Chapter 29

Fig. 319. Flutings.

FlutingsorFlutes, Arch. Small semicircular indents or grooves cut perpendicularly, by way of ornament, in the shafts of columns and pilasters. Flutings may be either decorated or plain. When filled with a bead moulding, they are said to becabled. Fig.319represents flutings decorated with leaves twined round a reed.

Fly, Her. The length and also the side of a flag furthest from the mast.

Fo, Chinese. (SeeDog of Fo.) The “Hand of Fo” is a fragrant fruit, a kind ofcédrat, generally styled the Chinese hand-plant, used to perfume apartments.

Focale, R. (fauces, the throat). A square piece of cloth which was wrapped round the neck, and covered the ears.

Fig. 320. Foculus.

Foculus, R. (dimin. offocus). A portable fireplace; a brazier or chafing-dish. (Fig.320.)

Focus, R. The hearth or fireplace of a house, consecrated to the Lares or household gods.

Foil, in Architecture. (SeeTrefoil,Quatrefoil, &c.)

Fig. 321. Foliage of the Acanthus.

Foliage, Gen. Nearly every style of architecture has made use of foliage for purposes of ornamentation. In antiquity, the leaves of the acanthus, palm, laurel, olive, ivy, &c., were thus employed; the Romano-Byzantine, Byzantine, and Pointed styles utilized for the same purpose the vine, oak, cinquefoil, parsley, mahonia, mullein, thistle, &c. Foliage has been applied to the decoration of capitals, archivolts, bands, cornices, and friezes; and it has also been used to formCrockets(q.v.), crownings, pinnacles, &c. Architectural work thus enriched is said to beFOLIATED, and the ornament itself is calledFOLIATION.

Fig. 322. Foliage on moulding.

Folliculus, R. A leather cap encircling the hole by which an oar protruded from a ship. The term is a diminutive ofFollis(q.v.).

Follis, R. A small ball of leather inflated with air, which also went by the name offolliculus; used for a plaything.

Fong-hoang, Chinese. A fabulous bird which is immortal, lives in the highest regions of the air, and only approaches men to announce to them happy events and prosperous reigns. It is easily recognized (on pottery, &c.) by its carunculated head, its neck surrounded by silky feathers, and its tail partaking of the Argus pheasant and the peacock. (Jacquemart.)

Fig. 323. Pompeian fountain.

Fons,Fountain, Gen. In antiquity, natural springs and fountains were objects of religious worship. Fig.323represents a Pompeian fountain known as the Fountain of Abundance.

Fig. 324. Baptismal font (Romano-Byzantine).

Font, Chr. The vessel which contains the consecrated water used in the administration of baptism, by sprinkling or aspersion (Fig.324), introduced in lieu of the original mode of immersion (Fig.325). (ComparePiscina.)

Fig. 325. Early English Font.

Fig. 326. The Fontange Head-dress.

Fontange, Fr. “A modish head-dress,” deriving its name from Mademoiselle de Fontange, a lady of the court of Louis XIV., who invented it. (Fig.326.)

Font-cloth, O. E. (1) The hanging with which the font was ornamented. (2) TheChrismale(q.v.).

Fools.In Church architecture and decoration, grotesque figures of men with fool’s cap and bells are frequently seen under the seats of choir-stalls andmiserereseats. (See the articleObscœna.)

Foolscap.A fool’s cap was the device of the Italian society called the Granelleschi, formed at Venice in 1740 to oppose the corruption of the Italian language. A sheet of foolscap paper is 17 in. by 13½ in.

Forceps.Tongs or pincers, the attributes of some of the martyrs. (SeeForfex.)

Foreshortening.The art of representing objects on a plane surface as they appear to the eye in perspective.

Fig. 327. Roman Forfex.

Fig. 328. Forfex.

Forfex, R. (1) Large scissors or shears used to cut hair or shear animals. (2) A clip, in the form of shears, for raising weights. (Fig.327.) Fig.328represents a shears described by Vitruvius, which was used to raise stones.

Fori, R. This term, which is the plural offorus, denotes (1) the flooring of a ship; (2) the flooring of a bridge; (3) the standing-places on a temporary platform; (4) the shelves forming the divisions or different stories of a beehive; (5) the narrow parallel furrows drawn in a garden by means of the hoe.

Foricula.A little door. Dimin. ofForis(q.v.).

Foris, R. The door as distinguished from the frame in which it hung. In the plural,foresdenotes a folding-door with two leaves, as, for instance,fores carceris, the door of the stalls in a circus.

Forkswere not in general use earlier than the 14th century. One of the earliest occasions on which a fork is mentioned informs us that John, Duke of Brittany in 1306, had one “to pick up soppys.”

Forlon.A Spanish carriage with four seats.

Forma, R. (fero, to produce). A mould, form, or model; a mould for making bricks or other objects in clay, such as (1) antefixa, masks, &c.; (2) a shoemaker’s last; (3) the waterway of a subterranean aqueduct.Diminutive,Formella, R. A small shape or mould used especially by the Romans to give an artificial form to the fish which was served as one of the courses at dinner.

Fornacalia, R. A festival of bakers in honour of the goddessFornax(oven-goddess). It took place in February, the day being given out by thecurio maximus, who announced, in tablets which were placed in the forum, the part which eachcuriahad to take in the festival. Those persons who did not know to which curia they belonged, performed the rites on the last day, calledStultorum feriæ(the feasts of fools).

Fornacula(dimin. ofFornax, q.v.). (1) A small furnace for smelting metals. (2) A small furnace for a bath-room.

Fornax, R. A furnace; an oven; a kiln for baking pottery:fornax calcaria, a lime-kiln;fornax æraria, a blast-furnace for smelting metals;fornax balnei, a hypocaust or bathfurnace; this was also calledFornacula(q.v.).Fornaxis also the name of the goddess ofovens.

Fornix, R. A term having the same meaning asArcus(q.v.). It also denotes (1) a triumphal arch (arcus triumphalis); (2) a vault or vaulted room; (3) a vaulted gate.

Forril.A kind of parchment, specially prepared for bookbinding.

Forulus, R. (dimin. offorus, a shelf). A cupboard, cabinet, or dwarf bookcase.

Fig. 329. Ground-plan of the Forum at Pompeii.

Forum, R. A large open space used by the Romans as a market; it answered to the GreekAgora(q.v.). Fig.329represents theforum civileof Pompeii, unquestionably one of the most complete examples bequeathed to us by antiquity.Ais the principal entrance;B, a Corinthian temple;C, the public prison (carcer publicus);Dis supposed to have been a horreum, or public granary;E, the temple of Venus, the guardian goddess of the city;F, the basilica;G,H,I, the curiæ, which were a kind of civil and commercial tribunals;Kis a rectangular building which probably served the purpose of a shop for money-changers;L, a portico terminating in an absis;M, the temple of Mercury or Quirinus;N, a building with a large semicircular tribune, which probably formed the residence of theAugustales.

Forus.A synonym ofForum(q.v.).Forus aleatoriuswas the term applied to a dice-table.

Fossil Ivory.The tusks of the mammoth—the extinctelephas primigenius—found in great quantity in Siberia, are the material of which nearly all the ivory-turner’s work in Russia is made. The ivory has not undergone any petrifying change like other fossils, and is as well adapted for use as that procured from living species.

Fote(orFoot)Mantel. An outer garment of the petticoat kind, bound round the hips (of a woman on horseback) “to keep her gown or surcoat clean.” (Strutt.)

“Afote-mantelabout hir hips large.” (Chaucer.)

Fountain, Her. A circular figure orROUNDLEthat isbarry wavyarg. is so blazoned.

Fourchée, Her. Divided into two parts; said of a lion with a double tail.

Fraces, R. A kind of fuel made of the tan obtained from the residuum of oil-presses; it was thus the pulp of olives.

Frænum,Frenum, R. A horse’s bridle, including the bit and the reins. [The bit was calledoreaor Greekστόμιον.]

Framea, R. (1) A German spear, the iron head of which was short but very sharp; it was employed by them as a pike. (2) A weapon used by the Franks.

Francisca.A kind of battle-axe used by the Franks.

Frankfort Black.A German pigment prepared likeblue black(q.v.).

French Ultramarine.(SeeGuimet’s Ultramarine.)

Fresco-Painting(i. e.al fresco, upon fresh or wet ground), generally employed for large pictures on walls and ceilings, is executed with mineral and earthy pigments upon a freshly-laid ground of stucco. It was known to the ancients, and must be distinguished fromDISTEMPER PAINTING(q.v.) on plaster, which is a different process. “Buon(or genuine)fresco,” painted on the fresh surface of plaster, is distinguished from “fresco secco,” or a process of painting on dry plaster commonly practised in Italy and Munich. It is argued that the latter was the process used at Pompeii, and generally by the ancients, because (1) lime is found in nearly all the colours, and (2) the nature of the joinings in the work indicates that each compartment does not contain only one day’s work, as it must inbuon fresco.

Fig. 330. Greek Fret.

Fig. 331. Greek Fret.

Fig. 332. Greek Fret.

Fret, Arch. An angular, interlaced architectural ornament of the Greek and Romano-Byzantine period, also known asbroken batoonandVitruvian scroll, and presenting some analogy withchevronor zigzag. There arecrenelatedorrectangular frets,triangular,nebulated,undulated frets, &c.

Fig. 333. Undulated Fret.

Fig. 334. Scroll Fret.

Fret, O. E. Acaulof gold or silver wire.

“Afretof golde she had next her hair.” (Chaucer.)

Fig. 335. Badge of the Arundel family, with fret.

FretorFrette, Her. One of the subordinaries. The illustration is one of the badges of the Arundel family: a chapeau or and gules, surmounted by afretor, and an acorn leaved vert.

Frieze, Arch. That part of the entablature which is included between the architrave and the cornice. (See Fig.184.) Another name for it isZoophorus(q.v.). It was generally richly sculptured. The finest frieze ever found is that of the Parthenon, the ornamentation of which may be studied in the Elgin-marble room at the British Museum. (See Fig.282.)

Frieze,Frize. A coarse woollen cloth, first mentioned 1399.

“Cloth of gold, do not despizeTo match thyself with cloth of frize.Cloth of frize, be not too bold,Though thou be matched with cloth of gold.”

“Cloth of gold, do not despize

To match thyself with cloth of frize.

Cloth of frize, be not too bold,

Though thou be matched with cloth of gold.”

Frigidarium, R. (frigidus, cold). (1) A cool apartment in a bathing establishment. (2) A cool place used as a larder.

Frisquet.In wood-engraving, a piece of paper laid over the proof-paper in the act of printing, to keep clean the parts not intended to be exposed to the ink.

Fritillus, R. A dice-box of a cylindrical form, called alsoturriculaorpyrgus(Greekφιμός).

Fig. 336. Frog. The device of Mæcenas.

Frog.An ancient emblem of silence and secrecy, from a legend quoted by Ælian that the frogs of Syriapha never croak in their own marshes. Hence it was adopted by Mæcenas, the friend of Augustus, for his device. (Fig.336.)

Fig. 337. Frontale of a bridle.

Frontale, Gen. (frons, the forehead). (1) A frontlet or head-band worn by Greek women, and to be seen principally on the statues of goddesses. (2) A plate or band of metal placed across the forehead of horses (Fig.337) as a protection for the frontal bone. The Medes, Persians, Greeks, and Romans made use of thefrontalefor their cavalry horses. For the ecclesiasticalFrontal, Mediæval, seeAntependium. Henry III. gave aFRONTALto the high altar at Westminster Abbey, upon which, besides carbuncles in golden settings, and several large pieces of enamel, were as many as 866 smaller pieces of enamel.

Frontispiece.In Architecture, the façade or face of a building. The engraved title-page of a book was originally called the frontispiece.

Frote, O. E. To rub; to stir.

Frountere, O. E.Frontal(q.v.).

Fucus, Gr. Cosmetic paint, much used by the Greek and Roman ladies. They stained their eyebrows black with a preparation of sulphuret of antimony calledstimmi, or of soot,asbolos. The Roman ladies, in addition to rouge and white for the complexion, used to trace out the veins on their temples with a blue paint, and they wore the patches of Queen Anne’s time (splenia). “From beef without mustard, a servant which overvalues himself,and a woman which painteth,—good Lord deliver us!” (Stubbes.)

Fuller’s BatorClub. Attribute of St. James the Less, who was killed with such an implement.

Fullonica,Fullonum, R. (fullo, a fuller). A fuller’s establishment. An example of one, in perfect preservation, is preserved at Pompeii. Thefullonesacted as laundrymen to Greek and Roman families, washing linen as well as woollen clothes by treading in tubs (using urine for soap, which was unknown to them); hencesaltus fullonicus, a fuller’s dance.

Fulmen.The thunderbolt of Jove. (See alsoIllapa.) It is generally represented as a double cone of flame, with lightnings on each side, or frequently with wings.

Fumarium, R. (fumus, smoke). A chamber in the upper part of a Roman house, into which the smoke from the fires was conducted. The smoke-room was used for drying wood and ripening wine. The “Rauchkammer” or smoke attic is still a common institution in good houses in Germany.

Funale, R. (funis, a rope). A link or torch made of various materials.

FunalisorFunarius(sc.equus). The tracehorse, so called because its traces, instead of being of leather, were of rope (funis).

Funarius.(SeeFunalis.)

Funda, Sling, Gen. The sling has been employed by most of the peoples of antiquity as a weapon of warfare for hurling stones, chiefly flints or leaden bullets (glandes). The slings of the Egyptians were made of leather thongs or plaited cord. Thefunaitores, or slingers, of the Greek and Roman armies carried each a provision of stones in the folds (sinus) of his pallium, a shield on his left arm, and brandished his sling in the right hand. The most celebrated slingers were the inhabitants of the Balearic Islands, which took their ancient name from this circumstance.

Fig. 338. Fundibalus—Onager.

Fundibalus,Fundibalum, R. (βάλλω, to throw). A machine for hurling stones; a kind ofbalista(q.v.). (Fig.338.)

Fig. 339. Street at Pompeii.

Fundula, R. A blind alley orcul-de-sac. Fig.339represents one of the kind at Pompeii.

Fundulus, R. The piston of a hydraulic machine.

Funeral Ceremonies.1. Greek. The expressionsτὰ δίκαια,νομιζόμενα, orπροσήκοντα, the just and lawful rites, are expressive of the Greek idea that the proper burial of the dead was a most sacred duty to them. The first act was to place in the mouth of the corpse anobolus, with which the spirit would pay the ferryman in Hades. This coin was then calleddanaké. The body was then washed and anointed, the head crowned with flowers, and the handsomest robes put on. All this was done by the women of the family. By the side of the bed upon which the corpse was then laid (πρόθεσις) were placed painted earthen vessels (lecuthoi; seeLecythus), which were afterwards buried with the corpse. (These vases are frequently disinterred in modern excavations.) A honeycake (melittouta) to throw to the dog Cerberus was laid on the bed. Before the door a vessel of water (ostraconorardalion) was set, to be used, like the holy water of Catholic times, by personsleavingthe house, for purification. On the third day after death, theecphora, or carrying out for burial, took place in the morning before sunrise. The men walked before the corpse, and the women behind. Hired mourners (threnodoi) accompanied the procession, playing mournful tunes on the flute. The bodies were either buried or burned, until cremation gave way to a Christian prejudice. The body was placed for burning on the top of apyre(Gr.πῦρ, fire); and, in remote ages, animals, prisoners, or slaves were burned with it. Oils and perfumes were thrown into the flames. Finally, the smouldering ashes were quenched with wine, and relatives and friends collected what remained of the bones. The bones were then washed with wine and oil, and placed in urns, often golden.

2. Roman.Funera justaconveys the same idea as the Greekdicaiaof the right and title of the dead to a proper observance. With the Romans, the washing, anointing, &c. of the body was done by slaves (pollinctores) of the undertakers, who were calledlibitinarii, because they dwelt near the temple of Venus Libitina, in which all things requisite for funerals were sold and a mortuary register was kept. The coin having been duly placed in the mouth, the body was laid out in the vestibule dressed, of ordinary citizens in a white toga, and of magistrates in their official robes, and the couch was strewn with flowers, and a branch ofcypresswas placed at the door of the house. All funerals were, in ancient times, performed at night, but afterwards only those of the poor. At a great funeral the corpse was carried out on the eighth day, preceded by musicians (cornicines, &c.) and mourning women (præficæ), who chanted a funeral hymn (nænia); players and buffoons (histriones,scurræ) followed, and a procession of the freed slaves wearing the cap of liberty (pileati). Images of the deceased and of his ancestors were borne before the corpse, which was carried on a litter (feretrum). The common bier of the poor was calledsandapila, and its bearersvespillones, because they bore it forth in the evening (vespere). The couches of the rich were of ivory, richly ornamented with gold and purple. The relations walked behind in mourning, sons with the head veiled, and daughters with dishevelled hair. At the forum a funeral oration (laudatio) was delivered, and thence the procession went to the place of burial or cremation. Those who were buried (as all were subsequently to the 4th centuryA. D.) were placed in a coffin (arcaorloculus), often of stone. The Assian stone, from Assos in Troas, was said to consume all the body, with the exception of the teeth, in forty days, whence it was called sarcophagus (q.v.). For cremation the pyre, orrogus, was built like an altar, and the corpse in its splendid couch being placed on the top, the nearest relation, with averted face, fired a corner of the pile. Perfumes were forbidden by the Twelve Tables. Sometimes animals were slaughtered, and in ancient times, captives and slaves, but afterwards gladiators were hired to fight round the blazing pile. (CompareBustum.) When the pyre was burnt down, the embers were soaked with wine, and the bones and ashes collected into urns. (SeeUrna.) The solemnities continued for nine days after the funeral, at the end of which time a sacrifice was performed called thenovemdiale. Men woreblackfor mourning, and women white; but at all banquets given in honour of the dead the guests were clothed in white.

Fig. 340. Covered urn of red pottery. Ohojepore.

Funeral Urnsof Indian pottery are found of extremely ancient date. That represented in Fig.340is a covered jar, of primitive make, with an inscription in ancient characters; its date is probably from 260 to 240B.C.(Jacquemart.)

Fur.Struttsays that “the furs of sables, beavers, foxes, cats, and lambs were used in England before the Conquest; to which were afterwards added those of ermines, squirrels, martens, rabbits, goats, and many other animals.” In the Middle Ages the more precious furs, as ermine and sable, were reserved for kings, knights, and the principal nobility of both sexes. Inferior ranks used “vair” and “gris,” or gray; while citizens, burgesses, and priests wore the common squirrel and lamb-skins. The peasants wore cat-skins, badger-skins, &c. In after times were added the skins of badgers, bears, beavers, deer, fitches, foxes, foynes (or martens), grays, hares, otters, sables, squirrels, weasels, wolves, &c. The mantles of our kings and peers, and the furred robes of municipal officers are the remains of this fashion, which in the 13th century was almost universal.

Fig. 341. Shield with Ermine.

Fur, Her. Thefursare of comparatively rare appearance in heraldry, and do not appear in the best ages.Vairandermineare common. In Fig.341is an example of the treatment of ermine from the monument of Edward III.

Furbelow, O. E. An ornament on the petticoat of a woman’s dress, described as a “puckered flounce,” to display which it became the fashion to roll back the skirts of the gown. “The Old Mode and the New, or the Country Miss with her Furbelow,” is the title of an old play,temp.William and Mary.

Furca, R. A fork with two teeth (bidens), or two prongs; a hay-fork:furca carnarii, a fork used for taking down the meat hung up in thecarnarium. The termfurcawas further applied to a kind of fork by aid of which a foot-traveller carried his baggage, but the more usual name for this kind of fork wasærumna(q.v.). Also, a wooden fork placed for punishment across the shoulders of slaves and criminals, to the prongs of which the hands were tied. Reversed it formed a cross upon which criminals were executed, either by scourging or by crucifixion with nailing. The patibulum was a similar instrument of punishment formed like the letter H.

Furgon, O. E. (Fr.fourgon). A fork for putting faggots and sticks on to the fire.

Furnus, R. (1) A baker’s oven. (2) A baker’s shop. (SeeFornax.)

Fuschan in Appules, O. E. Fustian of Naples. (SeeFustian.)

Fuscina, R. (1) A fork with three prongs used for spearing fish. (2) The trident of theretiarius. Originally it was calledtridens, and used as a goad to drive horses. Neptune always carries one.

Fuscinula(dimin. ofFuscina, q.v.). A carving-fork.

Fusée, Fr. A gun with a wide bore, like a blunderbuss.

Fusiform(fusus, a spindle). In the form of a spindle.

Fig. 342. Fusil. Device of Philip of Burgundy (D. 1467).

Fusil, Fr. The steel for striking fire from a flint; an ancient device of the Dukes of Burgundy, the motto inculcating the worthlessness of latent virtues never brought into action.

Fusi-yama.The sacred mountain of the Japanese, often depicted on their porcelain.

Fustian.“A species of cotton cloth much used by the Normans, particularly by the clergy, and appropriated to their chasubles.” (Strutt.) It was originally woven at Fustat, on the Nile, with a warp of linen thread, and a woof of thick cotton, so twilled and cut that it showed on one side a thick but low pile. In the 14th century Chaucer says of his knight,—

“Of fustian he wered a gepon.”

In the 15th century Naples was celebrated for fustian. An old English account of this date has “Fuschan in Appules” (for Fustian from Naples).

Fustibalum, R. A pole about four feet long, furnished with a sling (funda) in the middle. It was wielded by both hands, and was used to hurl huge stones to a distance.

Fusus(Gr.ἄτρακτος). A spindle. It was generally made of wood; but some nations, as for instance the Egyptians, had spindles of pottery.

Fygury, O. E. An old name for silksdiaperedwithfiguresof flowers and fruit. A cope in the York fabric rolls is described “una capa de sateyn fygury.”

Fig. 343. Fylfot.

FylfotorFilfot. This mysterious ornament exactly resembles the Hinduaraniof remote antiquity, i. e. the instrument of wood by which fire was obtained by friction; which is the symbol ofAgni. This symbol has never been lost, and occurs sixty times on an ancient Celtic funereal urn; also on monumental brasses and church embroidery of the Middle Ages. It is generally called theGammadion.

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