As to Roman Cardiff see articles by J. Ward in theArchaeologiafor 1901 (vol. lvii.), and inArchaeologia Cambrensisfor 1908. As to the castle and the Black and Gray Friars seeArchaeologia Cambrensis, 3rd series, viii. 251 (reprinted in Clark’sMedieval Military Architecture), 5th series, vi. 97; vii. 283; xvii. 55; 6th series, i. 69. The charters of Cardiff and “Materials for a History of the County Borough from the Earliest Times” were published by order of the corporation inCardiff Records(5 vols., 1898, sqq.). See also aHandbook of Cardiff and District, prepared for the use of the British Association, 1891;Cardiff, an Illustrated Handbook, 1896; theAnnual Reportof the Cardiff Chamber of Commerce; theCalendarof the University College.
As to Roman Cardiff see articles by J. Ward in theArchaeologiafor 1901 (vol. lvii.), and inArchaeologia Cambrensisfor 1908. As to the castle and the Black and Gray Friars seeArchaeologia Cambrensis, 3rd series, viii. 251 (reprinted in Clark’sMedieval Military Architecture), 5th series, vi. 97; vii. 283; xvii. 55; 6th series, i. 69. The charters of Cardiff and “Materials for a History of the County Borough from the Earliest Times” were published by order of the corporation inCardiff Records(5 vols., 1898, sqq.). See also aHandbook of Cardiff and District, prepared for the use of the British Association, 1891;Cardiff, an Illustrated Handbook, 1896; theAnnual Reportof the Cardiff Chamber of Commerce; theCalendarof the University College.
(D. Ll. T.)
CARDIGAN, JAMES THOMAS BRUDENELL,7th Earl of(1797-1868), English lieutenant-general, son of the 6th earl of Cardigan (the title dating from 1661), was born at Hambleden, Bucks, on the 16th of October 1797. He studied for several terms at Christ Church, Oxford; and in 1818 entered parliament. He entered the army in 1824 as cornet in the 8th Hussars, and was promoted within eight years, by purchase, to be lieutenant-colonel in the 15th Hussars. With this regiment he made himself one of the most unpopular of commanding officers. He gave the reins to his natural overbearing and quarrelsome temper, treating his men with excessive rigour and indulging in unscrupulous licentiousness. Within two years he held 105 courts-martial, and made more than 700 arrests, although the actual strength of his regiment was only 350 men. In consequence of one of his numerous personal quarrels, he left the regiment in 1834; but two years later, at the urgent entreaty of his father, he was appointed to the command of the 11th Hussars. He played the same part as before, and was censured for it; but he was allowed to retain his post, and the discipline and equipment of his regiment, in which he took great pride, and on which he spent large sums of money, received high commendation from the duke of Wellington. He succeeded to the peerage on the death of his father in August 1837. In September 1840 Lord Cardigan fought a duel, on Wimbledon common, with one of his ownofficers. The latter was wounded, and Lord Cardigan was tried before the House of Lords on a charge of feloniously shooting his adversary. But the trial was a mere sham, and on a trivial technical ground he was acquitted. In 1854, at the outbreak of the Crimean War, he was appointed to the command of the light cavalry brigade, with the rank of major-general, and he spent a very large sum in the purchase of horses and on the equipment of his regiment. He took a prominent part in the early actions of the campaign, and displayed throughout the greatest personal courage and the greatest recklessness in exposing his men. In the charge of the light brigade at Balaklava (q.v.) he was the first man to reach the line of the Russian guns; and Cardigan and his men alike have been credited by the bitterest critics of the charge with splendid daring and unquestioning obedience to orders. At the close of the war he was created K.C.B., and was appointed inspector-general of cavalry, and this post he held till 1860. In 1863 he engaged without success in legal proceedings against an officer who had published an account of Balaklava which the earl held to contain a reflection on his military character. He attained the rank of lieutenant-general in 1861. He was twice married, in 1826 and 1858, but had no children. On his death, which took place on the 28th of March 1868, the family titles (including the English barony of Brudenell, cr. 1628) passed to his relative, the second marquess of Ailesbury.
CARDIGAN(Aberteifi), a seaport, market-town and municipal borough, and the county town of Cardiganshire, Wales, picturesquely situated on the right bank of the Teifi about 3 m. above its mouth. Pop. (1901) 3511. It is connected by an ancient stone bridge with the suburb of Bridgend on the southern or Pembroke bank of the river. It is the terminal station of the Whitland-Cardigan branch of the Great Western railway. Owing to the bar at the estuary of the Teifi, the shipping trade is inconsiderable, but there are brick-works and foundries in the town; and as the centre of a large agricultural district, Cardigan market is well attended. There is a curious local custom of mixing “culm,” a compound of clay and small coal, in the streets. The town has for the most part a modern and prosperous appearance. Two bastions with some of the curtain wall of the ancient castle remain, whilst the dwelling-house known as Castle Green contains part of a drum tower, and some vaulted chambers of the 13th century. The chancel of the Priory church of St Mary is an interesting specimen of early Perpendicular work, and the elaborate tracery of its fine east window contains some fragments of ancient stained glass. It is the only existing portion of a Benedictine house which was originally founded by Prince Rhys ap Griffith in the 12th century.
Although a Celtic settlement doubtless existed near the mouth of the Teifi from an early period, it was not until Norman times that Cardigan became a place of importance. Its castle was first erected by Roger de Montgomery about the year 1091, and throughout the 12th and 13th centuries this stronghold of Cardigan played no small part in the constant warfare between Welsh and English, either side from time to time gaining possession of the castle and the small town dependent on it. In 1136 the English army under Randolf, earl of Chester, was severely defeated by the Welsh at Crûg Mawr, now called Bank-y-Warren, a rounded hill 2 m. north-east of the town. During the latter part of the 12th century the castle became the residence of Rhys ap Griffith, prince and justiciar of South Wales (d. 1196), who kept considerable state within its walls, and entertained here in 1188 Archbishop Baldwin and Giraldus Cambrensis during their preaching of the Third Crusade. In 1284 Edward I. spent a month in the castle, settling the affairs of South Wales. This famous pile was finally taken and destroyed by the Parliamentarian Major-General Laugharne in 1645. The lordship, castle and town of Cardigan formed part of the dower bestowed on Queen Catherine of Aragon by King Henry VII. Henry VIII.’s charter of 1542 confirmed earlier privileges granted by Edward I. and other monarchs, and provided for the government of the town by a duly elected mayor, two bailiffs and a coroner. In the assizes and quarter sessions were removed hence to Lampeter, which has a more central position in the county. Cardigan was declared a parliamentary borough in 1536, but in 1885 its representation was merged in that of the county.
CARDIGANSHIRE(Ceredigion, Sîr Aberteifi), a county of South Wales, bounded N. by Merioneth, E. by Montgomery, Radnor and Brecon, S. by Carmarthen and Pembroke, and W. by Cardigan Bay of the Irish Sea. It has an area of 688 sq. m., so that it ranks fifth in size of the Welsh countries. The whole of Cardiganshire is hilly or undulating, with the exception of the great bogs of Borth and Tregaron, but the mountains generally have little grandeur in their character; Plinlimmon itself, on the boundary of the county with Montgomeryshire, in spite of its elevation of 2463 ft., being singularly deficient in boldness of outline. Of other hills, only Tregaron Mountain (1778 ft.) exceeds 1500 ft. in height. Of the rivers by far the most important is the Teifi, or Tivy, which rises above Tregaron in Llyn Teifi, one of a group of tiny lakes which are usually termed the Teifi Pools, and flows southward through the county as far as Lampeter, forming from this point onwards its southern boundary. A succession of deep pools and rushing shallows, the Teifi has from the earliest times been celebrated for the quantity and quality of its salmon, which are netted in great numbers on Cardigan Bar. Trout and sewin (a local species of sea-trout) are also plentiful, so that the Teifi is much frequented by anglers. This river is also believed to have been the last British haunt of the beaver (afangc, lost-llydan), for the slaying of which a very heavy penalty was exacted by the old royal laws of Wales. Giraldus Cambrensis, Michael Drayton, and other writers allude to this circumstance, though at what date the beaver became extinct in these waters is quite uncertain. On the Teifi may frequently be observed fishermen in coracles. Other rivers worthy of mention are the Dovey (Dyfi), separating Cardigan from Merioneth in the extreme north; the Rheidol and the Ystwyth, which rise in Plinlimmon; and the Aeron, which has its source in Llyn Eiddwen, a pool in the hilly district known as Mynydd Bach. All these streams flow westward into Cardigan Bay.
The valley of the Teifi presents many points of great beauty and interest between Llandyssul and the sea. The rapids of Henllan, the falls of Cenarth and the wooded cliffs of Coedmore constitute some of the finest scenery in South Wales. The valley of the Aeron is well wooded and fertile, while the Rheidol contains amidst striking surroundings the famous cascade spanned by the Devil’s Bridge, which is known to the Welsh as Pont-ar-Fynach (the Monks’ Bridge).
Geology.—The rocks of Cardiganshire consist of shales, slates and grits which have been folded and uptilted so that nowhere do they retain their original horizontality. They belong entirely to the Ordovician and Silurian periods; they have yielded few fossils, and much work remains to be done upon them before the stratigraphical subdivisions can be clearly defined. Many metalliferous lodes occur in the rocks, and the lead mines have long been famous; it was from the profits of his mining speculations, carried on chiefly in this county, that the celebrated Sir Hugh Myddleton was enabled to carry out his gigantic project for supplying London with water by means of the New River. Copper and zinc ores have also been obtained. Tregaron is the centre of the mining district, and the Lisburne, Goginan and Cwm Ystwyth mines are among the most important.The slates have been worked at Devil’s Bridge, Corris, Strata Florida, Goginan, &c. Glacial drift occupies some of the lower ground, and peaty bogs are common on the mountains. A small tract of blown sand lies at the mouth of the river Dovey.
Geology.—The rocks of Cardiganshire consist of shales, slates and grits which have been folded and uptilted so that nowhere do they retain their original horizontality. They belong entirely to the Ordovician and Silurian periods; they have yielded few fossils, and much work remains to be done upon them before the stratigraphical subdivisions can be clearly defined. Many metalliferous lodes occur in the rocks, and the lead mines have long been famous; it was from the profits of his mining speculations, carried on chiefly in this county, that the celebrated Sir Hugh Myddleton was enabled to carry out his gigantic project for supplying London with water by means of the New River. Copper and zinc ores have also been obtained. Tregaron is the centre of the mining district, and the Lisburne, Goginan and Cwm Ystwyth mines are among the most important.
The slates have been worked at Devil’s Bridge, Corris, Strata Florida, Goginan, &c. Glacial drift occupies some of the lower ground, and peaty bogs are common on the mountains. A small tract of blown sand lies at the mouth of the river Dovey.
Industries.—The climate on the coast is mild and salubrious, but that of the hill country is cold, bleak and rainy. The cultivated crops consist of oats, wheat, barley, turnips and potatoes; and in the lower districts on the coast, especially in the neighbourhood of Cardigan, Aberaeron and Llanrhystyd, good crops are raised. The uplands are mostly covered by wild heathy pastures, which afford good grazing for Welsh mountain sheep and ponies. The country has long been celebrated for its breed of “Cardiganshire cobs,” for which high prices are often obtained from English dealers, who frequent the local horse fairs, especially Dalis Fair at Lampeter. Cattle, sheep, pigs, butter, oats, wool, flannel and coarse slates form the principalarticles of export. Hand-looms are by no means uncommon in the remote parts of the country, and clog-making of alder wood meets a local demand. The North Cardiganshire lead-mines, of which the Lisburne, Goginan and Cwm Ystwyth mines are the most noted, have been famous, and are said to have been worked by the Romans. Some of the lead raised is very rich in silver, and in the 17th century so great was the amount of silver obtained that a mint for coining it was erected by virtue of letters patent at Aberystwyth.
Communications.—The railways within the county are the Cambrian, by means of which access is given to Aberystwyth from all parts of the kingdom; and the former Manchester & Milford line, which runs south from Aberystwyth by Lampeter to Pencader, and has been acquired by the Great Western railway. The lower valley of the Teifi, or Tivyside, is reached by means of two branch lines of the Great Western railway—one from Whitland to Cardigan, and the other from Pencader to Llandyssul and Newcastle-Emlyn.
Population and Administration.—The area of the administrative county is 443,071 acres, with a population in 1891 of 63,467, and in 1901 of 60,237. The municipal boroughs are Aberystwyth (pop. 8013), Cardigan (3511) and Lampeter (1722). Aberaeron and New Quay are urban districts. Other towns are Tregaron (1509), an ancient but decayed market-town in a wild boggy district; Aberaeron (1331), a small seaport, and Llandyssul (2801,) a rising place on the Teifi with woollen factories. In modern times several small watering-places have sprung up on the coast, notably at Borth, New Quay, Tresaith, Aberporth and Gwbert. Quarter sessions are held at Lampeter, and here also are held the assizes for the county, which lies in the South Wales circuit. The county returns one member of parliament, and has no parliamentary borough. Ecclesiastically it lies wholly in the diocese of St David’s, and contains sixty-six parishes.
History.—In spite of its poverty and sparse population, Cardiganshire has never ceased to play a prominent part in all Welsh political, literary and educational movements. The early history of the district is obscure, but at the time of the Roman invasion it was tenanted by the Dimetae, a Celtic tribe, within whose limits was comprised the greater portion of the south-west of Wales. After the departure of the Romans, the whole basin of the Teifi eventually fell into the power of Ceredig, son of Cunedda Wledig of North Wales; and the district, peopled with his subjects and nearly co-extensive with the existing shire, obtained the name of Ceredigion, later corrupted into Cardigan. During the 5th and 6th centuries Ceredigion was largely civilized by Celtic missionaries, notably by St David and St Padarn, the latter of whom founded a bishopric at Llanbadarn Fawr, which in the 8th century became merged in the see of St David’s. Two important local traditions, evidently based on fact, are associated with this remote era:—the inundation of the Cantref-y-Gwaelod and the synod of Llanddewi Brefi. The Cantref-y-Gwaelod (the lowland Hundred), a large tract of flat pasture-land containing sixteen townships, and protected from the inroad of the sea by sluices, was suddenly submerged at an uncertain date about the year 500. The legend of its destruction declares that Seithenyn, the drunken keeper of the sluices, carelessly let in the waters of the bay, with the result that the land was lost for ever, and Prince Gwyddno and his son Elphin, with all their subjects, were forced to migrate to the wild region of Snowdon. This tale has ever been a favourite theme with Welsh bards, so that “the sigh of Gwyddno when the wave turned over his land” remains a familiar figure of speech throughout Wales. In support of this story it may be mentioned that there are indications of submerged dwellings and roads (e.g.the Sarn Cynfelin and Sarn Badrig) between the mouth of the Dovey and Cardigan Head. The famous synod of Brefi, an historical fact clouded by miraculous details, probably took place early in the 6th century, when at a largely attended meeting of the Welsh clergy held at Brefi, near the source of the Teifi, St David’s eloquence for ever silenced the champions of the Pelagian heresy. In the 10th and 11th centuries the coast of Ceredigion suffered much from the inroads of the Danes, and in later times of the Normans and Flemings; but on the whole the native inhabitants seem to have maintained a successful resistance. By the close of the 11th century most of Ceredigion had been reduced by the Normans, and during the 12th and 13th centuries it formed a favourite battle ground between the Welsh princes and the English forces. By the Statutes of Rhuddlan (1284) Edward I. constituted Ceredigion out of the former principality of Wales a shire on the English model, dividing the new county into six hundreds and fixing the assizes at Carmarthen. By the act of Union in the reign of Henry VIII., the boundaries of the county were subsequently enlarged to their present size by the addition of certain outlying portions of the Marches round Tregaron and Cardigan, and the assizes were assigned to the county town. During the rebellion of Owen Glendower in the opening years of the 15th century, the county was again disturbed, and Owen for a short time actually held a court in Aberystwyth Castle. In the year 1485, according to local tradition, Henry of Richmond marched through South Cardiganshire on his way to Bosworth Field, and he is stated to have raised recruits round Llanarth, where the old mansion of Wern, still standing, is pointed out as his halting-place on this occasion. Under Henry VIII. Cardiganshire was for the first time empowered to send a representative member to parliament, and under Mary the same privilege was extended to the boroughs. During the Great Rebellion the county—which possessed at least three leading Parliamentarians in the persons of Sir John Vaughan, of Crosswood, afterwards chief justice of the common pleas; Sir Richard Pryse, of Gogerddan; and James Philipps, of Cardigan Priory—seems to have been less Royalist in its sympathies than other parts of Wales. At this time the castles of Cardigan and Aberystwyth, both held in the name of King Charles, were reduced to ruins by the Cromwellian army. In the 18th century the Methodist movement found great support in the county; in fact, Daniel Rowland (1713-1790), curate of Llangeitho, was one of the chief leaders of this important revival. The 19th century witnessed the foundation of two important educational centres in the county:—St David’s College at Lampeter (1827), and one of the three colleges of the university of Wales at Aberystwyth (1872). In the years 1842-1843 the county was much disturbed by the Rebecca Riots, during which a large number of turnpike gates were destroyed by local mobs. Forty-five years later it was affected by the Welsh agrarian agitation against payment of tithe, which produced some scenes of violence against the distraining police, especially in the district round Llangranog.
Chief amongst the county families of Cardigan is that of Lloyd, descendants of the powerful Cadifor ap Dinawal, lord of Castle Howell, in the 12th century. Certain branches of this family, such as the Lloyds of Millfield (Maes-y-felin), the Lloyds of Llanlyr and the Lloyds of Peterwell, are extinct, but others are still flourishing. The family of Vaughan of Crosswood, or Trawscoed (now represented by the earl of Lisburne), has held its family estates in the male line for many centuries. A representative in the female line of the ancient house of Pryse, long prominent in the annals of the county, still possesses the old family seat of Gogerddan. Other families worthy of mention are Lloyd of Bronwydd, Powell of Nanteos and Johnes of Hafod and Llanfair-Clydogau.
Antiquities.—Scattered over all parts of the county are numerous British or early medieval tumuli and camps. Traces of the ancient Roman road, theVia Occidentalis—called by the WelshSarn Helen, a corruption ofSarn Lleon, Road of the Legion—are to be found in the eastern districts of the county; and at Llanio are to be seen what are perhaps the remains of the Roman military station of Loventium. There are also various inscribed and incised stones, of which good examples exist in the churchyards of Llanbadarn Fawr and Llanddewi Brefi. In buildings of interest Cardiganshire is singularly deficient. Besides the ruins of Aberystwyth and Cardigan Castles, and of Strata Florida Abbey, there is a large cruciform church of the 12th century at Llanbadarn Fawr; whilst the massive parish church of Llanddewi Brefi once formed part of the minster of a prebendal college founded by Bishop Beck ofSt David’s towards the close of the 13th century. Tregaron, Llanwenog, Llandyssul and Llanarth own parish churches with western towers of early date, but for the most part the ecclesiastical structures of Cardiganshire are small in size and mean in appearance, and many of them were entirely rebuilt during the latter half of the 19th century. The little church of Eglwys Newydd, near the Devil’s Bridge, contains one of Sir Francis Chantrey’s masterpieces, a white marble group in memory of Mariamne Johnes (1818), the daughter of Thomas Johnes, of Hafod (1748-1816), the translator of Froissart.
Customs, etc.—The old Welsh costume, customs and superstitions are fast disappearing, although they linger in remote districts such as the neighbourhood of Llangeitho. The steeple-crowned beaver hat has practically vanished, although it was in general use within living memory; but the short petticoat and overskirt (pais-a-gŵn-bâch), the frilled mob-cap, little check shawl and buckled shoes are still worn by many of the older women. Of peculiarly Welsh customs, the bidding (gwahoddiad) is not quite extinct in the county. The bidding was a formal invitation sent by a betrothed pair through a bidder (gwahoddwr) to request the presence and gifts of all their neighbours at the forthcoming marriage. All presents sent were duly registered in a book with a view to repayment, when a similar occasion should arise in the case of the donors. When printing became cheap and common, the services of the professional bidder were often dispensed with, and instead printed leaflets were circulated. The curious horse wedding (priodas ceffylau) at which the man and his friends pursued the future bride to the church porch on horseback, and then returned home at full gallop, became obsolete before the end of the 19th century. Of the practices connected with death, the wake, or watching of the corpse, alone remains; but the habit of attending funerals, even those of strangers, is still popular with both sexes, so that a funeral procession in Cardiganshire is often a very imposing sight. Nearly all the old superstitions, once so prevalent, concerning the fairies (tylwyth teg) and fairy rings, goblins (bwbachod), and the teulu, or phantom funeral, are rapidly dying out; but in the corpse candle (canwll corph), a mysterious light which acts as a death-portent and is traditionally connected with St David, are still found many believers.
Authorities.—Sir S.R. Meyrick,History and Antiquities of Cardiganshire(London, 1806); Rev. G. Eyre Evans,Cardiganshire and its Antiquities(Aberystwyth, 1903); E.R. Horsfall-Turner,Walks and Wanderings in County Cardigan(Bingley).
Authorities.—Sir S.R. Meyrick,History and Antiquities of Cardiganshire(London, 1806); Rev. G. Eyre Evans,Cardiganshire and its Antiquities(Aberystwyth, 1903); E.R. Horsfall-Turner,Walks and Wanderings in County Cardigan(Bingley).
CARDINAL(Lat.cardinalis), in the Roman Church, the title of the highest dignitaries next to the pope. The cardinals constitute the council or senate of the sovereign pontiff, his auxiliaries in the general government of the Church; it is they who act as administrators of the Church during a vacancy of the Holy See and elect the new pope. Together they constitute a spiritual body called the Sacred College. The dignity of cardinal is not an essential part of the legal constitution of the Church; it is a reflection of and participation in the sovereign dignity of the Head of the Church, by the chief clergy of the Church of Rome. The present position is the result of a long process of evolution, of which there are several interesting survivals.
The name is derived fromcardo, hinge; like many other words (the wordpopein particular) it was originally of a more general application, before it was reserved exclusively to the members of the Sacred College, and the word is still used adjectivally in the sense of pre-eminent or that on which everything else “hinges.” As early as the 6th century we find mentioned, in the letters of St Gregory, cardinal bishops and priests. This expression signifies clergy who are attached to their particular church in a stable relation, as a door is attached to a building by its hinges (see Thomassin,Vetus et nova discipl.vol. 1, lib. ii. cap. 113-115). Moreover, this sense is still preserved in the present day in the expressionsincardinatio,excardinatio, which signify the act by which a bishop permanently attaches a foreign cleric to his diocese, or allows one of his own clergy to leave his diocese in order to belong to another. For a long time, too, the superior clergy, and especially the canons of cathedrals or the heads of important churches, werecardinales(see examples in Du Cange,Glossarium,s.v.). Gradually, however, this title was confined by usage to the Roman cardinals, until Pius V., by his constitution of the 15th of February 1568, reserved it to them exclusively.
The grouping of the cardinals into a body called the Sacred College, the College of Cardinals, is connected, in the case at least of cardinal priests, with the ancientpresbyterium, which existed in each church from the earliest times.The Sacred College.The Sacred College as such was not, however, definitively constituted until the uniting of the three orders of cardinals into a single body, the body which was to elect the pope; and this only took place in the 12th century. Up till that time the elements remained distinct, and there were separate classes: the “Roman” bishops,i.e.bishops of sees near Rome, presbyters of the “titles” (tituli) of Rome, and deacons of the Roman Church. Nowadays, the Sacred College is still composed of three orders or categories: cardinal bishops, cardinal priests, and cardinal deacons. But the process of evolution has not been the same in the case of all these orders.
Cardinal bishops are the bishops of suburbicarian churches, situated in the immediate neighbourhood of Rome. Very early we find them assisting the pope in his ritual functions and in dealing with important business;Cardinal bishops.they formed a kind of permanent synod (cf. theσύνοδος ἐνδημοῦσαof Constantinople): and they also took the place of the pope in the ceremonies of the liturgy, excepting the most important ones, and especially in the service of the cathedral at Rome, the Lateran. A passage from the life of Stephen II. (a.d.769), in theLiber Pontificalis(ed. Duchesne, i. p. 478), shows clearly that they were seven in number and served for a week in turn:Hic constituit ut omni dominico die a septem Episcopis cardinalibus hebdomadariis, qui in ecclesia Salvatoris(the Lateran)observant, missarum solemnia super altare Beati Petri celebrarentur. They were called “cardinal bishops of the Lateran church,” as recorded by St Peter Damian in 1058 (Ep. 1, lib. ii.). Their sees are the same to-day as they were then: Ostia, Porto, Santa Rufina (Sylva Candida), Albano, Sabina, Tusculum (Frascati) and Palestrina. From time immemorial the bishop of Ostia has had the privilege of sacring the pope, and on this ground he enjoys the right of wearing the “pallium”; he isex officiodean of the suburbicarian bishops, and consequently dean of the Sacred College. His episcopal see having been in ruins for a long time, that of Velletri has been joined to it. The second rank belongs to the bishop of Porto, who isex officiovice-dean of the Sacred College; his episcopal see being also in ruins Calixtus II. added to it that of Santa Rufina, thus reducing the number of suburbicarian bishoprics and cardinal bishops to six; this number was adhered to by Sixtus V., and has not varied since.
The second order of cardinals is that of the cardinal priests. It represents and is a continuation of the ancientpresbyterium; but in Rome the process of evolution was different from that in the other episcopal towns. In the latter,Cardinal priests.the division into parishes was but slowly accomplished; there is no authority for their existence before the year 1000; the bishop with the higher clergy, now developed into the chapter, were in residence at the cathedral, which formed, as it were, the one parish in the town. At Rome, on the contrary (and doubtless at Alexandria), certain churches, to which were attached certain districts, were at an early date entrusted to one or more priests. These churches, in which the liturgy was celebrated, or certain sacraments administered, were calledtituli(titles). According to theLiber Pontificalis(ed. Duchesne, i. pp. 122, 126, 164), the titles of Rome, numbering twenty-five, were already established as early as the 1st century; this seems hardly probable, but it was certainly the case in the 5th century. The priest serving one of these churches was the priest of that title, and, similarly, the church which he served was that priest’s title. When several priests were attached to the same church, only the first, or principal one, had the title; he alone was thepresbyter cardinalis. This practice explains how it is that the Roman presbyterium did not give rise to a cathedral chapter, but to cardinal priests, each attached to his title. As the higherclergy of Rome gradually acquired a more important status, the relations between the cardinal priest and the church of which he bore the title became more and more nominal; but they have never entirely ceased. Even to-day every cardinal priest has his title, a church in Rome of which he is the spiritual head, and the name of which appears in his official signature,e.g.“Herbertus tituli sanctorum Andreae et Gregorii sanctae romanae ecclesiae presbyter cardinalis Vaughan.” When the attachment of the cardinal priest to his title had become no more than a tradition, the number of cardinal titles, which in the 11th century had reached twenty-eight, was increased according to need, and it was held an honour for a church to be made titulary. The last general rearrangement of the titular churches was begun by Clement VIII. and completed by Paul V.; Leo XIII. made a title of the church of San Vitale. To-day, according to theGerarchia Pontificiathe cardinal titles number fifty-three; since the highest possible number of cardinal priests is fifty, and this number is never reached, it follows that there are always a certain number of vacant titles. The first title is that of San Lorenzo in Lucina, and the cardinal priest of the oldest standing takes the name of “first priest,”protopresbyter.
The third order of cardinals is that of the cardinal deacons. For a long time the Roman Church, faithful to the example of the primitive church at Jerusalem (Acts vi.), had only seven deacons. Their special function was the administrationCardinal deacons.of her temporal property, and particularly works of charity. Between them were divided at an early date the fourteen districts (regiones) of Rome, grouped two by two so as to constitute the seven ecclesiastical districts. Now the charitable works were carried on in establishments calleddiaconiae, adjoining churches which were specially appropriated to eachdiaconia. The connexion between the names (diaconus) and (diaconia) and the presence of a church in connexion with each diaconia gradually established for the deacons a position analogous to that of priests. In the 8th century Pope Adrian found sixteen diaconiae and founded two others (Lib. Pont.ed. Duchesne, i. p. 509); in the 12th century the cardinal deacons, who then numbered eighteen, were no longer distinguished by an ecclesiastical district, as they had formerly been, but by the name of the church connected with some diaconia (loc. cit. p. 364). By the time of Sixtus V. the connexion between a cardinal deacon and his diaconia was merely nominal. Sixtus reduced the number of cardinal deacons to fourteen; and this is still the number to-day. Except that his church is called a diaconia, and not a title, the cardinal deacon is in this respect assimilated to the cardinal priest; but he does not mention his diaconia in his official signature:e.g.“Joannes Henricus diaconus cardinalis Newman.” There are at present sixteen diaconiae, the chief being that of Santa Maria in Via lata; the cardinal deacon of longest standing takes the name of “first deacon,”protodiaconus.
Cardinals can pass from one order, title or see to another, by a process of “option.” When a suburbicarian see falls vacant, the cardinals resident at Rome have the right of “opting” for it in order of rank,—that is to say, of claiming it in consistory and receiving their promotion to it. In the same way cardinal deacons can pass after ten years to the order of priests, while retaining after their passage the rank in the Sacred College given them by the date of their promotion.With the exception of the classes resulting from the order to which they belong, there are no distinctions between the rights of the various cardinals. As to the ordination obligatory upon them, it is that indicated in their title; cardinal bishops must naturally be bishops; for cardinal priests it is enough to have received the priesthood, though many of them are actually bishops; similarly, it is enough for cardinal deacons to have received the diaconate, though most of them are priests; cases have occurred, however, even in quite recent times, of cardinals who have only received the diaconate,e.g.Cardinal Mertel.There is one cardinal chosen by the pope from among the Sacred College to whom is entrusted the administration of the common property; this is the cardinal camerlengo or chamberlain (camerarius). His office is an important one, for during the vacancy of the Holy See it is he who exercises all external authority, especially that connected with the Conclave.
Cardinals can pass from one order, title or see to another, by a process of “option.” When a suburbicarian see falls vacant, the cardinals resident at Rome have the right of “opting” for it in order of rank,—that is to say, of claiming it in consistory and receiving their promotion to it. In the same way cardinal deacons can pass after ten years to the order of priests, while retaining after their passage the rank in the Sacred College given them by the date of their promotion.
With the exception of the classes resulting from the order to which they belong, there are no distinctions between the rights of the various cardinals. As to the ordination obligatory upon them, it is that indicated in their title; cardinal bishops must naturally be bishops; for cardinal priests it is enough to have received the priesthood, though many of them are actually bishops; similarly, it is enough for cardinal deacons to have received the diaconate, though most of them are priests; cases have occurred, however, even in quite recent times, of cardinals who have only received the diaconate,e.g.Cardinal Mertel.
There is one cardinal chosen by the pope from among the Sacred College to whom is entrusted the administration of the common property; this is the cardinal camerlengo or chamberlain (camerarius). His office is an important one, for during the vacancy of the Holy See it is he who exercises all external authority, especially that connected with the Conclave.
The number of the cardinals reaches a total of 70: six cardinal bishops, fifty cardinal priests and fourteen cardinal deacons. This number was definitively fixed by Sixtus V. (constit.Postquam, 5th December 1586); but the Sacred CollegeNumber and distribution.never reaches its full number, and there are always ten or so “vacant hats,” as the saying goes. Though the rule laid down by Sixtus V. has not been modified since, before him the number of cardinals was far from being constant. For a long time it varied in the neighbourhood of twenty; in 1331 John XXII. said that there were twenty cardinals; in 1378 they were reckoned at 23. Their number increased during the Great Schism because there were several rival obediences. The councils of Constance and Basel reduced the number of cardinals to 24; but it did not rest at that for long, and in the 16th century was more than doubled. In 1517 Leo X., in order to introduce strong supporters of himself into the Sacred College, created 31 cardinals at the same time. The highest number was reached under Pius IV., when the cardinals numbered as many as 76.
The composition of the Sacred College is subject to no definite law; but the necessity for giving a first representation to different interests, especially in view of the election of the popes, has for a long time past thrown open the Sacred College to representatives of the episcopate of the Catholic nations. From the 11th century onwards are to be found cases in which the pope summoned to its ranks persons who did not belong to the Roman Church, particularly abbots, who were not even required to give up the direction of their monasteries. In the following century occur a few cases of bishops being created cardinals without having to leave their see, and of cardinals upon whom were conferred foreign bishoprics (cf. Thomassin, loc. cit. cap. 114, n. 9). Of the cardinals created by the popes of Avignon the majority were French, and in 1331 John XXII. remarks that 17 cardinals were French out of the 20 who then existed. The councils of Constance and Basel forbade that more than a third of the cardinals should belong to the same country. After the return of the popes to Rome and after the Great Schism, the ancient customs were soon resumed; the cardinals were for the most part Italians, the entire number of cardinals’ hats conferred on the other Catholic nations only amounting to a minority. The non-Italian cardinals, with rare exceptions, are not resident in Rome; together with the rank of cardinal they receive a dispensation from residingin curia; they are none the less, as cardinals, priests or deacons of the Roman Church.
The reform of the College of Cardinals inaugurated by the councils of Constance and Basel, though without much immediate success, was not only concerned with the number and nationality of the cardinals; it also dealt with conditionsQualifications.of age, learning and other qualifications: men of the most honourable character, aged not less than thirty, were to be chosen; at least a third were to be chosen from among the graduates of the universities; persons of royal blood and princes were not to be admitted in too great numbers, and lastly, relatives of the pope were to be set aside. Moreover, in order to secure the effectiveness of these reforms, selection of the new cardinals was to be made by the votes of the members of the Sacred College given in writing. This mode of control was perhaps excessive, and the reform consequently remained ineffective. Up to the middle of the 16th century there were still instances of unfortunate and even scandalous appointments to the cardinalate of very young men, of relatives or favourites of the popes and of men whose qualifications were by no means ecclesiastical. In the Sacred College as elsewhere nepotism and an exaggerated estimate of temporal interests were rife. At last a real reform was effected. The council of Trent (sess. xxiv. cap. i.de reform.) requires for cardinals all the qualifications prescribed by law for bishops. Sixtus V. defined these still more clearly, and his regulations are still in force: a cardinal must, in the year of his promotion, be of the canonical age required for his reception into the order demanded by his rank.i.e.22 for the diaconate, 23 for the priesthood and 30 for the episcopate, and if not already ordained he must take orders in the year of his appointment. Men of illegitimate birth areexcluded, as well as near relatives of the pope (with one exception) and of the cardinals; the personal qualities to be most sought for are learning, holiness and an honourable life. All these recommendations have been, on the whole, well observed, and are so better than ever in the present day. We may add that the religious orders have had a certain number of representatives, four, at least, in the Sacred College, since Sixtus V., several of whom, as we know, became popes. As to the cardinals’ hats granted at the request of the heads of Catholic states, they are subject to negotiations analogous to those concerning nominations to the episcopate, though entailing no concordatory agreement, strictly speaking, on the part of the popes.
Thecreationof cardinals (to use the official term) is in fact nowadays the function of the pope alone. It is accomplished by the publication of the persons chosen by the pope in secret consistory (q.v.). No other formality isCreation.essential; and the provision of Eugenius IV., which required the reception of the insignia of the cardinalate for the promotion to be valid, was abrogated before long, and definitely annulled by the declaration of Pius V. of the 26th of January 1571. Similarly neither the consent nor the vote of the Sacred College is required. It is true that a RomanCeremonialeof 1338 (Thomassin, loc. cit. cap. 114, n. 12) still enjoins upon the pope to consult the Sacred College, on the Wednesdays during Ember days, as to whether it is necessary to nominate new cardinals, and if so, how many; but this is only a survival of the ritual of the ancient form of ordination. The injunctions of the councils of Constance and Basel as to the written vote of the cardinals became before very long a dead letter, but there still remains a relic of them. In the consistory, when the pope has nominated those whom he desires to raise to the purple, he puts to the cardinals present the question: “Quid vobis videtur?” The cardinals bend the head as a sign of their consent, and the pope then continues: “Itaque, auctoritate omnipotentis Dei, sanctorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, et Nostra, creamus et publicamus sanctae romanae Ecclesiae cardinales N. et N., etc.”
The new dignitary, who has been warned of his nomination several weeks in advance by “biglietto” (note) from the office of the secretary of state, is then officially informed of it by aceremoniariusof the pope; he at once waits upon the pope, to whom he is presented by one of the cardinals. The pope first invests him with the rochet and red biretta, but there is no formal ceremony. The conferring of the cardinal’s red hat takes place a few days later in a public consistory; while placing the hat on his head the pope pronounces the following words: “Ad laudem omnipotentis Dei et Sanctae Sedis ornamentum, accipe galerum rubrum, insigne singularis dignitatis cardinalatus, per quod designatur quod usque ad mortem et sanguinis effusionem inclusive pro exaltatione sanctae fidei, pace et quiete populi christiani, augmento et statu sacrosanctae romanae Ecclesiae, te intrepidum exhibere debeas, in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.” While pronouncing the last words the pope makes the sign of the cross three times over the new cardinal. The public consistory is immediately followed by a secret consistory, to accomplish the last ceremonies. The pope begins by closing the mouth of the new cardinal, who is led before him, as a symbol of the discretion he should observe; after this he bestows on him the cardinal’s ring, assigns him a title or diaconia; and finally, after going through the formality of consulting the Sacred College, finishes with the symbolic ceremony of the opening of the mouth, signifying the right and duty of the new cardinal to express his opinion and vote in the matters which it will fall to him to consider.
When the cardinals are resident abroad and appointed at the request of the heads of their state, a member of the Noble Guard is sent on the same day that the consistory is held to take the new dignitary the cardinal’s “calotte”; after a few days the red biretta is brought to him by a Roman prelate, with the powers of anablegatus; the biretta is conferred on him with great pomp by the head of the state. But the conferring of the red hat always takes place at the hands of the pope in a public consistory.
Sometimes, after nominating the cardinals, the pope adds that he also appoints a certain number of others, whose names he does not divulge, but reserves the right of publishing at a later date. These cardinals, whose names he concealsCardinals “in petto.”“in his breast,” are for that reason called cardinalsin pectore(Ital.in petto). This practice seems to go back to Martin V., who may have had recourse to this expedient in order to avoid the necessity of soliciting the votes of the cardinals; but for a long time past the popes have only resorted to it for quite other reasons. If the pope dies before making known the cardinalsin petto, the promotion is not valid; if he publishes them, the cardinals take rank from the day on which they were reservedin pectore, the promotion acting retrospectively, even in the matter of emoluments. This method has sometimes been used by the popes to ensure to certain prelates who had merit, but were poor, the means of paying the expenses of their promotion. In March 1875 Pius IX. announced the nomination of several cardinalsin petto, whose names would be given in his will. It was pointed out to the pope that this posthumous publication would not be a pontifical act, and ran the risk of being contested, or even declared invalid; Pius IX. gave way before this reasoning, and published the names in a subsequent consistory (Sept. 17).
The dignity of the cardinals is a participation in that of the sovereign pontiff, and as such places them above all the other ecclesiastical dignitaries and prelates. This rank, however, has not always been assigned to them;Dignity.but was attributed to the cardinal bishops before it was to the rest. Their common prerogative was definitively established when they became the sole electors of the pope, at a period when the papacy, under pontiffs like Innocent III., shone with its most brilliant lustre. For example, at the council of Lyons in 1245 all the cardinals took precedence of the archbishops and bishops. It was in 1245, or perhaps the year before, that Innocent IV. granted the cardinals the privilege of wearing the red hat; as to the scarlet robe which still forms their costume of ceremony, it was already worn by cardinals performing the functions of legate; and the use was soon extended to all. As to their civil relations, cardinals were assimilated by the Catholic kings to the rank of princes of the blood royal, cardinals being the highest in the Church, after the pope, just as princes of the blood royal are the first in the kingdom after the king. Of the many ecclesiastical privileges enjoyed by the cardinals, we will mention only two: the real, though nowadays restricted, jurisdiction which they exercise over the churches forming their title or diaconia; and the official style of address conferred on them by Urban VIII. (10th of June 1630), of Eminence,Eminentissimo signore.
The most lofty function of the cardinals is the election of the pope (seeConclave). But this function is necessarily intermittent, and they have many others to fulfilsede plena. On those rare occasions on which the popeFunctions.officiates in person, they carry out, according to their respective orders, their former functions in the ritual. But they are, above all, the assistants of the pope in the administration of the Church; they fill certain permanent offices, such as those of chancellor, penitentiary, &c.; or again, temporary missions, such as that of legatea latere; they have seats in the councils and tribunals which deal with the affairs of the Church, and the Roman congregations of cardinals (seeCuria Romana).
Bibliography.—All works on canon law contain a treatise on the cardinals. See particularly, for the history, Thomassin,Vetus et nova discipl., tom. I., lib. ii., cap. 113-115. For history and law, Phillips,Kirchenrecht, vol. vi.; Hinschius,System des kathol. Kirchenrechts,vol. i. p. 312. For the canonical aspect, Ferraris,Prompta bibliotheca,s.v.“Cardinales”; Bouix,De curia romana(Paris, 1859), pp. 5-141; Card. de Luca,Relatio curiae romanae, disc. 5. For details of the ceremonies and costume, Grimaldi,Les Congrégations romaines(Sienna, 1890), p. 99 et seq.; Barbier de Montault,Le Costume et les usages ecclésiastiques(Paris), s.d. For a list of the names of the cardinals, according to their titles, see De Mas-Latrie,Trésor de chronologie, col. 2219-2264; and in the chronological order of their promotion, from St Leo IX. to Benedict XIV., ibid. 1177-1242; alsoDictionnaire des cardinaux(Paris, 1856).
Bibliography.—All works on canon law contain a treatise on the cardinals. See particularly, for the history, Thomassin,Vetus et nova discipl., tom. I., lib. ii., cap. 113-115. For history and law, Phillips,Kirchenrecht, vol. vi.; Hinschius,System des kathol. Kirchenrechts,vol. i. p. 312. For the canonical aspect, Ferraris,Prompta bibliotheca,s.v.“Cardinales”; Bouix,De curia romana(Paris, 1859), pp. 5-141; Card. de Luca,Relatio curiae romanae, disc. 5. For details of the ceremonies and costume, Grimaldi,Les Congrégations romaines(Sienna, 1890), p. 99 et seq.; Barbier de Montault,Le Costume et les usages ecclésiastiques(Paris), s.d. For a list of the names of the cardinals, according to their titles, see De Mas-Latrie,Trésor de chronologie, col. 2219-2264; and in the chronological order of their promotion, from St Leo IX. to Benedict XIV., ibid. 1177-1242; alsoDictionnaire des cardinaux(Paris, 1856).
(A. Bo.*)
CARDINAL VIRTUES(Lat.cardo, a hinge; the fixed point on which anything turns), a phrase used for the principal virtues on which conduct in general depends. Socrates and Plato (seeRepublic, iv. 427) take these to be Prudence, Courage (or Fortitude), Temperance and Justice. It is noticeable that the virtue of Benevolence, which has played so important a part in Christian ethics and in modern altruistic and sociological theories, is omitted by the ancients. Further, against the Platonic list it may be urged (1) that it is arbitrary, and (2) that the several virtues are not specifically distinct, that the basis of the division is unsound, and that there is overlapping. It is said that St Ambrose was the first to adapt the Platonic classification to Christian theology. By the Roman Catholic Church these virtues are regarded asnaturalas opposed to thetheologicalvirtues, Faith, Hope and Charity. Some authors, combining the two lists, have spoken of the Seven Cardinal Virtues. In English literature the phrase is found as far back as theCursor Mundi(1300) and theAyenbite of Inwit(1340).