L.
Labarum, Chrism, R. The standard of the Roman emperors from the time of Constantine; in form it resembled the vexillum of the cavalry. The Labarum is the banner of the Chrism, or sign that appeared to Constantine, viz. the Greek letters XP in a monogram (the two first letters of the Name ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ); sometimes followed by the Roman letters IHSV, or the motto in full, “in hoc signo vinces.” It is, under several variations, a common ecclesiastical emblem.
Labellum. Dimin. of Labrum (q.v.).
Heraldic Labels.
Fig. 411. Labels of 3 points. Label of 5 points.
Labels, in heraldry, are marks of cadency. (1) A band crossing the shield, with three points depending, marks the coat of an eldest son. (2) Broad ribands hanging from a knight’s helmet. (3) In mediæval architecture and church decoration, images of saints and angels bear labels inscribed with texts and mottoes.
Labis. (See Spoon.)
Labrum, R. (lit. a lip). A general term to denote any kind of vessel the brim of which turned over on the outside like the lip of the human mouth; a wide flat basin which stood in the thermal chamber or Caldarium (q.v.) of the Roman baths.
Fig. 412. Labyrinth.
Labyrinth, Gen. (λαβύρινθος). A building of considerable size, usually underground, containing streets and cross-roads, like the catacombs, &c. The term is also applied to intricate designs executed on the grass-plots of gardens, and on the mosaic or glazed tiles in pavements. (Fig. 412.) (See Minotaur.)
Lac or Gum Lac (Arabic, lakah). A resin produced on an East Indian tree by the punctures of the Coccus lacca insect. It forms a brittle substance of a dark red colour, and when in grains is called seed lac, and in thin flat plates shell-lac. (See Lacquer.) The chief use of lac in Europe is for making sealing-wax, and as a basis for spirit varnishes and French polish.
Fig. 413. Point de France (pillow-made), 17th century.
Lace was originally of a heavy texture, more like embroidery. It was of two kinds, lacis, or “darned netting,” and “cutwork.” Lacis, often worked in coloured silks and gold thread, was also called “opus araneum” or “spider-work.” In “cutwork,” a net of threads was laid on to cloth, and the cloth sewn to it in parts, and the other parts cut away; or, by another method, the threads were arranged on a frame, all radiating from a common centre, and then worked into patterns. This was the old convent lace of Italy, called “Greek lace.” Point laces are lace made with a needle on a parchment pattern. The principal are the ancient laces of Italy, Spain, and Portugal; and the modern point d’Alençon of France. Pillow laces are made by the weaving, twisting, and plaiting of the threads with bobbins on a cushion; such are Mechlin, Lille, Valenciennes, Honiton, Buckingham, and many manufactories in France. Brussels lace is both point and pillow. The thread is scarcely visible for fineness, and costs 240l. per pound. This lace is called in France point d’Angleterre, or English point. (Fig. 414.)
Fig. 414. Old Brussels or Point d’Angleterre.
Lace Glass. (See Glass.)
Lacerna, R. An open cloak worn by the Romans over the toga, and fastened on the right shoulder with a brooch or fibula. It frequently had a cowl attached. (See Abolla, Pænula, Pallium.)
Lachrymatory. A tear-bottle; so called from the use attributed to it of holding tears consecrated to the dead. These phials are made of glass or earthenware, with a long neck, and the mouth formed to receive the eye-ball. The figure of one or two eyes has sometimes been found impressed upon them.
Lacinia, R. The two excrescences, like a divided dewlap on the throat of a goat, which were represented on the necks of fauns and satyrs.
Laciniæ, Gr. and R. The hanging corners of the toga and chlamys, and the metal knobs attached to make them hang straight.
Lacis. A kind of embroidery, of subjects in squares, with counted stitches (called also “point conté,” darned netting, &c.). (See Lace.)
Laconicum, R. A semicircular termination to a room in a set of baths (caldarium), so called because of Spartan origin. Under the word Balneæ will be found the laconicum of Pompeii, restored. (Fig. 56.)
Lacquer (Fr. laque) is made of a solution of shell-lac and alcohol, coloured with saffron or other colouring matters. Specimens of ancient Chinese red lacquer deeply carved with figures of birds, flowers, &c., and generally made in the form of trays, boxes, and sometimes vases, are met with in the more northern Chinese towns, and are much prized. What is called the old gold Japan lacquer is also esteemed by Chinese connoisseurs, and the specimens of this are comparatively rare at the present day. (Fortune.)
Lacs d’amour, Fr. True lovers’ knots.
Lacuna, R. (lacus, a hollow). An ash-pit placed beneath a lime-kiln to receive the ashes from the kiln.
Lacunar, Arch. A flat roof or ceiling, in contradistinction to a camera, vaulted roof.
Lacunaria, Arch. Panels in a flat ceiling (lacunar), formed by the rafters crossing one another at right angles. The edges of these panels are often decorated with carved and gilt ornaments, and the centres filled in with paintings.
Lacus, R. (λάκκος). A lake, and thence a large, shallow, open basin, or artificial reservoir; also, a pit made below the level of a wine-cellar (cella vinaria), or of an oil-cellar (cella olearis), to receive the wine or oil as it comes from the presses.
Lady. A word of Saxon origin, generally supposed to signify “loaf-giver,” from klaf, a loaf. As a title it belongs to the daughters of all peers above the rank of a viscount, but is extended by courtesy to the wives of knights.
Lady Day, Chr. The 25th of March. Festival of the Annunciation.
Læna, R. (1) A cloth with a long nap. (2) A thick woollen cloak worn over the toga for the sake of warmth. In later times the læna was often worn as a substitute for the toga.
Lagena, Gr. and R. An earthenware vessel with a swelling body, used for holding wine or vegetables and dried fruits.
Laid Papers. Papers with a ribbed surface; as cream-laid, blue-laid, &c.
Lake, Cloth of, O. E. Linen for under-garments.
Lakes. (See Carmine.) Pigments of a fine crimson red colour, of which there are several kinds; they are prepared from cochineal, kermes, lac, and the best from madder-root. Common lake is obtained from Brazil wood, which affords a very fugitive colour. (See Yellow Lake, Purple Lakes, Green Lakes, Carminated Lakes, Drop Lake, Red Lake, Mineral Lake, Madder, &c.)
Lakes of Florence, Paris, Vienna, &c. (See Carminated Lakes.)
Lamb. The peculiar symbol of the Redeemer, generally the emblem of innocence, meekness, modesty. It is properly called the Paschal Lamb, and with a flag, or between two stars and a crescent, was the badge of the Knights Templars. (See Agnus Dei.)
Lamboys (Fr. lambeau). A kind of skirt over the thighs, worn over the armour. (See Fig. 463.)
Lambrequin. A covering for the helmet. (See Mantling.)
Lamb’s-wool, O. E. A drink of ale with the pulp of roasted apples in it.
Lames, Fr. Flexible plates or blades of steel, worn over the hips.
Lametta. Brass, silver, or gold foil or wire.
Lamiæ, Gr. and R. Vampires who fed at night on the flesh of human beings. The Lamiæ of Pliny are animals with the face and head of a woman, and the tail of a serpent, inhabiting the deserts of Africa.
Laminated. Disposed in layers or plates.
Lammas, O. E. The 1st of August.
Fig. 415. Roman Lamp.
Lamp, Lantern, or Taper, in Christian art, was an emblem of piety; an attribute of St. Lucia. (See Lucerna, Lychnus, Lantern.)
Lampadephoria, Gr. (torch-bearing). A game common throughout Greece, in which the competitors raced, either on foot or horseback, six stadia (about three-quarters of a mile), carrying lamps prepared for the purpose. (See Lampas.)
Lampas, Gr. and R. A general term denoting anything which shines or affords light; a torch, a lamp, and especially a link. The word was frequently used for lampadephoria, the torch-race.
Lamp-black. A soot used as a pigment. It is very opaque, and dries slowly in oil. It is also the basis of all printing and lithographic inks.
Fig. 416. Device of Catherine de’ Medicis.
Lance. In Christian art, the attribute of St. Matthias, in allusion to the method of his martyrdom. (See Amentum, Lancea, Hasta.) A shivered lance with the motto “Lacrymæ hinc, hinc dolor,” was a device adopted by Catherine de’ Medicis after the fatal accident to her husband, Henry II., in a tournament. (Fig. 416.)
Lance-rest. A projecting iron fixed to a breastplate to support the end of the lance in a joust or tournament.
Lancea, R. A long, light spear, serving both as a pike and a missile.
Lanceola. Dimin. of Lancea (q.v.).
Lanceolated, Arch. Having the form of a spear-head. The term is applied to lancet windows, arches, and members of architecture forming a rose.
Fig. 417. Lancet Arch. 13th century.
Lancet Arch. A pointed arch, obtuse at the point, resembling a surgeon’s lancet, from which a style of architecture, common in England in the 13th century, is named. (Fig. 417.) (See Early English Architecture.)
Fig. 418. Lancula.
Lancula, R. (dimin. of Lanx). The scale which was placed, when necessary, at one of the ends of a Roman steelyard (statera). (Fig. 418.)
Landgrave (Germ. Land, Graf). A title given to those Counts of Germany who take their rank from a large tract of land. The first Landgraves were those of Thuringia, Hesse, Alsace, and Leuchtenberg.
Langue-de-bœuf, Fr. A blade fixed to a pikestaff; named after its shape.
Langued, Her. To denote the tincture of an animal’s tongue.
Laniarium, Laniena, R. (lanius, a butcher). A slaughter-house or butcher’s shop.
Laniers, O. E. Leather straps for various uses; as armlets to a shield, or as garters or bands, &c.
Lanipendia, R. (lana, wool, and pendere, to weigh). A woman whose duty it was to weigh the wool for spinning, and distribute it among the slaves for their daily tasks.
Lanista, R. A man who trained gladiators for the Roman circus. They were frequently his own property, and he let them out for hire; or he received them from their owners into his school (ludus) for training.
Lansquenet, Fr. A game at cards.
Fig. 419. Old English Horn Lantern.
Lantern. In Christian art, the attribute of St. Gudula, in allusion to the legend of her miraculous lantern, which her prayers rekindled as often as Satan extinguished it. In Architecture, a small turret above the roof of a building, having windows all round it.
Fig. 420. Lanterne des Morts.
Lanterne des Morts or Churchyard Beacon, Arch. A small tower raised upon a base, and generally round, but sometimes square or polygonal; with windows at the top to emit the shining rays from the lamp inside. Fig. 420 represents a “lanterne des morts” at Ciron, France.
Lanx, R. This term denotes (1) a circular dish of silver or other metal, often embossed, used especially at banquets. (2) The scale of a balance (libra). (3) A salver for handing fruits or other dainties at dessert.
Laocoon. A magnificent sculpture, found in 1506 among the ruins of the palace of Titus, now in the Vatican. It represents Laocoon and his two sons struggling in the folds of two monster serpents. According to Pliny it is the work of three Rhodian sculptors, Agesander, Polydorus, and Athenodorus, and stood in the palace of Titus. He said that it was made of one stone, but the joining of five pieces has been detected. [See Lessing’s “Laokoon.”]
Laphria, Gr. An annual festival, celebrated at Patræ in Achaia, in honour of Artemis, surnamed Laphria.
Lapidary. An artist who cuts, grinds, and polishes gems and stones. In the lapidary’s scale of hardness of minerals there are 10 standard degrees, represented as follows:—No. 1, talc, which is very easily cut; No. 2, compact gypsum; No. 3, calc-spar; No. 4, fluor-spar; No. 5, apatite; No. 6, felspar; No. 7, quartz; No. 8, topaz; No. 9, sapphire; No. 10, diamond. Diamonds are for the most part cut at Amsterdam.
Lapis Lazuli. A beautiful blue mineral stone of various shades of colour. (See Ultramarine.)
Laquear, Laqueare. Synonym of Lacunar (q.v.).
Laqueatores, R. An order of gladiators who used a noose to catch their adversaries.
Laqueatus, R. A ceiling decorated with panels (lacunar).
Lararium, R. A small shrine consecrated to the gods called Lares; a room in which the images of the Lares or tutelary genii of the house were placed. It is said to have been customary for religious Romans, immediately after they rose in the morning, to pray in the Lararium.
Larentalia, Larentinalia, or Laurentalia, R. A Roman festival in honour of Acca Larentia, the nurse of Romulus and Remus; or, according to another tradition, a festival instituted by Ancus in honour of a wealthy courtezan named Larentia, who had bequeathed all her property to the Roman people. It was celebrated on the 10th of December.
Lares, R. The Lares Privati, Domestici, or Familiares, were the guardian deities of the house. The spot peculiarly sacred to them was the focus, or hearth, in the Atrium, where the altar for domestic sacrifice stood, and near it was a niche, containing little images of these gods, to whom offerings of flowers, frankincense, and wine were made from time to time, and regularly on the kalends of each month. There were many classes of Lares Publici: (1) The Lares rurales, who presided over the flocks, herds, &c. (2) The Lares compitales, worshipped where two cross-roads met, &c. [Cf. Ovid, Fasti, v. 129.]
Larghetto, It. In Music, less slow than largo.
Largo, It. In Music, a slow movement, one degree quicker than adagio.
Latch, O. E. A cross-bow.
Lateen Sail. A triangular mainsail on a tall sloping yard, which reaches down to the deck.
Later, R. A brick; the πλίνθος of the Greeks. Among the Romans bricks were of various forms; the largest was called pentadorum; the next size, tetradorum. Later coctus, coctilis was the term applied to a baked brick; later crudus was an unbaked brick, i. e. one dried in the sun. Pliny calls the brick-field Lateraria.
Latericium (opus), R. A structure built of bricks.
Laterna, Lanterna. A Lantern (q.v.).
Laton or Latten, O. E. An alloy of brass, of which candlesticks, sepulchral monuments, crosses, &c., were made in the Middle Ages. White Laton was a mixture of brass and tin.
Latrunculi, R. (Gr. πεσσοί). The ancient game of draughts. It is mentioned by Homer. The Romans often had twelve lines of squares (mandræ) on the draught-board. The number of pieces varied from five to twelve, and in later times the game was played with the tesseræ or dice.
Lattice, Arch. A trellis or cross-barred work; a network window.
Laura, Chr. The origin of the name is obscure. It signifies a collection of separate cells in a wilderness, where a community of monks lived each in his own cell, meeting together only during two days of the week. The most celebrated lauras were in Palestine.
Laurel, Gen. The emblem of glory and victory. Sacred also to Apollo. In modern times an emblem of peace.
Lautumiæ, R. (λα-τομία). A stone-quarry, and thence a prison hewn out of a quarry, more particularly the public prison of Syracuse, hewn into the solid cliff, but roofless. The Tullianum at Rome was called Lautumiæ also.
Lava. The scoria from an active volcano, which is well adapted to ornamental carving.
Lavabo. (See Lavatorium.)
Lavacrum, R. (lavo, to wash). A bath of hot or cold water, in contradistinction to a vapour bath (caldarium).
Lavatorium, R. (lavo, to wash). A small building in a monastery, in which the monks washed their hands before and after a repast. The lavatorium was usually placed near the refectory.
Lawn. This fine linen fabric was introduced in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
Lay Figure. A large wooden jointed doll, used by artists to display drapery.
Lead-glazed Wares. (See Pottery.)
Fig. 421. Stamped gilt and painted leather hangings illustrating a pictorial arrangement of pattern.
Leather was used instead of tapestry for the hangings of rooms in the 16th century, and was beautifully gilded and chased. (Consult “L’Art de travailler les Cuirs dorés ou argentés,” by M. Fougeroux de Bondary, in “Description des Arts et Metiers,” 1762.) (Fig. 421.)
Leaves, Her. Their peculiarities are blazoned as laurel leaf, oak leaf, &c.
Leaves, Leafage. (See Foliage.)
Lebes, Gr. (λέβης; λείβη, to pour out). A brass saucepan or caldron (pelvis, ahenum); it was a deep vessel with swelling sides. It was sometimes made with a pointed bottom to fit into a stand, which was called Incitega.
Lebiton, Lebitonarium. (See Colobium.)
Lecanê, Gr. A drinking-bowl used by the Etrurians (basin-shaped, with a lid).
Lectern. A reading-desk in a Christian church; most frequently of brass in the form of an eagle, but often decorated with more elaborate emblems.
Lectica, R. (lectus, a couch). A couch or litter carried by bearers, used both by men and women; it was introduced from the East, and was quickly adopted in Greece and Rome. The Greek litter had a roof made of the skin of an ox, and the sides covered with curtains. Among the Romans it was seldom used excepting for travelling, until the luxurious days of the empire, when the lectica became a very splendid affair. It was sometimes constructed with gold and ivory, and instead of curtains it was closed at the sides, with windows of transparent stone (lapis specularis). When standing, it rested on four feet. It was borne upon poles (asseres) by two or more slaves, and was called hexophron, octophron, &c., according to the number of lecticarii employed to carry it.
Lecticula. Dimin. of lectica; it denoted a litter for the conveyance of the sick, or a bier on which a dead body was carried out.
Lectisternium, R. (lectus, and sterno, to spread out). A religious ceremony consisting of a banquet offered to the gods, at which the statues of the latter were present stretched out on couches, with tables and viands before them as if they were partaking of the feast.
Lectorium, Chr. (lector, a reader). An old term afterwards replaced by that of Ambo (q.v.).
Lectrin, Chr. An old term now replaced by jubé or rood-loft and desk.
Lectrum, Chr. An old term denoting a praying-desk.
Lectus, R. (lego, to put together). A bed or couch complete; lectus cubicularis, a sleeping-couch; lectus genialis, a nuptial bed; lectus adversus, a symbolical marriage-bed; lectus triclinaris, a dining-couch, a couch for three persons, placed in the triclinium or dining-room; lectus funebris, a funeral bier. The diminutive of this term is lectulus. The lectus cubicularis resembled an old-fashioned sofa with a high back; being of considerable height, it was reached by means of a footstool (scamnum), or a set of steps (gradus). The lectus genialis (Gr. εὐνὴ) or marriage-bed was still higher, larger, and handsomely decorated; it is represented with a flight of steps at the foot. The lectus adversus was a symbolical marriage-bed, and stood in the atrium, opposite to the entrance of the house, and was, as it were, the throne or seat of office, from which the housewife superintended the spinning, weaving, and similar duties of the servants. The lectus triclinaris used at meals is described under the article. Lectus funebris is the name of the bier upon which the dead were borne to burial or the pyre.
Fig. 422. Lecythus.
Lecythus, Gr. A cylindrical vase made to contain oil or perfumes. It often figures in the hands of goddesses, or of females at the toilet; and is mostly ornamented with delicate paintings and choice subjects. (Fig. 422.)
Ledger, Arch. A stone slab.
Ledger Lines. In Music, extra lines above or below the five ruled lines.
Ledgment, Arch. A horizontal course of stone or mouldings, particularly the base moulding.
Leet, O. E. An ancient Anglo-Saxon court of justice; a manor court.
Legato, It. Literally, “bound;” in Music signifies “in a smooth and gliding manner.”
Legend. In Numismatics, the words round the edge of a medal or coin.
Leghorn. A kind of straw plait, first invented at Leghorn.
Legio, R. (lego, to collect). A Roman legion; a division of the army consisting of from three to six thousand heavy-armed soldiers, who were called legionarii. Twelve thousand legionaries were required to make up a consular army. The legion contained troops of all arms; infantry, cavalry, and the ancient substitutes for artillery; and was an army complete in itself. The numbers varied, as well as the organization, at different periods. Livy speaks of legions of 5000 infantry and 300 horse. The subject is one demanding voluminous description. The legion was subdivided into Cohortes, Manipuli, Centuriæ, Signa, Ordines, Contubernia.
Leice, Celt. Also called meanal leice. The stone of destiny; a large crystal kept by the Druids for soothsaying.
Leister or Lister, Scotch. A trident or many-pronged spear for striking fish.
Leming Star, O. E. (from A.S. leme, brightness). A comet.
Lemman (A.S. leof=loved, and man). A sweetheart, &c.
Lemnian Reddle. An ochre of a deep red colour and firm consistence, used as a pigment.
Lemniscus, R. (λημνίσκος; λῆνος, wool). A fillet or ribbon awarded, as a mark of honour, to a person who had distinguished himself in any way. The person who wore it was called lemniscatus. It hung down from crowns or diadems at the back of the head. Lemnisci were also worn, without coronæ, by ladies for ornament. Hence, in Geometry, a curve of the form of the figure 8 is called lemniscata.
Lemon Yellow. A bright pigment, brighter and clearer than Naples yellow or masticot, and not liable to change.
Lemures or Manes, R. The souls of the dead, who, according to the religious belief of the Romans, were transformed into beneficent or evil genii, according as the individual had been during his life good or bad, virtuous or worthless. “Lares si meriti boni sint; Lemures sive Larvas si mali; Manes autem cum incertum est,” says St. Augustine.
Lemuria. Festivals in honour of the Lemures celebrated at Rome, at night and in silence, on the 9th, 11th, and 13th of May. During them the temples of the gods were closed, and marriage was considered unlucky; hence the proverb, Mense Maio male nubent. Those who celebrated the Lemuria walked barefooted, washed their hands three times, and threw black beans nine times behind their backs. On the second of the three days there were games in the circus in honour of Mars, and on the third day the images of the thirty Argei, made of rushes, were thrown from the Pons Sublicius into the Tiber by the Vestal virgins. On the same day there was a festival of merchants.
Lenn or Linn, Celt. A woollen wrap with a long nap, or simply the skin of some animal, worn in severe weather as a kind of upper garment by the poorer class of Gauls.
Lens (lit. a lentil). A convex or concave glass, which, by changing the direction of rays of light, magnifies or diminishes objects.
Lent (A.S. lencten, Spring), Chr. The forty days’ fast preparatory to Easter. Pope Gregory the Great speaks of this fast as of thirty-six days’ duration; i. e. six weeks, not counting the Sundays, which, it is suggested, amounts to one-tenth, or a tithe of the year.
Lent Rose or Lent Lily, O. E. The daffodil.
Lentiform. Shaped like a double convex lens.
Lentiner, O. E. A hawk taken in Lent.
L’Envoy. “The conclusion of a ballet, or sonnet, in a short stanzo by itselfe, and serving oftentimes as a dedication of the whole.” (Cotgrave.)
Leonine Verses. Rhyming Latin compositions, very popular in the Middle Ages. In the 3rd century a piece of 1200 such verses was written by Commodianus. St. Augustine and the venerable Bede also wrote some. The proper leonine consists of a couplet rhyming at the end; but the rhymes may be otherwise distributed: e. g.—
Leontarium, Chr. A fountain of lions spouting water; frequently placed in the courtyard or atrium of basilican churches.
Leopard, Her. A lion in any other attitude than “rampant” was blazoned by the early heralds as a “leopard.” Till the 14th century the lions of the Royal Shield of England were designated leopards.
Leou, Chinese. (1) A building of many stories, like a pagoda. (2) An upper floor in a Chinese house.
Lepastê, R. (λεπὰς, a limpet; Lat. patella). A large vessel, in form like the cylix, but resting on a broad stand; employed from the earliest times for holding pure wine.
Leporarium, R. (lepus, a hare). A hare warren; a walled paddock in which four-footed game were preserved.
Fig. 423. The Leschê at Delphi.
Leschê, Gr. (λέσχη, i. e. a place for talking). A public place of assembly and conversation, or a small exchange for transacting business, &c. The leschê of Delphi (Fig. 423) was celebrated for the painting which it contained by Polygnotus (470 B.C.). At Athens there were 360 leschai, small buildings or porticoes furnished with seats and exposed to the sun, where the poor could rest in warmth and shelter.
Lesina, It. An awl. The device of the Lesina Academy, with the motto, “L’assotigliar la più, meglio anche fora.”
Lettern, Arch. The Lectern of a church is often so called, when made of Latten or brass. The word is used instead of Latten.
Letters of the Alphabet are sometimes used as charges in heraldry. The practice of weaving letters into the ornamentation of textile fabrics is very ancient in the East. Pliny says, “Parthi literas vestibus intexunt.” Fanciful designs imitating or copying oriental letters without meaning were worked in church textiles in early Christian times; and the artists of Italy up to the middle of the 16th century represented such devices on the hems of the garments of great personages in their paintings.
Leucite (λευκὸς, white). White spar, or white garnet; a white stony substance found among volcanic productions.
Leucomb, O. E. A dormer window.
Leucopyrite. A mineral used in the production of artificial orpiment.
Levacion, O. E. The elevation of the host in the mass.
Levant. The Eastern shores of the Mediterranean.
Levecel, O. E. A pent-house or projecting roof over a door or an open shed.
Levesele, O. E. A lattice. The original of the chequers on the door-posts of inns.
Levitonarium. (See Colobium.)
Lew, O. E. (modern lea). Sheltered from the wind; hence Lewe Water (modern luke-warm water).
Lewins, O. E. A kind of bands put about a hawk.
Libbard, O. E. A leopard.
Libella, R. (libra, a level or balance). (1) A level, or instrument employed by masons, joiners, and carpenters, in the same way as with us, for testing the evenness of the surface of their work. (2) A small Roman silver coin, afterwards substituted by the As, which it equalled in value.
Libellus or Libellulus, R. A small book, pamphlet, letter, or notice.
Liber (literally, the rind of the papyrus; Gr. βιβλίον, from the Egyptian word byblos, the papyrus plant). A book.—Parchment (membrana) was invented by Eumenes, king of Pergamos; hence its name of pergamentum. The paper (charta) or parchment was only written upon on one side; the other side was stained yellow. Writings were frequently washed off, and the parchment used again was called palimpsestus. The sheets forming a book were joined together and rolled round a staff, and then called a volume (volumen). The stick was usually ornamented with balls or bosses, ornamented or painted, called umbilici. The ends of the roll, carefully cut, polished with pumice-stone, and coloured black, were called geminæ frontes. The reader held the staff in his left hand to unroll the sheet (evolvere librum), as he proceeded, with his right. The roll, if valuable, was kept in a parchment case, which was stained with a purple colour, or yellow. The title of the book (titulus or index) was written on a small strip of papyrus or parchment with a light red colour (coccum or minium); and this practice was the origin of the art of illumination.
Liber Pontificalis, seu de gestis Romanorum pontificum. A work of the 15th century, of great value to the student of early Christian art work, and in particular of textiles and embroidery.
Libra, R. (1) A balance with two scales (lanx), depending by chains from the ends of the beam (jugum); in the centre of the latter was a handle (ansa). (2) The As or pound; the unit of weight. (See As.)
Libretto, It. The words of an opera, oratorio, &c.
Librile, R. (libra). A term denoting the ends of the beam (jugum) in a balance, and thence the balance itself; it is thus synonymous with Libra (q.v.).
Liburna, Liburnica, R. A vessel of war so called from the fact that it was built on a model invented by the Illyrian pirates, or Liburni.
Lichanos, Gr. (forefinger string). The note below the Mese of the seven-stringed lyre. (See Mese.)
Lich-gate. A shed over the gate of a churchyard to rest the corpse under. (See Corpse-gate.) (Fig. 197.)
Lich-stone—near a churchyard gate, for resting coffins on—is generally raised about three feet from the ground, shaped like a coffin, and has stone benches round it for the bearers to rest upon.
Liciæ, Med. Lat. (Fr. lices), from the Italian lizza, palings. The lists; an enclosed space surrounding a camp or castle.
Licium, R. A leash, or thick thread, employed to divide in two a set of threads in a warp, in order to allow the shuttle to pass through them. By analogy, any kind of thread or cord used for fastening.
Lictor, R. (See Fasces.)
Lieberkuhn. A reflecting mirror on a microscope, named after the inventor.
Lierne Rib (in a vault), Arch. (From lier, to bind.) “Any rib that does not arise from the impost, and is not a ridge rib, but crosses from one boss or intersection of the principal ribs to another. Vaults in which such liernes are employed are termed LIERNE VAULTS.” (Parker’s Glossary.)
Light Red. A pigment of a russet orange tint, produced from burnt ochre.
Lights. The openings between the mullions of a window. (See Days.)