Chapter 5

For accounts of the gun-flint manufacture at Brandon, and detailed descriptions of ancient flint-working, see Sir John Evans,Ancient Stone Implements(1897), Lord Avebury’sPrehistoric Times(1865, 1900); also Thomas Wilson, “Arrow-heads, Spear-heads and Knives of Prehistoric Times,” inSmithsonian Reportfor 1897; and W.K. Moorehead,Prehistoric Implements(1900).

FLOAT(in O. Eng.flotandflota, in the verbal formfléotan; the Teutonic root isflut-, another form offlu-, seen in “flow,” cf. “fleet”; the root is seen in Gr.πλέειν, to sail, Lat.pluere, to rain; the Lat.fluereandfluctus, wave, is not connected), the action of moving on the surface of water, or through the air. The word is used also of a wave, or the flood of the tide, river, backwater or stream, and of any object floating in water, as a mass of ice or weeds; a movable landing-stage, a flat-bottomed boat, or a raft, or, in fishing, of the cork or quill used to support a baited line or fishing-net. It is also applied to the hollow or inflated organ by means of which certain animals, such as the “Portuguese man-of-war,” swim, to a hollow metal ball or piece of whinstone, &c., used to regulate the level of water in a tank or boiler, and to a piece of ivory in the cistern of a barometer. “Float” is also the name of one of the boards of a paddle-wheel or water-wheel. In a theatrical sense, it is used to denote the footlights. The word is also applied to something broad, level and shallow, as a wooden frame attached to a cart or wagon for the purpose of increasing the carrying capacity; and to a special kind of low, broad cart for carrying heavy weights, and to a platform on wheels used for shows in a procession. The term is applied also to various tools, especially to many kinds of trowels used in plastering. It is also used of a dock where vessels may float, as at Bristol, and of the trenches used in “floating” land. In geology and mining, loose rock or ore brought down by water is known as “float,” and in tin-mining it is applied to a large trough used for the smelted tin. In weaving the word is used of the passing of weft threads over part of the warp without being woven in with it, also of the threads so passed. In the United States a voter not attached to any particular party and open to bribery is called a “float” or “floater.”

FLOCK.1. (A word found in Old English and Old Norwegian, from which come the Danish and Swedish words, and not in other Teutonic languages), originally a company of people, now mainly, except in figurative usages, of certain animals when gathered together for feeding or moving from place to place. For birds it is chiefly used of geese; and for other animals most generally of sheep and goats. It is from the particular application of the word to sheep that “flock” is used of the Christian Church in its relation to the “Good Shepherd,” and also of a congregation of worshippers in its relation to its spiritual head.

2. (Probably from the Lat.floccus, but many Teutonic languages have the same word in various forms), a tuft of wool, cotton or similar substance. The name “flock” is given to a material formed of wool or cotton refuse, or of shreds of old woollen or cotton rags, torn by a machine known as a “devil.” This material is used for stuffing mattresses or pillows, and also in upholstery. The name is also applied to a special kind of wall-paper, which has an appearance almost like cloth, or, in the more expensive kinds, of velvet. It is made by dusting on a specially prepared adhesive surface finely powdered fibres of cotton or silk. The word “flocculent” is used of many substances which have a fleecy or “flock”-like appearance, such as a precipitate of ferric hydrate.

FLODDEN,orFlodden Field, near the village of Branxton, in Northumberland, England (10 m. N.W. of Wooler), the scene of a famous battle fought on the 9th of September 1513 between the English and the Scots. On the 22nd of August a great Scottish army under King James IV. had crossed the border. For the moment the earl of Surrey (who in King Henry VIII.’s absence was charged with the defence of the realm) had no organized force in the north of England, but James wasted much precious time among the border castles, and when Surrey appeared at Wooler, with an army equal in strength to his own, which was now greatly weakened by privations and desertion, he had not advanced beyond Ford Castle. The English commander promptly sent in a challenge to a pitched battle, which the king, in spite of the advice of his most trusted counsellors, accepted. On the 6th of September, however, he left Ford and took up a strong position facing south, on Flodden Edge. Surrey’s reproaches for the alleged breach of faith, and a second challenge to fight on Millfield Plain were this time disregarded. The English commander, thus foiled, executed a daring and skilful march round the enemy’s flank, and on the 9th drew up for battle in rear of the hostile army. It is evident that Surrey was confident of victory, for he placed his own army, not less than the enemy, in a position where defeat would involve utter ruin. On his appearance the Scots hastily changed front and took post on Branxton Hill, facing north. The battle began at 4P.M.Surrey’s archers and cannon soon gained the upper hand, and the Scots, unable quietly to endure their losses, rushed to close quarters. Their left wing drove the English back, but Lord Dacre’s reserve corps restored the fight on this side. In all other parts of the field, save where James and Surrey were personally opposed, the English gradually gained ground. The king’s corps was then attacked by Surrey in front, and by Sir Edward Stanley in flank. As the Scots were forced back, a part of Dacre’s force closed upon the other flank, and finally Dacre himself, boldly neglecting an almost intact Scottish division in front of him, charged in upon the rear of King James’s corps. Surrounded and attacked on all sides, this, the remnant of the invading army, was doomed. The circle of spearmen around the king grew less and less, and in the end James and a few of his nobles were alone left standing. Soon they too died, fighting to the last man. Among the ten thousand Scottish dead were all the leading men in the kingdom of Scotland, and there was no family of importance that had not lost a member in this great disaster. The “King’s Stone,” said to mark the spot where James was killed, is at some distance from the actual battlefield. “Sybil’s Well,” in Scott’sMarmion, is imaginary.

FLODOARD(894-966), French chronicler, was born at Epernay, and educated at Reims in the cathedral school which had been established by Archbishop Fulcon (822-900). As canon of Reims, and favourite of the archbishops Herivaeus (d. 922) and Seulfus (d. 925), he occupied while still young an important position at the archiepiscopal court, but was twice deprived of his benefices by Heribert, count of Vermandois, on account of his steady opposition to the election of the count’s infant son to the archbishopric. Upon the final triumph of Archbishop Artold in 947, Flodoard became for a time his chief adviser, but withdrew to a monastery in 952, and spent the remaining years of his life in literary and devotional work. His history of the cathedral church at Reims (Historia Remensis Ecclesiae) is one of the most remarkable productions of the 10th century. Flodoard had been given charge of the episcopal archives, and constructed his history out of the original texts, which he generally reproduces in full; the documents for the period of Hincmar being especially valuable. TheAnnaleswhich Flodoard wrote year by year from 919 to 966 are doubly important, by reason of the author’s honesty and the central position of Reims in European affairs in his time. Flodoard’s poetical works are of hardly less historical interest. The long poem celebrating the triumph of Christ and His saints was called forth by the favour shown him by Pope Leo VII., during whose pontificate he visited Rome, and he devotes fourteen books to the history of the popes.

Flodoard’s works were published in full by J.P. Migne (Patrologia Latina, vol. 135); a modern edition of theAnnalesis the one edited by P. Lauer (Paris, 1906). For bibliography see A. Molinier,Sources de l’histoire de France(No. 932).

FLOE(of uncertain derivation; cf. Norseflo, layer, level plain), a sheet of floating ice detached from the main body of polar ice. It is of less extent than the field of “pack” ice, which is a compacted mass of greater depth drifting frequently under the influence of deep currents, while the floating floe is driven by the wind.

FLOOD, HENRY(1732-1791), Irish statesman, son of Warden Flood, chief justice of the king’s bench in Ireland, was born in 1732, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford, where he became proficient in the classics. His father was a man of good birth and fortune, and he himself married a member of the influential Beresford family, who brought him a large fortune. In his early years he was handsome, witty, good-tempered, and a brilliant conversationalist. His judgment was sound, and he had a natural gift of eloquence which had been cultivated and developed by study of classical oratory and the practice of elocution. Flood therefore possessed every personal advantage when, in 1759, he entered the Irish parliament as member for Kilkenny in his twenty-seventh year. There was at that time no party in the Irish House of Commons that could truly be called national, and until a few years before there had been none that deserved even the name of an opposition. The Irish parliament was still constitutionally subordinate to the English privy council; it had practically no powers of independent legislation, and none of controlling the policy of the executive, which was nominated by the ministers in London (seeGrattan, Henry). Though the great majority of the people were Roman Catholics, no person of that faith could either enter parliament or exercise the franchise; the penal code, which made it almost impossible for a Roman Catholic to hold property, to follow a learned profession, or even to educate his children, and which in numerous particulars pressed severely on the Roman Catholics and subjected them to degrading conditions, was as yet unrepealed, though in practice largely obsolete; the industry and commerce of Ireland were throttled by restrictions imposed, in accordance with the economic theories of the period, in the interest of the rival trade of Great Britain. Men like Anthony Malone and Hely-Hutchison fully realized the necessity for far-reaching reforms, and it only needed the ability and eloquence of Flood in the Irish House of Commons to raise up an independent party in parliament, and to create in the country a public opinion with definite intelligible aims.

The chief objects for which Flood strove were the shortening of the duration of parliament—which had then no legal limit in Ireland except that of the reigning sovereign’s life,—the reduction of the scandalously heavy pension list, the establishment of a national militia, and, above all, the complete legislative independence of the Irish parliament. For some years little was accomplished; but in 1768 the English ministry, which had special reasons at the moment for avoiding unpopularity in Ireland, allowed an octennial bill to pass, which was the first step towards making the Irish House of Commons in some measure representative of public opinion. It had become the practice to allow crown patronage in Ireland to be exercised by the owners of parliamentary boroughs in return for their undertaking to manage the House in the government interest. But during the viceroyalty of Lord Townsend the aristocracy, and more particularly these “undertakers” as they were called, were made to understand that for the future their privileges in this respect would be curtailed. When, therefore, an opportunity was taken by the government in 1768 for reasserting the constitutional subordination of the Irish parliament, these powerful classes were thrown into temporary alliance with Flood. In the following year, in accordance with the established procedure, a money bill was sent over by the privy council in London for acceptance by the Irish House of Commons. Not only was it rejected, but contrary to custom a reason for this course was assigned, namely, that the bill had not originated in the Irish House. In consequence parliament was peremptorily prorogued, and a recess of fourteen months was employed by the government in securing a majority by the most extensive corruption.1Nevertheless when parliament met in February 1771 another money bill was thrown out on the motion of Flood; and the next year Lord Townsend, the lord lieutenant whose policy had provoked this conflict, was recalled. The struggle was the occasion of a publication, famous in its day, calledBaratariana, to which Flood contributed a series of powerful letters after the manner of Junius, one of his collaborators being Henry Grattan.

The success which had thus far attended Flood’s efforts had placed him in a position such as no Irish politician had previously attained. He had, as an eminent historian of Ireland observes, “proved himself beyond all comparison the greatest popular orator that his country had yet produced, and also a consummate master of parliamentary tactics. Under parliamentary conditions that were exceedingly unfavourable, and in an atmosphere charged with corruption, venality and subserviency, he had created a party before which ministers had begun to quail, and had inoculated the Protestant constituencies with a genuine spirit of liberty and self-reliance.”2Lord Harcourt, who succeeded Townsend as viceroy, saw that Flood must be conciliated at any price “rather than risk the opposition of so formidable a leader.” Accordingly, in 1775, Flood was offered and accepted a seat in the privy council and the office of vice-treasurer with a salary of £3500 a year. For this step he has been severely criticized. The suggestion that he acted corruptly in the matter is groundless; and although it is true that he lost influence from the moment he became a minister of the crown, Flood may reasonably have held that he had a better prospect of advancing his policy by the leverage of a ministerial position than by means of any opposition party he could hope to muster in an unreformed House of Commons.3The result, however, was that the leadership of the national party passed from Flood to Grattan, who entered the Irish parliament in the same session that Flood became a minister.

Flood continued in office for nearly seven years. During this long period he necessarily remained silent on the subject of the independence of the Irish parliament, and had to be content with advocating minor reforms as occasion offered. He was thus instrumental in obtaining bounties on the export of Irish corn to foreign countries and some other trifling commercial concessions. On the other hand he failed to procure the passing of a Habeas Corpus bill and a bill for making the judges irremovable, while his support of Lord North’s American policy still more gravely injured his popularity and reputation. But an important event in 1778 led indirectly to his recovering to some extent his former position in the country; this event was the alliance of France with the revolted American colonies. Ireland was thereby placed in peril of a French invasion, while the English government could provide no troops to defend the island. The celebrated volunteer movement was then set on foot to meet the emergency; in a few weeks more than 40,000 men, disciplined and equipped, were under arms, officered by the country gentry, and controlled by the wisdom and patriotism of Lord Charlemont. This volunteer force, in which Flood was a colonel, while vigilant for the defence of the island, soon made itself felt in politics. A Volunteer Convention, formed with all the regular organization of a representative assembly, but wielding the power of an army, began menacingly to demand the removal of the commercial restrictions which were destroying Irish prosperity. Under this pressure the government gave way; the whole colonial trade was in 1779 thrown open to Ireland for the first time, and other concessions were also extorted. Flood, who had taken an active though not a leading part in this movement, now at last resigned his office to rejoin his old party. He found to his chagrin that his former services had been to a great extent forgotten, and that he was eclipsed by Grattan. When in a debate on the constitutional question in 1779 Flood complained of the small consideration shown him in relation to a subject which he had been the first to agitate, he was reminded that by the civil law “if a man should separate from his wife, and abandon her for seven years, another might then take her and give her his protection.” But though Flood had lost control of the movement for independence of the Irish parliament, the agitation, backed as it now was by the Volunteer Conventionand by increasing signs of popular disaffection, led at last in 1782 to the concession of the demand, together with a number of other important reforms (seeGrattan, Henry).

No sooner, however, was this great success gained than a question arose—known as the Simple Repeal controversy—as to whether England, in addition to the repeal of the Acts on which the subordination of the Irish parliament had been based, should not be required expressly to renounce for the future all claim to control Irish legislation. The chief historical importance of this dispute is that it led to the memorable rupture of friendship between Flood and Grattan, each of whom assailed the other with unmeasured but magnificently eloquent invective in the House of Commons. Flood’s view prevailed—for a Renunciation Act such as he advocated was ungrudgingly passed by the English parliament in 1783—and for a time he regained popularity at the expense of his rival. Flood next (28th of November 1783) introduced a reform bill, after first submitting it to the Volunteer Convention. The bill, which contained no provision for giving the franchise to Roman Catholics—a proposal which Flood always opposed—was rejected, ostensibly on the ground that the attitude of the volunteers threatened the freedom of parliament. The volunteers were perfectly loyal to the crown and the connexion with England. They carried an address to the king, moved by Flood, expressing the hope that their support of parliamentary reform might be imputed to nothing but “a sober and laudable desire to uphold the constitution ... and to perpetuate the cordial union of both kingdoms.” The convention then dissolved, though Flood had desired, in opposition to Grattan, to continue it as a means of putting pressure on parliament for the purpose of obtaining reform.

In 1776 Flood had made an attempt to enter the English House of Commons. In 1783 he tried again, this time with success. He purchased a seat for Winchester from the duke of Chandos, and for the next seven years he was a member at the same time of both the English and Irish parliaments. He reintroduced, but without success, his reform bill in the Irish House in 1784; supported the movement for protecting Irish industries; but short-sightedly opposed Pitt’s commercial propositions in 1785. He remained a firm opponent of Roman Catholic emancipation, even defending the penal laws on the ground that after the Revolution they “were not laws of persecution but of political necessity”; but after 1786 he does not appear to have attended the parliament in Dublin. In the House at Westminster, where he refused to enrol himself as a member of either political party, he was not successful. His first speech, in opposition to Fox’s India Bill on the 3rd of December 1783, disappointed the expectations aroused by his celebrity. His speech in opposition to the commercial treaty with France in 1787 was, however, most able; and in 1790 he introduced a reform bill which Fox declared to be the best scheme of reform that had yet been proposed, and which in Burke’s opinion retrieved Flood’s reputation. But at the dissolution in the same year he lost his seat in both parliaments, and he then retired to Farmley, his residence in county Kilkenny, where he died on the 2nd of December 1791.

When Peter Burrowes, notwithstanding his close personal friendship with Grattan, declared that Flood was “perhaps the ablest man Ireland ever produced, indisputably the ablest man of his own times,” he expressed what was probably the general opinion of Flood’s contemporaries. Lord Charlemont, who knew him intimately though not always in agreement with his policy, pronounced him to be “a man of consummate ability.” He also declared that avarice made no part of Flood’s character. Lord Mountmorres, a critic by no means partial to Flood, described him as a pre-eminently truthful man, and one who detested flattery. Grattan, who even after the famous quarrel never lost his respect for Flood, said of him that he was the best tempered and the most sensible man in the world. In his youth he was genial, frank, sociable and witty; but in later years disappointment made him gloomy and taciturn. As an orator he was less polished, less epigrammatic than Grattan; but a closer reasoner and a greater master of sarcasm and invective. Personal ambition often governed his actions, but his political judgment was usually sound; and it was the opinion of Bentham that Flood would have succeeded in carrying a reform bill which might have preserved Irish parliamentary independence, if he had been supported by Grattan and the rest of his party in keeping alive the Volunteer Convention in 1783. Though he never wavered in loyalty to the British crown and empire, Ireland never produced a more sincere patriot than Henry Flood.

See Warden Flood,Memoirs of Henry Flood(London, 1838); Henry Grattan,Memoirs of the Life and Times of the Right Hon. H. Grattan(5 vols., London, 1839-1846); Charles Phillips,Recollections of Curran and some of his Contemporaries(London, 1822);The Irish Parliament 1775, from an official and contemporary manuscript, edited by William Hunt (London, 1907); W.J. O’Neill Daunt,Ireland and her Agitators; Lord Mountmorres,History of the Irish Parliament(2 vols., London, 1792); W.E.H. Lecky,History of England in the Eighteenth Century(8 vols., London, 1878-1890); andLeaders of Public Opinion in Ireland(enlarged edition, 2 vols., London, 1903); J.A. Froude,The English in Ireland, vols. ii. and iii. (London, 1881); Horace Walpole,Memoirs of the Reign of George III.(4 vols., London, 1845, 1894); Sir Jonah Barrington,Rise and Fall of the Irish Nation(London, 1833); Francis Plowden,Historical Review of the State of Ireland(London, 1803); Alfred Webb,Compendium of Irish Biography(Dublin, 1878); F. Hardy,Memoirs of Lord Charlemont(London, 1812), especially for the volunteer movement, on which see alsoProceedings of the Volunteer Delegates of Ireland 1784(Anon. Pamphlet, Brit. Mus.); alsoThe Charlemont Papers, andIrish Parl. Debates, (vols. i.-iv.).

(R. J. M.)

1Walpole’sGeorge III., iv. 348.2W.E.H. Lecky,Leaders of Public Opinion in Ireland(enlarged edition, 2 vols., 1903), i. 48.3See Hardy’sLife of Charlemont, i. 356.

1Walpole’sGeorge III., iv. 348.

2W.E.H. Lecky,Leaders of Public Opinion in Ireland(enlarged edition, 2 vols., 1903), i. 48.

3See Hardy’sLife of Charlemont, i. 356.

FLOOD(in O. Eng.flód, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger.Flut, Dutchvloed, from the same root as is seen in “flow,” “float”), an overflow of water, an expanse of water submerging land, a deluge, hence “the flood,” specifically, the Noachian deluge of Genesis, but also any other catastrophic submersion recorded in the mythology of other nations than the Hebrew (seeDeluge, The). In the sense of “flowing water,” the word is applied to the inflow of the tide, as opposed to “ebb.”

FLOOD PLAIN,the term in physical geography for a plain formed of sediment dropped by a river. When the slope down which a river runs has become very slight, it is unable to carry the sediment brought from higher regions nearer its source, and consequently the lower portion of the river valley becomes filled with alluvial deposits; and since in times of flood the rush of water in the high regions tears off and carries down a greater quantity of sediment than usual, the river spreads this also over the lower valley where the plain is flooded, because the rush of water is checked, and the stream in consequence drops its extra load. These flood plains are sometimes of great extent. That of the Mississippi below Ohio has a width of from 20 to 80 m., and its whole extent has been estimated at 50,000 sq. m. Flood plains may be the result of planation, with aggradation, that is, they may be due to a graded river working in meanders from side to side, widening its valley by this process and covering the widened valley with sediment. Or the stream by cutting into another stream (piracy), by cutting through a barrier near its head waters, by entering a region of looser or softer rock, and by glacial drainage, may form a flood plain simply by filling up its valley (alluviation only). Any obstruction across a river’s course, such as a band of hard rock, may form a flood plain behind it, and indeed anything which checks a river’s course and causes it to drop its load will tend to form a flood plain; but it is most commonly found near the mouth of a large river, such as the Rhine, the Nile, or the Mississippi, where there are occasional floods and the river usually carries a large amount of sediment. “Levees” are formed, inside which the river usually flows, gradually raising its bed above the surrounding plain. Occasional breaches during floods cause the overloaded stream to spread in a great lake over the surrounding country, where the silt covers the ground in consequence. Sections of the Missouri flood plain made by the United States geological survey show a great variety of material of varying coarseness, the stream bed being scoured at one place, and filled at another by currents and floods of varying swiftness, so that sometimes the deposits are of coarse gravel, sometimes of fine sand, or of fine silt, and it is probable that any section of such an alluvial plain would show deposits of a similar character. The flood plain during its formation is marked by meandering, or anastomosing streams, ox-bow lakes and bayous,marshes or stagnant pools, and is occasionally completely covered with water. When the drainage system has ceased to act or is entirely diverted owing to any cause, the flood plain may become a level area of great fertility, similar in appearance to the floor of an old lake. The flood plain differs, however, inasmuch as it is not altogether flat. It has a gentle slope down-stream, and often for a distance from the sides towards the centre.

FLOOR(from O. Eng.flor, a word common to many Teutonic languages, cf. Dutchvloer, and Ger.Flur, a field, in the feminine, and a floor, masculine), generally the lower horizontal surface of a room, but specially employed for one covered with boarding or parquetry. The various levels of rooms in a house are designated as “ground-floor,” “first-floor,” “mezzanine-floor,” &c. The principal floor is the storey which contains the chief apartments whether on the ground- or first-floor; in Italy they are always on the latter and known as the “piano nobile.” The storey below the ground-floor is called the “basement-floor,” even if only a little below the level of the pavement outside; the storey in a roof is known as the “attic-floor.” The expressions one pair, two pair, &c., apply to the storeys above the first flight of stairs from the ground (see alsoCarpentry).

FLOORCLOTH,a rough flannel cloth used for domestic cleaning; also a generic term applied to a variety of materials used in place of carpets for covering floors, and known by such trade names as kamptulicon, oil-cloth, linoleum, corticine, cork-carpet, &c. Kamptulicon (καμπτός, flexible,οὐλος, thick) was patented in 1844 by E. Galloway, but did not attract much attention till about 1862. It was essentially a preparation of india-rubber masticated up with ground cork, and rolled out into sheets between heavy steam-heated rollers, sometimes over a backing of canvas. Owing to its expensiveness, it has given place to cheaper materials serving the same purpose. Oil-cloth is a coarse canvas which has received a number of coats of thick oil paint, each coat being rubbed smooth with pumice stone before the application of the next. Its surface is ornamented with patterns printed in oil colours by means of wooden blocks. Linoleum (linum, flax,oleum, oil), patented by F. Walton in 1860 and 1863, consists of oxidized linseed oil and ground cork. These ingredients, thoroughly incorporated with the addition of certain gummy and resinous matters, and of pigments such as ochre and oxide of iron as required, are pressed on to a rough canvas backing between steam-heated rollers. Patterns may be printed on its surface with oil paint, or by an improved method may be inlaid with coloured composition so that the colours are continuous through the thickness of the linoleum, instead of being on the surface only, and thus do not disappear with wear. Lincrusta-Walton is a similar material to linoleum, also having oxidized linseed oil as its base, which is stamped out in embossed patterns and used as a covering for walls.

FLOQUET, CHARLES THOMAS(1828-1896), French statesman, was born at St Jean-Pied-de-Port (Basses-Pyrénées) on the 2nd of October 1828. He studied law in Paris, and was called to the bar in 1851. Thecoup d’étatof that year aroused the strenuous opposition of Floquet, who had, while yet a student, given proof of his republican sympathies by taking part in the fighting of 1848. He made his name by his brilliant and fearless attacks on the government in a series of political trials, and at the same time contributed to theTempsand other influential journals. When the tsar Alexander II. visited the Palais de Justice in 1867, Floquet was said to have confronted him with the cry “Vive la Pologne, monsieur!” He delivered a scathing indictment of the Empire at the trial of Pierre Bonaparte for killing Victor Noir in 1870, and took a part in the revolution of the 4th of September, as well as in the subsequent defence of Paris. In 1871 he was elected to the National Assembly by the department of the Seine. During the Commune he formed theLigue d’union républicaine des droits de Paristo attempt a reconciliation with the government of Versailles. When his efforts failed, he left Paris, and was imprisoned by order of Thiers, but soon released. He became editor of theRépublique Française, was chosen president of the municipal council, and in 1876 was elected deputy for the eleventh arrondissement. He took a prominent place among the extreme radicals, and became president of the group of the “Union républicaine.” In 1882 he held for a short time the post of prefect of the Seine. In 1885 he succeeded M. Brisson as president of the chamber. This difficult position he filled with such tact and impartiality that he was re-elected the two following years. Having approached the Russian ambassador in such a way as to remove the prejudice existing against him in Russia since the incident of 1867, he rendered himself eligible for office; and on the fall of the Tirard cabinet in 1888 he became president of the council and minister of the interior in a radical ministry, which pledged itself to the revision of the constitution, but was forced to combat the proposals of General Boulanger. Heated debates in the chamber culminated on the 13th of July in a duel between Floquet and Boulanger in which the latter was wounded. In the following February the government fell on the question of revision, and in the new chamber of November Floquet was re-elected to the presidential chair. The Panama scandals, in which he was compelled to admit his implication, dealt a fatal blow to his career: he lost the presidency of the chamber in 1892, and his seat in the house in 1893, but in 1894 was elected to the senate. He died in Paris on the 18th of January 1896.

SeeDiscours et opinions de M. Charles Floquet, edited by Albert Faivre (1885).

FLOR, ROGER DI,a military adventurer of the 13th-14th century, was the second son of a falconer in the service of the emperor Frederick II., who fell at Tagliacozzo (1268), and when eight years old was sent to sea in a galley belonging to the Knights Templars. He entered the order and became commander of a galley. At the siege of Acre by the Saracens in 1291 he was accused and denounced to the pope as a thief and an apostate, was degraded from his rank, and fled to Genoa, where he began to play the pirate. The struggle between the kings of Aragon and the French kings of Naples for the possession of Sicily was at this time going on; and Roger entered the service of Frederick, king of Sicily, who gave him the rank of vice-admiral. At the close of the war, in 1302, as Frederick was anxious to free the island from his mercenary troops (calledAlmúgavares), whom he had no longer the means of paying, Roger induced them under his leadership to seek new adventures in the East, in fighting against the Turks, who were ravaging the empire. The emperor Andronicus II. accepted his offer of service; and in September 1303 Roger with his fleet and army arrived at Constantinople. He was adopted into the imperial family, was married to a grand-daughter of the emperor, and was made grand duke and commander-in-chief of the army and the fleet. After some weeks lost in dissipation, intrigues and bloody quarrels, Roger and his men were sent into Asia, and after some successful encounters with the Turks they went into winter quarters at Cyzicus. In May 1304 they again took the field, and rendered the important service of relieving Philadelphia, then invested and reduced to extremities by the Turks. But Roger, bent on advancing his own interests rather than those of the emperor, determined to found in the East a principality for himself. He sent his treasures to Magnesia, but the people slew his Catalans and seized the treasures. He then formed the siege of the town, but his attacks were repulsed, and he was compelled to retire. Being recalled to Europe, he settled his troops in Gallipoli and other towns, and visited Constantinople to demand pay for theAlmúgavares. Dissatisfied with the small sum granted by the emperor, he plundered the country and carried on intrigues both with and against the emperor, receiving reinforcements all the while from all parts of southern Europe. Roger was now created Caesar, but shortly afterwards the young emperor Michael Palaeologus, not daring to attack the fierce and now augmented bands of adventurers, invited Roger to Adrianople, and there contrived his assassination and the massacre of his Catalan cavalry (April 4, 1306). His death was avenged by his men in a fierce and prolonged war against the Greeks.

See Moncada,Expedicion de los Catalanes y Aragoneses contre Turcos y Griegos(Paris, 1840).

FLORA,in Roman mythology, goddess of spring-time and flowers, later identified with the Greek Chloris. Her festival at Rome, the Floralia, instituted 238B.C.by order of the Sibylline books and at first held irregularly, became annual after 173. It lasted six days (April 28-May 3), the first day being the anniversary of the foundation of her temple. It included theatrical performances and animal hunts in the circus, and vegetables were distributed to the people. The proceedings were characterized by excessive merriment and licentiousness. According to the legend, her worship was instituted by Titus Tatius, and her priest, the flamen Floralis, by Numa. In art Flora was represented as a beautiful maiden, bedecked with flowers (Ovid,Fasti, v. 183 ff.; Tacitus,Annals, ii. 49).

The term “flora” is used in botany collectively for the plant-growth of a district; similarly “fauna” is used collectively for the animals.

FLORE AND BLANCHEFLEUR,a 13th-century romance. This tale, generally supposed to be of oriental origin, relates the passionate devotion of two children, and their success in overcoming all the obstacles put in the way of their love. The romance appears in differing versions in French, English, German, Swedish, Icelandic, Italian, Spanish, Greek and Hungarian. The various forms of the tale receive a detailed notice in E. Hausknecht’s version of the 13th-century Middle English poem of “Floris and Blauncheflur” (Samml. eng. Denkmäler, vol. v. Berlin, 1885). Nothing definite can be stated of the origin of the story, but France was in the 12th and 13th centuries the chief market of romance, and the French version of the tale,Floire et Blanchefleur, is the most widespread. Floire, the son of a Saracen king of Spain, is brought up in constant companionship with Blanchefleur, the daughter of a Christian slave of noble birth. Floire’s parents, hoping to destroy this attachment, send the boy away at fifteen and sell Blanchefleur to foreign slave-merchants. When Floire returns a few days later he is told that his companion is dead, but when he threatens to kill himself, his parents tell him the truth. He traces her to the tower of the maidens destined for the harem of the emir of Babylon, into which he penetrates concealed in a basket of flowers. The lovers are discovered, but their constancy touches the hearts of their judges. They are married, and Floire returns to his kingdom, when he and all his people adopt Christianity. Of the two 12th-century French poems (ed. Édélestand du Méril, Paris, 1856), the one contains the love story with few additions, the other is a romance of chivalry, containing the usual battles, single combats, &c. Two lyrics based on episodes of the story are printed by Paulin Paris in hisRomancero français(Paris, 1883). The English poem renders the French version without amplifications, such as are found in other adaptations. Its author has less sentiment than his original, and less taste for detailed description. Among the other forms of the story must be noted the prose romance (c.1340) of Boccaccio,Il Filocolo, and the 14th-centuryLeggenda della reina Rosana e di Rosana sua figliuola(pr. Leghorn, 1871). The similarity between the story of Floire and Blanchefleur andChante-fable of Aucassin et Nicolete1has been repeatedly pointed out, and they have even been credited with a common source.

See also editions by I. Bekker (Berlin, 1844) and E. Hausknecht (Berlin, 1885); also H. Sundmacher,Die altfr. und mittelhochdeutsche Bearbeitung der Sage von Flore et Blanscheflur(Göttingen, 1872); H. Herzog,Die beiden Sagenkreise von Flore und Blanscheflur(Vienna, 1884);Zeitschrift für deut. Altertum(vol. xxi.) contains a Rhenish version; the ScandinavianFlores Saga ok Blankiflùr, ed. E. Kölbing (Halle, 1896); the 13th-century version of Konrad Fleck,Flore und Blanscheflur, ed. E. Sommer (Leipzig, 1846); the Swedish by G.E. Klemming (Stockholm, 1844). The English poem was also edited by Hartschorne (English Metrical Tales, 1829), by Laing (Abbotsford Club, 1829), and by Lumly (Early Eng. Text Soc., 1866, re-edited G.H. McKnight, 1901). J. Reinhold (Floire et Blanchefleur, Paris, 1906) suggests a parallelism with the story of Cupid and Psyche as told by Apuleius; also that the oriental setting does not necessarily imply a connexion with Arab tales, as the circumstances might with small alteration have been taken from the Vulgate version of the book of Esther.

1Ed. H. Suchier (Paderborn, 1878, 5th ed. 1903); modern French by G. Michaut, with preface by J. Bédier (Tours, 1901); English by Andrew Lang (1887), by F.W. Bourdillon (Oxford, 1896), and by Laurence Housman (1902).

FLORENCE, WILLIAM JERMYN(1831-1891), American actor, of Irish descent, whose real name was Bernard Conlin, was born on the 26th of July 1831 at Albany, N.Y., and first attracted attention as an actor at Brougham’s Lyceum in 1851. Two years later he married Mrs Malvina Pray Littell (d. 1906), in association with whom, until her retirement in 1889, he won all his successes, notably in Benjamin Woolf’sThe Mighty Dollar, said to have been presented more than 2500 times. In 1856 they had a successful London season, Mrs Florence being one of the first American actresses to appear on the English stage. In 1889 Florence entered into partnership with Joseph Jefferson, playing Sir Lucius O’Trigger to his Bob Acres and Mrs John Drew’s Mrs Malaprop on a very successful tour. His last appearance was with Jefferson on the 14th of November 1891, as Ezekiel Homespun inThe Heir-at-law, and he died on the 18th of November in Philadelphia.

FLORENCE OF WORCESTER(d. 1118), English chronicler, was a monk of Worcester, who died, as we learn from his continuator, on the 7th of July 1118. Beyond this fact nothing is known of his life. He compiled a chronicle calledChronicon ex chroniciswhich begins with the creation and ends in 1117. The basis of his work was a chronicle compiled by Marianus Scotus, an Irish recluse, who lived first at Fulda, afterwards at Mainz. Marianus, who began his work after 1069, carried it up to 1082. Florence supplements Marianus from a lost version of the English Chronicle, and from Asser. He is always worth comparing with the extant English Chronicles; and from 1106 he is an independent annalist, dry but accurate. Either Florence or a later editor of his work made considerable borrowings from the first four books of Eadmer’sHistoria novorum. Florence’s work is continued, up to 1141, by a certain John of Worcester, who wrote about 1150. John is valuable for the latter years of Henry I. and the early years of Stephen. He is friendly to Stephen, but not an indiscriminate partisan.

The first edition of these two writers is that of 1592 (by William Howard). The most accessible is that of B. Thorpe (Eng. Hist. Soc., 2 vols., 1848-1849); but Thorpe’s text of John’s continuation needs revision. Thorpe gives, without explanations, the insertions of an ill-informed Gloucester monk who has obscured the accurate chronology of the original. Thorpe also prints a continuation by John Taxter (died c. 1295), a 13th-century writer and a monk of Bury St Edmunds. Florence and John of Worcester are translated by J. Stevenson in hisChurch Historians of England, vol. ii. pt. i. (London, 1853); T. Forester’s translation in Bohn’sAntiquarian Library(London, 1854) gives the work of Taxter also.

(H. W. C. D.)

FLORENCE,the county-seat of Lauderdale county, Alabama, U.S.A., on the N. bank of the Tennessee river, at the foot of Muscle Shoals Canal, and about 560 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1880) 1359; (1890) 6012; (1900) 6478 (1952 negroes); (1910) 6689. It is served by the Southern, the Northern Alabama (controlled by the Southern), and the Louisville & Nashville railways, and by electric railway to Sheffield and Tuscumbia, and the Tennessee river is here navigable. Florence is situated in the fertile agricultural lands of the Tennessee river valley on the edge of the coal and iron districts of Alabama, and has various manufactures, including pig-iron, cotton goods, wagons, stoves, fertilizers, staves and mercantile supplies. At Florence are the state Normal College, the Florence University for Women, and the Burrell Normal School (for negroes; founded in 1903 by the American Missionary Association). Florence was founded in 1818, Andrew Jackson, afterwards president of the United States, and ex-president James Madison being among the early property holders. For several years Florence and Nashville, Tennessee, were commercial rivals, being situated respectively at the head of navigation on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. The first invasion of Alabama by Federal troops in the Civil War was by a gunboat raid up the Tennessee to Florence on the 8th of February 1862. On the 11th of April 1863 another Federal gunboat raid was attempted, but the vessels were repulsed by a force under Gen. S.A. Wood. On the 26thof May following, Federal troops entered Florence, and destroyed cotton mills and public and private property; but they were driven back by Gen. Philip D. Roddy (1820-1897). On the 11th of December 1863 the town was again raided, but the Federals did not secure permanent possession. Florence was chartered as a city in 1889.

FLORENCE(Ital.Firenze, Lat.Florentia), formerly the capital of Tuscany, now the capital of a province of the kingdom of Italy, and the sixth largest city in the country. It is situated 43° 46′ N., 11° 14′ E., on both banks of the river Arno, which at this point flows through a broad fertile valley enclosed between spurs of the Apennines. The city is 165 ft. above sea-level, and occupies an area of 3 sq. m. (area of the commune, 16½ sq. m.). The geological formation of the soil belongs to the Quaternary and Pliocene period in its upper strata, and to the Eocene and Cretaceous in the lower.Pietra forteof the Cretaceous period is quarried north and south of the city, and has been used for centuries as paving stone and for the buildings.Pietra serenaormacigno, a stone of a firm texture also used for building purposes, is quarried at Monte Ceceri below Fiesole. The soil is very fertile; wheat, Indian corn, olives, vines, fruit trees of many kinds cover both the plain and the surrounding hills; the chief non-fruit-bearing trees are the stone pine, the cypress, the ilex and the poplar, while many other varieties are represented. The gardens and fields produce an abundance of flowers, which justify the city’s title ofla città dei fiori.

Climate and Sanitary Conditions.—The climate of Florence is very variable, ranging from severe cold accompanied by high winds from the north in winter to great heat in the summer, while in spring-time sudden and rapid changes of temperature are frequent. At the same time the climate is usually very agreeable from the end of February to the beginning of July, and from the end of September to the middle of November. The average temperature throughout the year is about 57° Fahr.; the maximum heat is about 96.8°, and the minimum 36.5°, sometimes sinking to 21°. The longest day is 15 hours and 33 minutes, the shortest 8 hours and 50 minutes. The average rainfall is about 37½ inches. Epidemic diseases are rare and children’s diseases mild; cholera has visited Florence several times, but the city has been free from it for many years. Diphtheria first appeared in 1868 and continued as a severe epidemic until 1872, since when it has only occurred at rare intervals and in isolated cases. Typhoid, pneumonia, tuberculosis, measles and scarlatina, and influenza are the commonest illnesses. The drainage system is still somewhat imperfect, but the water brought from the hills or from the Arno in pipes is fairly good, and the general sanitary conditions are satisfactory.

Public Buildings.—Of the very numerous Florentine churches the Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore) is the largest and most important, founded in 1298 on the plans of Arnolfo di Cambio, completed by Brunelleschi, and consecratedChurches.in 1436; the façade, however, was not finished until the 19th century—it was begun in 1875 on the designs of de Fabris and unveiled in 1888. Close by the Duomo is the no less famous Campanile built by Giotto, begun in 1332, and adorned with exquisite bas-reliefs. Opposite is the Baptistery built by Arnolfo di Cambio in the 13th century on the site of an earlier church, and adorned with beautiful bronze doors by Ghiberti in the 15th century. The Badia, Santo Spirito, Santa Maria Novella, are a few among the many famous and beautiful churches of Florence. The existence of these works of art attracts students from all countries, and a German art school subsidized by the imperial government has been instituted.

The streets and piazze of the city are celebrated for their splendid palaces, formerly, and in many cases even to-day the residences of the noble families of Florence. Among others we may mention the Palazzo Vecchio, formerly the seat of the government of the Republic and now the town hall, the Palazzo Riccardi, the residence of the Medici and now the prefecture, the palaces of the Strozzi, Antinori (one of the most perfect specimens of Florentinequattrocentoarchitecture), Corsini, Davanzati, Pitti (the royal palace), &c. The palace of the Arte della Lana or gild of wool merchants, tastefully and intelligently restored, is the headquarters of the Dante Society. The centre of Florence, which was becoming a danger from a hygienic point of view, was pulled down in 1880-1890, but, unfortunately, sufficient care was not taken to avoid destroying certain buildings of historic and artistic value which might have been spared without impairing the work of sanitation, while the new structures erected in their place, especially those in thePiazzaVittorio Emanuele, are almost uniformly ugly and quite out of keeping with Florentine architecture. The question aroused many polemics at the time both in Italy and abroad. After the new centre was built, a society called theSocietà per la difesa di Firenze anticawas formed by many prominent citizens to safeguard the ancient buildings and prevent them from destruction, and a spirit of intelligent conservatism seems now to prevail in this connexion. The city is growing in all directions, and a number of new quarters have sprung up where the houses are more sanitary than in the older parts, but unfortunately few of them evince much aesthetic feeling. Thevialior boulevards form pleasant residential streets with gardens, and the system of building separate houses for each family (villini) instead of large blocks of flats is becoming more and more general.

Florence possesses four important libraries besides a number of smaller collections. TheBiblioteca Nazionale, originally founded by Antonio Magliabecchi in 1747, enjoys the right, shared by theVittorio Emanuelelibrary ofLibraries.Rome, of receiving a copy of every work printed in Italy, since 1870 (since 1848 it had enjoyed a similar privilege with regard to works printed in Tuscany). It contains some 500,000 printed volumes, 700,000 pamphlets, over 9000 prints and drawings (including 284 by Albert Dürer), nearly 20,000 MSS., and 40,000 letters. The number of readers in 1904 was over 50,000. Unfortunately, however, the confusion engendered by a defective organization has long been a byword among the people; there is no printed catalogue, quantities of books are buried in packing-cases and unavailable, the collection of foreign books is very poor, hardly any new works being purchased, and the building itself is quite inadequate and far from safe; but the site of a new one has now been purchased and the plans are agreed upon, so that eventually the whole collection will be transferred to more suitable quarters. TheBiblioteca Marucelliana, founded in 1752, contains 150,000 books, including 620 incunabula, 17,000 engravings and 1500 MSS.; it is well managed and chiefly remarkable for its collection of illustrated works and art publications. TheBiblioteca Mediceo-Laurenziana, founded in 1571, has its origin in the library of Cosimo de’ Medici the Elder, and was enlarged by Piero, Giovanni and above all by Lorenzo the Magnificent. Various princes and private persons presented it with valuable gifts and legacies, among the most important of which was the collection ofeditiones principesgiven by Count d’Elci, in 1841, and the Ashburnham collection of MSS. purchased by the Italian Government in 1885. It contains nearly 10,000 MSS., including many magnificent illuminated missals and Bibles and a number of valuable Greek and Latin texts, 242 incunabula and 11,000 printed books, chiefly dealing with palaeography; it is in some ways the most important of the Florentine libraries. TheBiblioteca Riccardiana, founded in the 16th century by Romolo Riccardi, contains nearly 4000 MSS., over 32,000 books and 650 incunabula, chiefly relating to Florentine history. The state archives are among the most complete in Italy, and contain over 450,000filzeandregistriand 126,000 charters, covering the period from 726 to 1856.

Few cities are as rich as Florence in collections of works of artistic and historic interest, although the great majority of them belong to a comparatively limited period—from the 13th to the 16th century. The chief art galleriesGalleries of Fine Arts and Museums.are the Uffizi, the Pitti and Accademia. The two former are among the finest in the world, and are filled with masterpieces by Raphael, Andrea del Sarto, Perugino, Ghirlandaio, Botticelli, the Lippi, and many other Florentine, Umbrian, Venetian, Dutch and Flemish artists, as well as numerous admirable examples of antique, medieval and Renaissancesculpture. The Pitti collection is in the royal palace (formerly the residence of the grand dukes), and a fine new stairway and vestibule have been constructed by royal munificence. In the Uffizi the pictures are arranged in strict chronological order. In the Accademia, which is rich in early Tuscan masters, the Botticelli and Perugino rooms deserve special mention. Other pictures are scattered about in the churches, monasteries and private palaces. Of the monasteries, that of St Mark should be mentioned, as containing many works of Fra Angelico, besides relics of Savonarola, while of the private collections the only one of importance is that of Prince Corsini. There is a splendid museum of medieval and Renaissance antiquities in the Bargello, the ancient palace of the Podestà, itself one of the finest buildings in the city; among its many treasures are works of Donatello, Ghiberti, Verrochio and other sculptors, and large collections of ivory, enamel and bronze ware. The Opera del Duomo contains models and pieces of sculpture connected with the cathedral; the Etruscan and Egyptian museum, the gallery of tapestries, the Michelangelo museum, the museum of natural history and other collections are all important in different ways.

The total population of Florence in 1905, comprising foreigners and a garrison of 5500 men, was 220,879. In 1861 it was 114,363; it increased largely when the capital of Italy was in Florence (1865-1872), but decreased or increased veryPopulation.slightly after the removal of the capital to Rome, and increased at a greater rate from 1881 onwards. At present the rate of increase is about 22 per 1000, but it is due to immigration, as the birth rate was actually below the death rate down to 1903, since when there has been a slight increase of the former and a decrease of the latter.

Florence is the capital of a province of the same name, and the central government is represented by a prefect (prefetto), whileAdministration.local government is carried on by a mayor (sindaco) and an elective town council (consiglio comunale). The city is the seat of a court of cassation (for civil cases only), of a court of appeal, besides minor tribunals. It is the headquarters of an army corps, and an archiepiscopal see.

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