignty. At Klip Drift (now Barkly West) the diggers formed a regular government and elected Theodore Parker as their president. Most of the diggers being British subjects, the high commissioner of South Africa interfered, and a Cape official was appointed magistrate at Klip Drift, President Parker resigning office in February 1871. At this time the "dry diggings," of which Kimberley is the centre, had been discovered,[2] and over the miners there the Orange Free State asserted jurisdiction. The land was, however, claimed by Nicholas Waterboer, who, on the advice of his agent, David Arnot, petitioned the British to take over his country. This Great Britain consented to do, and on the 27th of October 1871 proclamations were issued by the high commissioner receiving Waterboer and his Griquas as British subjects and defining the limits of his territory. In addition to the Kimberley district this territory included that part of the diamondiferous area which had been claimed by the Transvaal, but which had been declared, as the result of the arbitration of R. W. Keate, lieutenant-governor of Natal, part of Waterboer's land. On the 4th of November a small party of Cape Mounted Police took possession of the dry diggings and hoisted the British flag. Shortly afterwards the representative of the Orange Free State withdrew. The Free State was greatly incensed by the action of the British government, but the dispute as to the sovereignty was settled in 1876 by the payment of L90,000 by the British to the Free State as compensation for any injury inflicted on the state.

The diggers, who under the nominal rule of the Transvaal and Free State had enjoyed practical independence, found the new government did little for their benefit, and a period of disorder ensued, which was not put an end to by the appointment in January 1873 of Mr (afterwards Sir) Richard Southey[3] as sole administrator, in place of the three commissioners who had previously exercised authority. In the July following the territory was made a crown colony and Southey's title changed to that of lieutenant-governor. The government remained unpopular, the diggers complaining of its unrepresentative character, the heavy taxation exacted, and the inadequate protection of property. They formed a society for mutual protection, and the discontent was so great that an armed force was sent (early in 1875) from the Cape to overawe the agitators. At the same time measures were taken to render the government more popular. The settlement of the dispute with the Free State paved the way for the annexation of Griqualand to the Cape Colony on the 15th of October 1880.

See KIMBERLEY, CAPE COLONY, TRANSVAAL and ORANGE FREE STATE. For the
early history of the country and an account of life at the diggings,
1871-1875, consult G. M'Call Theal's _Compendium of the History and
Geography of South Africa_ (London, 1878), chapters xl. and xli.;
Gardner F. Williams, _The Diamond Mines of South Africa_ (New York and
London, 1902); and the works bearing on the subject quoted in that
book. See also Theal's _History of South Africa ... 1834-1854_
(London, 1893); J. Campbell, _Travels in South Africa_ (London, 1815),
_Travels ... A Second journey ..._ (2 vols., London, 1822); the Blue
Books C. 459 of 1871 and C. 508 of 1872 (the last-named containing the
Keate award, &c.); the Griqualand West report in _Papers relating to
Her Majesty's Colonial Possessions_, part ii. (1875), and the Life of
_Sir Richard Southey, K.C.M.G._, by A. Wilmot (London, 1904). For the
Griqua people consult G. W. Stow, _The Native Races of South Africa_,
chapters xvii.-xx. (London, 1905).

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The Griquas, as a distinct tribe, numbered at the Cape census of
1904 but 6289. They have largely intermarried with Kaffir and
Bechuana tribes.

[2] The order of discovery of the chief mines was:--Dutoitspan, Sept.
1870; Bultfontein, Nov. 1870; De Beers, May 1871; Colesberg Kop
(Kimberley), July 1871.

[3] Sir Richard Southey (1809-1901) was the son of one of the
emigrants from the west of England to Cape Colony (1820). He
organized and commanded a corps of Guides in the Kaffir war of
1834-35, and was with Sir Harry Smith at Boomplaats (1848). From 1864
to 1872 he was colonial secretary at the Cape. He gave up his
appointment in Griqualand West in 1875, and lived thereafter in
retirement. In 1891 he was created a K.C.M.G.

GRISAILLE, a French term, derived from _gris_, grey, for painting in monochrome in various shades of grey, particularly used in decoration to represent objects in relief. The frescoes of the roof of the Sistine chapel have portions of the design in _grisaille_. At Hampton Court the lower part of the decoration of the great staircase by Verrio is in _grisaille_. The term is also applied to monochrome painting in enamels, and also to stained glass; a fine example of _grisaille_ glass is in the window known as the Five Sisters, at the end of the north transept in York cathedral.

GRISELDA, a heroine of romance. She is said to have been the wife of Walter, marquis of Saluces or Saluzzo, in the 11th century, and her misfortunes were considered to belong to history when they were handled by Boccaccio and Petrarch, although the probability is that Boccaccio borrowed his narrative from a Provencal _fabliau_. He included it in the recitations of the tenth day (_Decamerone_), and must have written it about 1350. Petrarch related it in a Latin letter in 1373, and his translation formed the basis of much of the later literature. The letter was printed by Ulrich Zel about 1470, and often subsequently. It was translated into French as _La Patience de Griselidis_ and printed at Brehan-Loudeac in 1484, and its popularity is shown by the number of early editions quoted by Brunet (_Manuel du libraire, s.v._ Petrarca). The story was dramatized in 1395, and a _Mystere de Griselidis, marquise de Saluses par personnaiges_ was printed by Jehan Bonfons (no date). Chaucer followed Petrarch's version in the _Canterbury Tales_. Ralph Radcliffe, who flourished under Henry VIII., is said to have written a play on the subject, and the story was dramatized by Thomas Dekker, Henry Chettle and W. Haughton in 1603.

An example of the many ballads of Griselda is given in T. Deloney's
_Garland of Good Will_ (1685), and the 17th-century chap-book, _The
History of Patient Grisel_ (1619), was edited by H. B. Wheatley (1885)
for the Villon Society with a bibliographical and literary
introduction.

GRISI, GIULIA (1811-1869), Italian opera-singer, daughter of one of Napoleon's Italian officers, was born in Milan. She came of a family of musical gifts, her maternal aunt Josephina Grassini (1773-1850) being a favourite opera-singer both on the continent and in London; her mother had also been a singer, and her elder sister Giudetta and her cousin Carlotta were both exceedingly talented. Giulia was trained to a musical career, and made her stage debut in 1828. Rossini and Bellini both took an interest in her, and at Milan she was the first Adalgisa in Bellini's _Norma_, in which Pasta took the title-part. Grisi appeared in Paris in 1832, as Semiramide in Rossini's opera, and had a great success; and in 1834 she appeared in London. Her voice was a brilliant dramatic soprano, and her established position as a prima donna continued for thirty years. She was a particularly fine actress, and in London opera her association with such singers as Lablache, Rubini, Tamburini and Mario was long remembered as the palmy days of Italian opera. In 1854 she toured with Mario In America. She had married Count de Melcy in 1836, but this ended in a divorce; and in 1856 she married Mario (q.v.). She died in Berlin on the 29th of November 1869.

GRISON (_Galictis vittata_), a carnivorous mammal, of the family _Mustelidae_, common in Central and South America and Mexico. It is about the size of a marten, and has the upper surface of a bluish-grey tint, and the under surface is dark brown. The grison lives on small mammals and birds, and in settled districts is destructive to poultry. Allamand's grison (_G. allamandi_), with the same range, is somewhat larger. Another member of the genus is the tayra or taira (_G. barbara_), about as large as an otter, with a range from Mexico to Argentina. This species hunts in companies (see CARNIVORA).

GRISONS (Ger. _Graubunden_), the most easterly of the Swiss cantons and also the largest in extent, though relatively the most sparsely populated. Its total area is 2753.2 sq. m., of which 1634.4 sq. m. are classed as "productive" (forests covering 503.1 sq. m. and vineyards 1.3 sq. m.), but it has also 138.6 sq. m. of glaciers, ranking in this respect next after the Valais and before Bern. The whole canton is mountainous, the principal glacier groups being those of the Todi, N. (11,887 ft.), of Medels, S.W. (Piz Medel, 10,509 ft.), of the Rheinwald or the Adula Alps, S.W. (Rheinwaldhorn, 11,149 ft.), with the chief source of the Rhine, of the Bernina, S.E. (Piz Bernina, 13,304 ft.), the most extensive, of the Albula, E. (Piz Kesch, 11,228 ft.), and of the Silvretta, N.E. (Piz Linard, 11,201 ft.). The principal valleys are those of the upper Rhine and of the upper Inn (or Engadine, q.v.). The three main sources of the Rhine are in the canton. The valley of the Vorder Rhine is called the Bundner Oberland, that of the Mittel Rhine the Val Medels, and that of the Hinter Rhine (the principal), in different parts of its course, the Rheinwald, the Schams valley and the Domleschg valley, while the upper valley of the Julia is named the Oberhalbstein. The chief affluents of the Rhine in the canton are the Glenner (flowing through the Lugnetz valley), the Avers Rhine, the Albula (swollen by the Julia and the Landwasser), the Plessur (Schanfigg valley) and the Landquart (coming from the Prattigau). The Rhine and the Inn flow respectively into the North and the Black Seas. Of other streams that of Val Mesocco joins the Ticino and so the Po, while the Maira or Mera (Val Bregaglia) and the Poschiavino join the Adda, and the Rambach (Munster valley) the Adige, all four thus ultimately reaching the Adriatic Sea. The inner valleys are the highest in Central Europe, and among the loftiest villages are Juf, 6998 ft. (the highest permanently inhabited village in the Alps), at the head of the Avers glen, and St Moritz, 6037 ft., in the Upper Engadine. The lower courses of the various streams are rent by remarkable gorges, such as the Via Mala, the Rofna, the Schyn, and those in the Avers, Medels and Lugnetz glens, as well as that of the Zuge in the Landwasser glen. Below Coire, near Malans, good wine is produced, while in the Val Mesocco, &c., maize and chestnuts flourish. But the forests and the mountain pasturages are the chief source of wealth. The lower pastures maintain a fine breed of cows, while the upper are let out in summer to Bergamasque shepherds. There are many mineral springs, such as those of St Moritz, Schuls, Alvaneu, Fideris, Le Prese and San Bernardino. The climate and vegetation, save on the southern slope of the Alps, are alpine and severe. But yearly vast numbers of strangers visit different spots in the canton, especially Davos (q.v.), Arosa and the Engadine. As yet there are comparatively few railways. There is one from Maienfeld (continued north to Constance and north-west to Zurich) to Coire (11 m.), which sends off a branch line from Landquart, E., past Klosters to Davos (31 m.). From Coire the line bears west to Reichenau (6 m.), whence one branch runs S.S.E. beneath the Albula Pass to St Moritz (50 m.), and another S.W. up the Hinter Rhine valley to Ilanz (20-1/2 m.). There are, however, a number of fine carriage roads across the passes leading to or towards Italy. Besides those leading to the Engadine may be noted the roads from Ilanz past Disentis over the Oberalp Pass (6719 ft.) to Andermatt, from Disentis over the Lukmanier Pass (6289 ft.) to Biasca, on the St Gotthard railway, from Reichenau past Thusis and Splugen over the San Bernardino Pass (6769 ft.) to Bellinzona on the same railway line, and from Splugen over the Splugen Pass (6946 ft.) to Chiavenna. The Septimer Pass (7582 ft.) from the Julier route to the Maloja route has now only a mule path, but was probably known in Roman times (as was possibly the Splugen), and was much frequented in the middle ages.

The population of the canton in 1900 was 104,520. Of this number 55,155 (mainly near Coire and Davos, in the Prattigau and in the Schanfigg valley) were Protestants, while 49,142 (mainly in the Bundner Oberland, the Val Mesocco and the Oberhalbstein) were Romanists, while there were also 114 Jews (81 of whom lived in Davos). In point of language 48,762 (mainly near Coire and Davos, in the Prattigau and in the Schanfigg valley) were German-speaking, while 17,539 (mostly in the Val Mesocco, the Val Bregaglia and the valley of Poschiavo, but including a number of Italian labourers engaged on the construction of the Albula railway) were Italian-speaking. But the characteristic tongue of the Grisons is a survival of an ancient Romance language (the _lingua rustica_ of the Roman Empire), which has lagged behind its sisters. It has a scanty printed literature, but is still widely spoken, so that, of the 38,651 persons in the Swiss Confederation who speak it, no fewer than 36,472 are in the Grisons. It is distinguished into two dialects: the Romonsch (sometimes wrongly called Romansch), which prevails in the Bundner Oberland and in the Hinter Rhine valley (Schams and Domleschg), and the Ladin (closely related to the tongue spoken in parts of the South Tyrol), that survives in the Engadine and in the neighbouring valleys of Bergun, Oberhalbstein and Munster. (See F. Rausch's _Geschichte der Literatur des rhaeto-romanischen Volkes_, Frankfort, 1870, and Mr Coolidge's bibliography of this language, given on pp. 22-23 of Lorria and Martel's _Le Massif de la Bernina_, Zurich, 1894.) Yet in the midst of this Romance-speaking population are islets (mostly, if not entirely, due to immigration in the 13th century from the German-speaking Upper Valais) of German-speaking inhabitants, so in the Vals and Safien glens, and at Obersaxen (all in the Bundner Oberland), in the Rheinwald (the highest part of the Hinter Rhine valley), and in the Avers glen (middle reach of the Hinter Rhine valley), as well as in and around Davos itself.

There is not much industrial activity in the Grisons. A considerable portion of the population is engaged in attending to the wants of the foreign visitors, but there is a considerable trade with Italy, particularly in the wines of the Valtellina, while many young men seek their fortunes abroad (returning home after having accumulated a small stock of money) as confectioners, pastry-cooks and coffee-house keepers. A certain number of lead and silver mines were formerly worked, but are now abandoned. The capital of the canton is Coire (q.v.).

The canton is divided into 14 administrative districts, and includes 224 communes. It sends 2 members (elected by a popular vote) to the Federal _Standerath_, and 5 members (also elected by a popular vote) to the Federal _Nationalrath_. The existing cantonal constitution was accepted by the people in 1892, and came into force on 1st January 1894. The legislature (_Grossrath_--no numbers fixed by the constitution) is elected for 2 years by a popular vote, as are the 5 members of the executive (_Kleinrath_) for 3 years. The "obligatory referendum" obtains in the case of all laws and important matters of expenditure, while 3000 citizens can demand ("facultative referendum") a popular vote as to resolutions and ordinances made by the legislature. Three thousand citizens also have the right of "initiative" as to legislative projects, but 5000 signatures are required for a proposed revision of the cantonal constitution. In the revenue and expenditure of the canton the taxes are never counted. This causes an apparent deficit which is carried to the capital account, and is met by the land tax (art. 19 of the constitution), so that there is never a real deficit, as the amount of the land tax varies annually according to the amount that _must_ be provided. In the pre-1799 constitution of the three Raetian Leagues the system of the "referendum" was in working as early as the 16th century, not merely as between the three Leagues themselves, but as between the bailiwicks (_Hochgerichte_), the sovereign units within each League, and sometimes (as in the Upper Engadine) between the villages composing each bailiwick.

The greater part (excluding the three valleys where the inhabitants speak Italian) of the modern canton of the Grisons formed the southern part of the province of Raetia (probably the aboriginal inhabitants, the Raeti, were Celts rather than, as was formerly believed, Etruscans), set up by the Romans after their conquest of the region in 15 B.C. The Romanized inhabitants were to a certain extent (The Romonsch or Ladin tongue is a survival of the Roman dominion) Teutonized under the Ostrogoths (A.D. 493-537) and under the Franks (from 537 onwards). Governors called _Praesides_ are mentioned in the 7th and 8th centuries, while members of the same family occupied the episcopal see of Coire (founded 4th-5th centuries). About 806 Charles the Great made this region into a county, but in 831 the bishop procured for his dominions exemption ("immunity") from the jurisdiction of the counts, while before 847 his see was transferred from the Italian province of Milan to the German province of Mainz (Mayence) and was thus cut off from Italy to be joined to Germany. In 916 the region was united with the duchy of Alamannia, but the bishop still retained practical independence, and his wide-spread dominions placed him even above the abbots of Disentis and Pfafers, who likewise enjoyed "immunity." In the 10th century the bishop obtained fresh privileges from the emperors (besides the Val Bregaglia in 960), and so became the chief of the many feudal nobles who struggled for power in the region. He became a prince of the empire in 1170 and later allied himself with the rising power (in the region) of the Habsburgers. This led in 1367 to the foundation of the League of God's House or the _Gotteshausbund_ (composed of the city and chapter of Coire, and of the bishop's subjects, especially in the Engadine, Val Bregaglia, Domleschg and Oberhalbstein) in order to stem his rising power, the bishop entering it in 1392. In 1395 the abbot of Disentis, the men of the Lugnetz valley, and the great feudal lords of Razuns and Sax (in 1399 the counts of Werdenberg came in) formed another League, called the _Ober Bund_ (as comprising the highlands in the Vorder Rhine valley) and also wrongly the "Grey League" (as the word interpreted "grey" is simply a misreading of _graven_ or counts, though the false view has given rise to the name of Grisons or Graubunden for the whole canton), their alliance being strengthened in 1424 when, too, the free men of the Rheinwald and Schams came in, and in 1480 the Val Mesocco also. Finally, in 1436, the third Raetian League was founded, that of the _Zehngerichtenbund_ or League of the Ten Jurisdictions, by the former subjects of the count of Toggenburg, whose dynasty then became extinct; they include the inhabitants of the Prattigau, Davos, Maienfeld, the Schanfigg valley, Churwalden, and the lordship of Belfort (i.e. the region round Alvaneu), and formed ten bailiwicks, whence the name of the League. In 1450 the _Zehngerichtenbund_ concluded an alliance with the _Gotteshausbund_ and in 1471 with the _Ober Bund_; but of the so-called perpetual alliance at Vazerol, near Tiefenkastels, there exists no authentic evidence in the oldest chronicles, though diets were held there. By a succession of purchases (1477-1496) nearly all the possessions of the extinct dynasty of the counts of Toggenburg in the Prattigau had come to the junior or Tyrolese line of the Habsburgers. On its extinction (1496) in turn they passed to the elder line, the head of which, Maximilian, was already emperor-elect and desired to maintain the rights of his family there and in the Lower Engadine. Hence in 1497 the Ober Bund and in 1498 the _Gotteshausbund_ became allies of the Swiss Confederation. War broke out in 1499, but was ended by the great Swiss victory (22nd May 1499) at the battle of the Calven gorge (above Mals) which, added to another Swiss victory at Dornach (near Basel), compelled the emperor to recognize the _practical_ independence of the Swiss and their allies of the Empire. The religious Reformation brought disunion into the three Leagues, as the _Ober Bund_ clung in the main to the old faith, and for this reason their connexion with the Swiss Confederation was much weakened. In 1526, by the Articles of Ilanz, the last remaining traces of the temporal jurisdiction of the bishop of Coire was abolished. In 1486 Poschiavo had at last been secured from Milan, and Maienfeld with Malans was bought in 1509, while in 1549 the Val Mesocco (included in the _Ober Bund_ since 1480) purchased its freedom of its lords, the Trivulzio family of Milan. In 1512 the three Leagues conquered from Milan the rich and fertile Valtellina, with Bormio and Chiavenna, and held these districts as subject lands till in 1797 they were annexed to the Cisalpine Republic. The struggle for lucrative offices in these lands further sharpened the long rivalry between the families of Planta (Engadine) and Salis (Val Bregaglia), while in the 17th century this rivalry was complicated by political enmities, as the Plantas favoured the Spanish side and the Salis that of France during the long struggle (1620-1639) for the Valtellina (see JENATSCH and VALTELLINA). Troubles arose (1622) also in the Prattigau through the attempts of the Habsburgers to force the inhabitants to give up Protestantism. Finally, after the emperor had _formally_ recognized, by the treaty of Westphalia (1648), the independence of the Swiss Confederation, the rights of the Habsburgers in the Prattigau and the Lower Engadine were bought up (1649 and 1652). But the Austrian _enclaves_ of Tarasp (Lower Engadine) and of Razuns (near Reichenau) were only annexed to the Grisons in 1809 and 1815 respectively, in each case France holding the lordship for a short time after its cession by Austria. In 1748 (finally in 1762) the three Leagues secured the upper portion of the valley of Munster. In 1799 the French invaded the canton, which became the scene of a fierce conflict (1799-1800) between them and the united Russian and Austrian army, in the course of which the French burnt (May 1799) the ancient convent of Disentis with all its literary treasures. In April 1799 the provisional government agreed to the incorporation of the three Leagues in the Helvetic Republic, though it was not till June 1801 that the canton of Raetia became formally part of the Helvetic Republic. In 1803, by Napoleon's Act of Mediation, it entered, under the name of Canton of the Grisons or Graubunden, the reconstituted Swiss Confederation, of which it then first became a full member.

AUTHORITIES.--A. Andrea, Das Bergell (Frauenfeld, 1901);
_Bundnergeschichte in 11 Vortragen_, by various writers (Coire, 1902);
_Codex diplomaticus Raetiae_ (5 vols., Coire, 1848-1886); W. Coxe,
_Travels in Switzerland_, vol. ii. of the 1789 London edition; E.
Dunant, _La Reunion des Grisons a la Suisse_ (1798-1799) (Basel,
1899); G. Fient, _Das Prattigau_ (2nd ed., Davos, 1897); P. Foffa,
_Das bundnerische Munsterthal_ (Coire, 1864); F. Fossati, _Codice
diplomatico della Rezia_ (originally published in the _Periodico_ of
the _Societa storica a Comense_ at Como; separate reprint, Como,
1901); R. A. Ganzoni, _Beitrage zur Kenntnis d. bundnerischen
Referendums_ (Zurich, 1890); Mrs Henry Freshfield, _A Summer Tour in
the Grisons_ (London, 1862); C. and F. Jecklin, _Der Anteil
Graubundens am Schwabenkrieg_ (1499) (Davos, 1899); C. von Moor,
_Geschichte von Curraetien_ (2 vols., Coire, 1870-1874), and
_Wegweiser_ (Coire, 1873); E. Lechner, _Das Thal Bergell_ (2nd ed.,
Leipzig, 1874); G. Leonhardi, _Das Poschiavinothal_ (Leipzig, 1859);
A. Lorria and E. A. Martel, _Le Massif de la Bernina_ (Upper Engadine
and Val Bregaglia) (Zurich, 1894); P. C. von Planta, _Das alte
Raetien_ (Berlin, 1872); _Die curraetischen Herrschaften in d.
Feudalzeit_ (Bern, 1881); _Geschichte von Graubunden_ (Bern, 1892);
and _Chronik d. Familie von Planta_ (Zurich, 1892); W. Plattner, _Die
Entstehung d. Freistaates der 3 Bunde_ (Davos, 1895), R. von
Reding-Biberegg, _Der Zug Suworoffs durch die Schweiz in 1799_ (Stans,
1895); N. Salis-Soglio, _Die Familie von Salis_ (Lindau, 1891); G.
Theobald, _Das Bundner Oberland_ (Coire, 1861), and _Naturbilder aus
den rhatischen Alpen_ (3rd ed., Coire, 1893); N. Valaer, _Johannes von
Planta_ (d. 1572) (Zurich, 1888); R. Wagner and L. R. von Salis,
_Rechtsquellen d. Cant. Graubunden_ (Basel, 1877-1892); F. Jecklin,
_Materialen zur Standes- und Landesgeschichte Gem. iii. Bunde_
(Graubunden), _1464-1803_ (pt. i., _Regesten_, was published at Basel
in 1907). See also COIRE, ENGADINE, JENATSCH and VALTELLINA.
(W. A. B. C.)

GRISWOLD, RUFUS WILMOT (1815-1857), American editor and compiler, was born in Benson, Vermont, on the 15th of February 1815. He travelled extensively, worked in newspaper offices, was a Baptist clergyman for a time, and finally became a journalist in New York City, where he was successively a member of the staffs of _The Brother Jonathan_, _The New World_ (1839-1840) and _The New Yorker_ (1840). From 1841 to 1843 he edited _Graham's Magazine_ (Philadelphia), and added to its list of contributors many leading American writers. From 1850 to 1852 he edited the _International Magazine_ (New York), which in 1852 was merged into _Harper's Magazine_. He died in New York City on the 27th of August 1857. He is best known as the compiler and editor of various anthologies (with brief biographies and critiques), such as _Poets and Poetry of America_ (1842), his most popular and valuable book; _Prose Writers of America_ (1846); _Female Poets of America_ (1848); and _Sacred Poets of England and America_ (1849). Of his own writings his _Republican Court: or American Society in the Days of Washington_ (1854) is the only one of permanent value. He edited the first American edition of Milton's prose works (1845), and, as literary executor, edited, with James R. Lowell and N. P. Willis, the works (1850) of Edgar Allan Poe. Griswold's great contemporary reputation as a critic has not stood the test of time; but he rendered a valuable service in making Americans better acquainted with the poetry and prose of their own countrymen.

See _Passages from the Correspondence and Other Papers of Rufus W.
Griswold_ (Cambridge, Mass., 1898), edited by his son William
McCrillis Griswold (1853-1899).

GRIVET, a monkey, _Cercopithecus sabaeus_, of the guenon group, nearly allied to the green monkey. It is common throughout equatorial Africa. The chin, whiskers and a broad band across the forehead, as well as the under-parts, are white, and the head and back olive-green. These monkeys are very commonly seen in menageries.

GROAT (adapted from the Dutch _groot_, great, thick; cf. Ger. _Groschen_; the Med. Lat. _grossus_ gives Ital. _grosso_, Fr. _gros_, as names for the coin), a name applied as early as the 13th century on the continent of Europe to any large or thick coin. The groat was almost universally a silver coin, but its value varied considerably, as well at different times as in different countries. The English groat was first coined in 1351, of a value somewhat higher than a penny. The continuous debasement of both the penny and the groat left the latter finally worth four pennies. The issue of the groat was discontinued after 1662, but a coin worth fourpence was again struck in 1836. Although frequently referred to as a groat, it had no other official designation than a "fourpenny piece." Its issue was again discontinued in 1856. The groat was imitated in Scotland by a coin struck by David II. in 1358. In Ireland it was first struck by Edward IV. in 1460.

GROCER, literally one who sells by the gross, a wholesale dealer; the word is derived through the O. Fr. form, _grossia_, from the Med. Lat. _grossarius_, defined by du Cange, _Glossarium_, s.v. _Grossares_, as _solidae mercis propola_. The name, as a general one for dealers by wholesale, "engrossers" as opposed to "regrators," the retail dealers, is found with the commodity attached; thus in the _Munimenta Gildhallae_ ("Rolls" series) ii. 1.304 (quoted in the _New English Dictionary_) is found an allusion to _grossours de vin_, cf. _groser of fysshe_, _Surtees Misc._ (1888) 63, for the customs of Malton (quoted _ib._). The specific application of the word to one who deals either by wholesale or retail in tea, coffee, cocoa, dried fruits, spices, sugar and all kinds of articles of use or consumption in a household is connected with the history of the Grocers' Company of London, one of the twelve "great" livery companies. In 1345 the pepperers and the spicers amalgamated and were known as the Fraternity of St Anthony. The name "grocers" first appears in 1373 in the records of the company. In 1386 the association was granted a right of search over all "spicers" in London, and in 1394 they obtained the right to inspect or "garble" spices and other "subtil wares." Their first charter was obtained in 1428; letters patent in 1447 granted an extension of the right of search over the whole county, but removed the "liberties" of the city of London. They sold all kinds of drugs, medicines, ointments, plasters, and medicated and other waters. For the separation of the apothecaries from the grocers in 1617 see APOTHECARY. (See further LIVERY COMPANIES.)

See _The Grocery Trade_, by J. Aubrey Rees (1910).

GROCYN, WILLIAM (1446?-1519), English scholar, was born at Colerne, Wiltshire, about 1446. Intended by his parents for the church, he was sent to Winchester College, and in 1465 was elected to a scholarship at New College, Oxford. In 1467 he became a fellow, and had among his pupils William Warham, afterwards archbishop of Canterbury. In 1479 he accepted the rectory of Newton Longville, in Buckinghamshire, but continued to reside at Oxford. As reader in divinity in Magdalen College in 1481, he held a disputation with John Taylor, professor of divinity, in presence of King Richard III., and the king acknowledged his skill as a debater by the present of a buck and five marks. In 1485 he became prebendary of Lincoln cathedral. About 1488 Grocyn left England for Italy, and before his return in 1491 he had visited Florence, Rome and Padua, and studied Greek and Latin under Demetrius Chalchondyles and Politian. As lecturer in Exeter College he found an opportunity of indoctrinating his countrymen in the new Greek learning.

Erasmus says in one of his letters that Grocyn taught Greek at Oxford before his visit to Italy. The Warden of New College, Thomas Chaundler, invited Cornelius Vitelli, then on a visit to Oxford, to act as praelector. This was about 1475, and as Vitelli was certainly familiar with Greek literature, Grocyn may have learnt Greek from him. He seems to have lived in Oxford until 1499, but when his friend Colet became dean of St Paul's in 1504 he was settled in London. He was chosen by his friend to deliver lectures in St Paul's; and in this connexion he gave a singular proof of his honesty. He had at first denounced all who impugned the authenticity of the _Hierarchia ecclesiastica_ ascribed to Dionysius the Areopagite, but, being led to modify his views by further investigation, he openly declared that he had been completely mistaken. He also counted Linacre, William Lily, William Latimer and More among his friends, and Erasmus writing in 1514 says that he was supported by Grocyn in London, and calls him "the friend and preceptor of us all." He held several preferments, but his generosity to his friends involved him in continual difficulties, and though in 1506 he was appointed on Archbishop Warham's recommendation master or warden of All Hallows College at Maidstone in Kent, he was still obliged to borrow from his friends, and even to pledge his plate as a security. He died in 1519, and was buried in the collegiate church at Maidstone. Linacre acted as his executor, and expended the money he received in gifts to the poor and the purchase of books for poor scholars. With the exception of a few lines of Latin verse on a lady who snowballed him, and a letter to Aldus Manutius at the head of Linacre's translation of Proclus's _Sphaera_ (Venice, 1499), Grocyn has left no literary proof of his scholarship or abilities. His proposal to execute a translation of Aristotle in company with Linacre and Latimer was never carried out. Wood assigns some Latin works to Grocyn, but on insufficient authority. By Erasmus he has been described as "vir severissimae castissimae vitae, ecclesiasticarum constitutionum observantissimus pene usque ad superstitionem, scholasticae theologiae ad unguem doctus ac natura etiam acerrimi judicii, demum in omni disciplinarum genere exacte versatus" (_Declarationes ad censuras facultatis theologiae Parisianae_, 1522).

An account of Grocyn by Professor Burrows appeared in the Oxford
Historical Society's _Collectanea_ (1890).

GRODNO, one of the Lithuanian governments of western Russia, lying between 51 deg. 40' and 52 deg. N. and between 22 deg. 12' and 26 deg. E., and bounded N. by the government of Vilna, E. by Minsk, S. by Volhynia, and W. by the Polish governments of Lomza and Siedlce. Area, 14,926 sq. m. Except for some hills (not exceeding 925 ft.) in the N., it is a uniform plain, and is drained chiefly by the Bug, Niemen, Narev and Bobr, all navigable. There are also several canals, the most important being the Augustowo and Oginsky. Granites and gneisses crop out along the Bug, Cretaceous, and especially Tertiary, deposits elsewhere. The soil is mostly sandy, and in the district of Grodno and along the rivers is often drift-sand. Forests, principally of _Coniferae_, cover more than one-fourth of the area. Amongst them are some of vast extent, e.g. those of Grodno (410 sq. m.) and Byelovitsa (Bialowice) (376 sq. m.), embracing wide areas of marshy ground. In the last mentioned forest the wild ox survives, having been jealously preserved since 1803. Peat bogs, sometimes as much as 4 to 7 ft. thick, cover extensive districts. The climate is wet and cold; the annual mean temperature being 44.5 deg. F., the January mean 22.5 deg. and the July mean 64.5 deg. The rainfall amounts to 21-1/2 in.; hail is frequent. Agriculture is the predominant industry. The peasants own 42-1/2% of the land, that is, about 4,000,000 acres, and of these over 2-1/4 million acres are arable. The crops principally grown are potatoes, rye, oats, wheat, flax, hemp and some tobacco. Horses, cattle and sheep are bred in fairly large numbers. There is, however, a certain amount of manufacturing industry, especially in woollens, distilling and tobacco. In woollens this government ranks second (after Moscow) in the empire, the centre of the industry being Byelostok. Other factories produce silk, shoddy and leather. The government is crossed by the main lines of railway from Warsaw to St Petersburg and from Warsaw to Moscow. The population numbered 1,008,521 in 1870 and 1,616,630 in 1897; of these last 789,801 were women and 255,946 were urban. In 1906 it was estimated at 1,826,600. White Russians predominate (54%), then follow Jews (17.4%), Poles (10%), Lithuanians and Germans. The government is divided into nine districts, the chief towns, with their populations in 1897, being Grodno (q.v.), Brest-Litovsk (pop. 42,812 in 1901), Byelsk (7461), Byelostok or Bialystok (65,781 in 1901), Kobrin (10,365), Pruzhany (7634), Slonim (15,893), Sokolsk (7595) and Volkovysk (10,584). In 1795 Grodno, which had been Polish for ages, was annexed by Russia.

GRODNO, a town of Russia, capital of the government of the same name in 53 deg. 40' N. and 23 deg. 50' E., on the right bank of the Niemen, 160 m. by rail N.E. of Warsaw and 98 m. S.W. of Vilna on the main line to St Petersburg. Pop. (1901) 41,736, nearly two-thirds Jews. It is an episcopal see of the Orthodox Greek church and the headquarters of the II. Army Corps. It has two old castles, now converted to other uses, and two churches (16th and 17th centuries). Tobacco factories and distilleries are important; machinery, soap, candles, vehicles and firearms are also made. Built in the 12th century, Grodno was almost entirely destroyed by the Mongols (1241) and Teutonic knights (1284 and 1391). Stephen Bathory, king of Poland, made it his capital, and died there in 1586. The Polish Estates frequently met at Grodno after 1673, and there in 1793 they signed the second partition of Poland. It was at Grodno that Stanislaus Poniatowski resigned the Polish crown in 1795.

GROEN VAN PRINSTERER, GUILLAUME (1801-1876), Dutch politician and historian, was born at Voorburg, near the Hague, on the 21st of August 1801. He studied at Leiden university, and graduated in 1823 both as doctor of literature and LL.D. From 1829 to 1833 he acted as secretary to King William I. of Holland, afterwards took a prominent part in Dutch home politics, and gradually became the leader of the so-called anti-revolutionary party, both in the Second Chamber, of which he was for many years a member, and outside. In Groen the doctrines of Guizot and Stahl found an eloquent exponent. They permeate his controversial and political writings and historical studies, of which his _Handbook of Dutch History_ (in Dutch) and _Maurice et Barnevelt_ (in French, 1875, a criticism of Motley's _Life of Van Olden-Barnevelt_) are the principal. Groen was violently opposed to Thorbecke, whose principles he denounced as ungodly and revolutionary. Although he lived to see these principles triumph, he never ceased to oppose them until his death, which occurred at the Hague on the 19th of May 1876. He is best known as the editor of the _Archives et correspondance de la maison d'Orange_ (12 vols., 1835-1845), a great work of patient erudition, which procured for him the title of the "Dutch _Gachard_." J. L. Motley acknowledges his indebtedness to Groen's Archives in the preface to his _Rise of the Dutch Republic_, at a time when the American historian had not yet made the acquaintance of King William's archivist, and also bore emphatic testimony to Groen's worth as a writer of history in the correspondence published after his death. At the first reception, in 1858, of Motley at the royal palace at the Hague, the king presented him with a copy of Groen's _Archives_ as a token of appreciation and admiration of the work done by the "worthy vindicator of William I., prince of Orange." This copy, bearing the king's autograph inscription, afterwards came into the possession of Sir William Vernon Harcourt, Motley's son-in-law.

GROIN. (1) An obsolete word for the grunting of swine, from Lat. _grunnire_, and so applied to the snout of a pig; it is probably the origin of the word, more commonly spelled "groyne," for a small timber framework or wall of masonry used on sea coasts as a breakwater to prevent the encroachment of sand and shingle. (2) (Of uncertain origin; from an older form _grynde_ or _grinde_; the derivation from "grain," an obsolete word meaning "fork," cannot, according to the _New English Dictionary_, be accepted), in anatomy the folds or grooves formed between the lower part of the abdomen and the thighs, covering the inguinal glands, and so applied in architecture to the angle or "arris" formed by the intersection of two vaults crossing one another, occasionally called by workmen "groin point." If the vaults are both of the same radius and height, their intersections lie in a vertical plane, in other cases they form winding curves for which it is difficult to provide centering. In early medieval vaulting this was sometimes arranged by a slight alteration in the geometrical curve of the vault, but the problem was not satisfactorily solved until the introduction of the rib which henceforth ruled the vaulting surface of the web or cell (see VAULT). The name "Welsh groin" or "underpitch" is generally given to the vaulting surface or web where the main longitudinal vault is higher than the cross or transverse vaults; as the transverse rib (of much greater radius than that of the wall rib), projected diagonally in front of the latter, the filling-in or web has to be carried back from the transverse to the wall rib. The term "groin centering" is used where, in groining without ribs, the whole surface is supported by centering during the erection of the vaulting. In ribbed work the stone ribs only are supported by timber ribs during the progress of the work, any light stuff being used while filling in the spandrils. (See VAULT.)

GROLMANN, KARL WILHELM GEORG VON (1777-1843), Prussian soldier, was born in Berlin on the 30th of July 1777. He entered an infantry regiment when scarcely thirteen, became an ensign in 1795, second lieutenant 1797, first lieutenant 1804 and staff-captain in 1805. As a subaltern he had become one of Scharnhorst's intimates, and he was distinguished for his energetic and fearless character before the war of 1806, in which he served throughout, from Jena to the peace of Tilsit, as a staff officer, and won the rank of major for distinguished service in action. After the peace, and the downfall of Prussia, he was one of the most active of Scharnhorst's assistants in the work of reorganization (1809), joined the _Tugendbund_ and endeavoured to take part in Schill's abortive expedition, after which he entered the Austrian service as a major on the general staff. Thereafter he journeyed to Cadiz to assist the Spaniards against Napoleon, and he led a corps of volunteers in the defence of that port against Marshal Victor in 1810. He was present at the battle of Albuera, at Saguntum, and at Valencia, becoming a prisoner of war at the surrender of the last-named place. Soon, however, he escaped to Switzerland, whence early in 1813 he returned to Prussia as a major on the general staff. He served successively under Colonel von Dolffs and General von Kleist, and as commissioner at the headquarters of the Russian general Barclay de Tolly. He took part with Kleist in the victory of Kulm, and recovered from a severe wound received at that action in time to be present at the battle of Leipzig. He played a conspicuous part in the campaign of 1814 in France, after which he was made a major-general. In this rank he was appointed quartermaster-general to Field Marshal Prince Blucher, and, after his chief and Gneisenau, Grolmann had the greatest share in directing the Prussian operations of 1815. In the decision, on the 18th of June 1815, to press forward to Wellington's assistance (see WATERLOO CAMPAIGN), Grolmann actively concurred, and as the troops approached the battle-field, he is said to have overcome the momentary hesitation of the commander-in-chief and the chief of staff by himself giving the order to advance. After the peace of 1815, Grolmann occupied important positions in the ministry of war and the general staff. His last public services were rendered in Poland as commander-in-chief, and practically as civil administrator of the province of Posen. He was promoted general of infantry in 1837 and died on the 1st of June 1843, at Posen. His two sons became generals in the Prussian army. The Prussian 18th infantry regiment bears his name.

General von Grolmann supervised and provided much of the material for von Damitz's _Gesch. des Feldzugs 1815_ (Berlin, 1837-1838), and _Gesch. des Feldzugs 1814 in Frankreich_ (Berlin, 1842-1843).

See v. Conrady, _Leben und Wirken des Generals Karl von Grolmann_
(Berlin, 1894-1896).

GROMATICI (from _groma_ or _gruma_, a surveyor's pole), or _Agrimensores_, the name for land-surveyors amongst the Romans. The art of surveying was probably at first in the hands of the augurs, by whom it was exercised in all cases where the demarcation of a _templum_ (any consecrated space) was necessary. Thus, the boundaries of Rome itself, of colonies and camps, were all marked out in accordance with the rules of augural procedure. The first professional surveyor mentioned is L. Decidius Saxa, who was employed by Antony in the measurement of camps (Cicero, _Philippics_, xi. 12, xiv. 10). During the empire their number and reputation increased. The distribution of land amongst the veterans, the increase in the number of military colonies, the settlement of Italian peasants in the provinces, the general survey of the empire under Augustus, the separation of private and state domains, led to the establishment of a recognized professional corporation of surveyors. During later times they were in receipt of large salaries, and in some cases were even honoured with the title _clarissimus_. Their duties were not merely geometrical or mathematical, but required legal knowledge for consultations or the settlement of disputes. This led to the institution of special schools for the training of surveyors and a special literature, which lasted from the 1st to the 6th century A.D. The earliest of the gromatic writers was Frontinus (q.v.), whose _De agrorum qualitate_, dealing with the legal aspect of the art, was the subject of a commentary by Aggenus Urbicus, a Christian schoolmaster. Under Trajan a certain Balbus, who had accompanied the emperor on his Dacian campaign, wrote a still extant manual of geometry for land surveyors (_Expositio et ratio omnium formarum_ or _mensurarum_, probably after a Greek original by Hero), dedicated to a certain Celsus who had invented an improvement in a gromatic instrument (perhaps the dioptra, resembling the modern theodolite); for the treatises of Hyginus see that name. Somewhat later than Trajan was Siculus Flaccus (_De condicionibus agrorum_, extant), while the most curious treatise on the subject, written in barbarous Latin and entitled _Casae litterarum_ (long a school text-book) is the work of a certain Innocentius (4th-5th century). It is doubtful whether Boetius is the author of the treatises attributed to him. The _Gromatici veteres_ also contains extracts from official registers (probably belonging to the 5th century) of colonial and other land surveys, lists and descriptions of boundary stones, and extracts from the Theodosian Codex. According to Mommsen, the collection had its origin during the 5th century in the office of a vicarius (diocesan governor) of Rome, who had a number of surveyors under him. The surveyors were known by various names: _decempedator_ (with reference to the instrument used); _finitor_, _metator_ or _mensor castrorum_ in republican times; _togati Augustorum_ as imperial civil officials; _professor_, _auctor_ as professional instructors.

The best edition of the Gromatici is by C. Lachmann and others (1848)
with supplementary volume, _Die Schriften der romischen Feldmesser_
(1852); see also B. G. Niebuhr, _Roman History_, ii., appendix (Eng.
trans.), who first revived interest in the subject; M. Cantor, _Die
romischen Agrimensoren_ (Leipzig, 1875); P. de Tissot, _La Condition
des Agrimensores dans l'ancienne Rome_ (1879); G. Rossi, _Groma e
squadro_ (Turin, 1877); articles by F. Hultsch in Ersch and Gruber's
_Allgem. Encyklopadie_, and by G. Humbert in Daremberg and Saglio's
_Dictionnaire des antiquites_; Teuffel-Schwabe, _Hist. of Roman
Literature_, 58.

GRONINGEN, the most northerly province of Holland, bounded S. by Drente, W. by Friesland and the Lauwers Zee, N. and N.E. by the North Sea and the mouth of the Ems with the Dollart, and on the S.E. by the Prussian province of Hanover. It includes the islands of Boschplaat and Rottumeroog, belonging to the group of Frisian islands (q.v.). Area, 887 sq. m.; pop. (1900) 299,602. Groningen is connected with the Drente plateau by the sandy tongue of the Hondsrug which extends almost up to the capital. West, north and north-east of this the province is flat and consists of sea-clay or sand and clay mixed, except where patches of low and high fen occur on the Frisian borders. Low fen predominates to the east of the capital, between the Zuidlardermeer and the Schildmeer or lakes. The south-eastern portion of the province consists of high fen resting on diluvial sand. A large part of this has been reclaimed and the sandy soil laid bare, but on the Drente and Prussian borders areas of fen still remain. The so-called Boertanger Morass on the Prussian border was long considered as the natural protection of the eastern frontier, and with the view of preserving its impassable condition neither agriculture nor cattle-rearing might be practised here until 1824, and it was only in 1868 that the building of houses was sanctioned and the work of reclamation begun. The gradual extension of the seaward boundaries of the province owing to the process of littoral deposits may be easily traced, a triple line of sea-dikes in places marking the successive stages in this advance. The rivers of Groningen descending from the Drente plateau meet at the capital, whence they are continued by the Reitdiep to the Lauwers Zee (being discharged through a lock), and by the Ems canal (1876) to Delfzyl. The south-eastern corner of the province is traversed by the Westerwolde Aa, which discharges into the Dollart. The railway system belongs to the northern section of the State railways, and affords communication with Germany via Winschoten. Steam-tramways also serve many parts of the province. Agriculture is the main industry. The proportion of landowners is a very large one, and the prosperous condition of the Groningen farmer is attested by the style of his home, his dress and his gig. As a result, however, partly of the usual want of work on the grasslands in certain seasons, there has been a considerable emigration to America. The ancient custom called the _beklem-recht_, or lease-right, doubtless accounts for the extended ownership of the land. By this law a tenant-farmer is able to bequeath his farm, that is to say, he holds his lease in perpetuity.

Comments

Log in to leave a comment.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Greek Law" to "Ground-Squirrel"Chapter VII: DUNCAN FARQUHARSON GREGORY (1813-1844), brother of the preceding, (6)

0%37 min left in chapter