1A complete list, showing all individual contributors, appears in the final volume.
1A complete list, showing all individual contributors, appears in the final volume.
PRINCIPAL UNSIGNED ARTICLES
Gilding.
Ginger.
Gironde.
Gladiators.
Glasgow.
Glastonbury.
Gloucestershire.
Glove.
Glucose.
Glue.
Glycerin.
Goat.
Gold.
Goldbeating.
Gotland.
Gourd.
Government.
Grain Trade.
Granada.
Grasses.
Great Salt Lake.
Griqualand East and West.
Guanches.
Guards.
Guatemala.
Guelphs and Ghibellines.
Guiacum.
Guillotine.
Guise, House of.
Gum.
Gwalior.
Haddingtonshire.
Hair.
Haiti.
Halo.
Hamburg.
Hamlet.
Hampshire.
Hampton Roads.
Hanover.
GICHTEL, JOHANN GEORG(1638-1710), German mystic, was born at Regensburg, where his father was a member of senate, on the 14th of March 1638. Having acquired at school an acquaintance with Greek, Hebrew, Syriac and even Arabic, he proceeded to Strassburg to study theology; but finding the theological prelections of J. S. Schmidt and P. J. Spener distasteful, he entered the faculty of law. He was admitted an advocate, first at Spires, and then at Regensburg; but having become acquainted with the baron Justinianus von Weltz (1621-1668), a Hungarian nobleman who cherished schemes for the reunion of Christendom and the conversion of the world, and having himself become acquainted with another world in dreams and visions, he abandoned all interest in his profession, and became an energetic promoter of the “Christerbauliche Jesusgesellschaft,” or Christian Edification Society of Jesus. The movement in its beginnings provoked at least no active hostility; but when Gichtel began to attack the teaching of the Lutheran clergy and church, especially upon the fundamental doctrine of justification by faith, he exposed himself to a prosecution which resulted in sentence of banishment and confiscation (1665). After many months of wandering and occasionally romantic adventure, he reached Holland in January 1667, and settled at Zwolle, where he co-operated with Friedrich Breckling (1629-1711), who shared his views and aspirations. Having become involved in the troubles of this friend, Gichtel, after a period of imprisonment, was banished for a term of years from Zwolle, but finally in 1668 found a home in Amsterdam, where he made the acquaintance of Antoinette Bourignon (1616-1680), and in a state of poverty (which, however, never became destitution) lived out his strange life of visions and day-dreams, of prophecy and prayer. He became an ardent disciple of Jakob Boehme, whose works he published in 1682 (Amsterdam, 2 vols.); but before the time of his death, on the 21st of January 1710, he had attracted to himself a small band of followers known as Gichtelians or Brethren of the Angels, who propagated certain views at which he had arrived independently of Boehme. Seeking ever to hear the authoritative voice of God within them, and endeavouring to attain to a life altogether free from carnal desires, like that of “the angels in heaven, who neither marry nor are given in marriage,” they claimed to exercise a priesthood “after the order of Melchizedek,” appeasing the wrath of God, and ransoming the souls of the lost by sufferings endured vicariously after the example of Christ. While, however, Boehme “desired to remain a faithful son of the Church,” the Gichtelians became Separatists (cf. J. A. Dorner,History of Protestant Theology, ii. p. 185).
Gichtel’s correspondence was published without his knowledge by Gottfried Arnold, a disciple, in 1701 (2 vols.), and again in 1708 (3 vols.). It has been frequently reprinted under the titleTheosophia practica. The seventh volume of the Berlin edition (1768) contains a notice of Gichtel’s life. See also G. C. A. von Harless,Jakob Böhme und die Alchimisten(1870, 2nd ed. 1882); article inAllgemeine deutsche Biographie.
Gichtel’s correspondence was published without his knowledge by Gottfried Arnold, a disciple, in 1701 (2 vols.), and again in 1708 (3 vols.). It has been frequently reprinted under the titleTheosophia practica. The seventh volume of the Berlin edition (1768) contains a notice of Gichtel’s life. See also G. C. A. von Harless,Jakob Böhme und die Alchimisten(1870, 2nd ed. 1882); article inAllgemeine deutsche Biographie.
GIDDINGS, JOSHUA REED(1795-1864), American statesman, prominent in the anti-slavery conflict, was born at Tioga Point, now Athens, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, on the 6th of October 1795. In 1806 his parents removed to Ashtabula county, Ohio, then sparsely settled and almost a wilderness. The son worked on his father’s farm, and, though he received no systematic education, devoted much time to study and reading. For several years after 1814 he was a school teacher, but in February 1821 he was admitted to the Ohio bar and soon obtained a large practice, particularly in criminal cases. From 1831 to 1837 he was in partnership with Benjamin F. Wade. He served in the lower house of the state legislature in 1826-1828, and from December 1838 until March 1859 was a member of the national House of Representatives, first as a Whig, then as a Free-soiler, and finally as a Republican. Recognizing that slavery was a state institution, with which the Federal government had no authority to interfere, he contended that slavery could only exist by a specific state enactment, that therefore slavery in the District of Columbia and in the Territories was unlawful and should be abolished, that the coastwise slave-trade in vessels flying the national flag, like the international slave-trade, should be rigidly suppressed, and that Congress had no power to pass any act which in any way could be construed as a recognition of slavery as a national institution. His attitude in the so-called “Creole Case” attracted particular attention. In 1841 some slaves who were being carried in the brig “Creole” from Hampton Roads, Virginia, to New Orleans, revolted, killed the captain, gained possession of the vessel, and soon afterwards entered the British port of Nassau. Thereupon, according to British law, they became free. The minority who had taken an active part in the revolt were arrested on a charge of murder, and the others were liberated. Efforts were made by the United States government to recover the slaves, Daniel Webster, then secretary of state, asserting that on an American ship they were under the jurisdiction of the United States and that they were legally property. On the 21st of March 1842, before the casewas settled, Giddings introduced in the House of Representatives a series of resolutions, in which he asserted that “in resuming their natural rights of personal liberty” the slaves “violated no law of the United States.” For offering these resolutions Giddings was attacked with rancour, and was formally censured by the House. Thereupon he resigned, appealed to his constituents, and was immediately re-elected by a large majority. In 1859 he was not renominated, and retired from Congress after a continuous service of more than twenty years. From 1861 until his death, at Montreal, on the 27th of May 1864, he was U.S. consul-general in Canada. Giddings published a series of political essays signed “Pacificus” (1843);Speeches in Congress(1853);The Exiles of Florida(1858); and aHistory of the Rebellion: Its Authors and Causes(1864).
SeeThe Life of Joshua R. Giddings(Chicago, 1892), by his son-in-law, George Washington Julian (1817-1899), a Free-soil leader and a representative in Congress in 1849-1851, a Republican representative in Congress in 1861-1871, a Liberal Republican in the campaign of 1872, and afterwards a Democrat.
SeeThe Life of Joshua R. Giddings(Chicago, 1892), by his son-in-law, George Washington Julian (1817-1899), a Free-soil leader and a representative in Congress in 1849-1851, a Republican representative in Congress in 1861-1871, a Liberal Republican in the campaign of 1872, and afterwards a Democrat.
GIDEON(in Hebrew, perhaps “hewer” or “warrior”), liberator, reformer and “judge” of Israel, was the son of Joash, of the Manassite clan of Abiezer, and had his home at Ophrah near Shechem. His name occurs in Heb. xi. 32, in a list of those who became heroes by faith; but, except in Judges vi.-viii., is not to be met with elsewhere in the Old Testament. He lived at a time when the nomad tribes of the south and east made inroads upon Israel, destroying all that they could not carry away. Two accounts of his deeds are preserved (seeJudges). According to one (Judges vi. 11-24) Yahweh appeared under the holy tree which was in the possession of Joash and summoned Gideon to undertake, in dependence on supernatural direction and help, the work of liberating his country from its long oppression, and, in token that he accepted the mission, he erected in Ophrah an altar which he called “Yahweh-Shalom” (Yahweh is peace). According to another account (vi. 25-32) Gideon was a great reformer who was commanded by Yahweh to destroy the altar of Baal belonging to his father and theashērahor sacred post by its side. The townsmen discovered the sacrilege and demanded his death. His father, who, as guardian of the sacred place, was priest of Baal, enjoined the men not to take up Baal’s quarrel, for “if Baal be a god, let him contend (rīb) for himself.” Hence Gideon received the name Jerubbaal.1From this latter name appearing regularly in the older narrative (cf. ix.), and from the varying usage in vi.-viii., it has been held that stories of two distinct heroes (Gideon and Jerubbaal) have been fused in the complicated account which follows.2
The great gathering of the Midianites and their allies on the north side of the plain of Jezreel; the general muster first of Abiezer, then of all Manasseh, and lastly of the neighbouring tribes of Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali; the signs by which the wavering faith of Gideon was steadied; the methods by which an unwieldy mob was reduced to a small but trusty band of energetic and determined men; and the stratagem by which the vast army of Midian was surprised and routed by the handful of Israelites descending from “above Endor,” are indicated fully in the narratives, and need not be detailed here. The difficulties in the account of the subsequent flight of the Midianites appear to have arisen from the composite character of the narratives, and there are signs that in one of them Gideon was accompanied only by his own clansmen (vi. 34). So, when the Midianites are put to flight, according to one representation, the Ephraimites are called out to intercept them, and the two chiefs, Ōrēb (“raven”) and Zeēb (“wolf”), in making for the fords of the Jordan, are slain at “the raven’s rock” and “the wolf’s press” respectively. As the sequel of this we are told that the Ephraimites quarrelled with Gideon because their assistance had not been invoked earlier, and their anger was only appeased by his tactful reply (viii. 1-3; contrast xii. 1-6). The other narrative speaks of the pursuit of the Midianite chiefs Zebah and Zalmunna3across the northern end of Jordan, past Succoth and Penuel to the unidentified place Ḳarḳor. Having taken relentless vengeance on the men of Penuel and Succoth, who had shown a timid neutrality when the patriotic struggle was at its crisis, Gideon puts the two chiefs to death to avenge his brothers whom they had killed at Tabor.4The overthrow of Midian (cf. Is. ix. 4, x. 26; Ps. lxxxiii. 9-12) induced “Israel” to offer Gideon the kingdom. It was refused—out of religious scruples (viii. 22 seq.; cf. 1 Sam. viii. 7, x. 19, xii. 12, 17, 19), and the ephod idol which he set up at Ophrah in commemoration of the victory was regarded by a later editor (v.27) as a cause of apostasy to the people and a snare to Gideon and his house; see, however, Ephod. Gideon’s achievements would naturally give him a more than merely local authority, and after his death the attempt was made by one of his sons to set himself up as chief (seeAbimelech).
See furtherJews, section 1; and the literature to the book of Judges.
See furtherJews, section 1; and the literature to the book of Judges.
(S. A. C.)
1“Baal contends” (or Jeru-baal, “Baal founds,” cf. Jeru-el), but artificially explained in the narrative to mean “let Baal contend against him,” or “let Baal contend for himself,” v. 31. In 2 Sam. xi. 21 he is called Jerubbesheth, in accordance with the custom explained in the articleBaal.2See, on this, Cheyne,Ency. Bib.col. 1719 seq.; Ed. Meyer,Die Israeliten, pp. 482 seq.3The names are vocalized to suggest the fanciful interpretations “victim” and “protection withheld.”4As the account of this has been lost and the narrative is concerned not with the plain of Jezreel but rather with Shechem, it has been inferred that the episode implies the existence of a distinct story wherein Gideon’s pursuit is such an act of vengeance.
1“Baal contends” (or Jeru-baal, “Baal founds,” cf. Jeru-el), but artificially explained in the narrative to mean “let Baal contend against him,” or “let Baal contend for himself,” v. 31. In 2 Sam. xi. 21 he is called Jerubbesheth, in accordance with the custom explained in the articleBaal.
2See, on this, Cheyne,Ency. Bib.col. 1719 seq.; Ed. Meyer,Die Israeliten, pp. 482 seq.
3The names are vocalized to suggest the fanciful interpretations “victim” and “protection withheld.”
4As the account of this has been lost and the narrative is concerned not with the plain of Jezreel but rather with Shechem, it has been inferred that the episode implies the existence of a distinct story wherein Gideon’s pursuit is such an act of vengeance.
GIEBEL, CHRISTOPH GOTTFRIED ANDREAS(1820-1881), German zoologist and palaeontologist, was born on the 13th of September 1820 at Quedlinburg in Saxony, and educated at the university of Halle, where he graduated Ph.D. in 1845. In 1858 he became professor of zoology and director of the museum in the university of Halle. He died at Halle on the 14th of November 1881. His chief publications werePaläozoologie(1846);Fauna der Vorwelt(1847-1856);Deutschlands Petrefacten(1852);Odontographie(1855);Lehrbuch der Zoologie(1857);Thesaurus ornithologiae(1872-1877);
GIEN,a town of central France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Loiret, situated on the right bank of the Loire, 39 m. E.S.E. of Orleans by rail. Pop. (1906) 6325. Gien is a picturesque and interesting town and has many curious old houses. The Loire is here crossed by a stone bridge of twelve arches, built by Anne de Beaujeu, daughter of Louis XI., about the end of the 15th century. Near it stands a statue of Vercingetorix. The principal building is the old castle used as a law-court, constructed of brick and stone arranged in geometrical patterns, and built in 1494 by Anne de Beaujeu. The church of St Pierre possesses a square tower dating from the end of the 15th century. Porcelain is manufactured.
GIERS, NICHOLAS KARLOVICH DE(1820-1895), Russian statesman, was born on the 21st of May 1820. Like his predecessor, Prince Gorchakov, he was educated at the lyceum of Tsarskoye Selo, near St Petersburg, but his career was much less rapid, because he had no influential protectors, and was handicapped by being a Protestant of Teutonic origin. At the age of eighteen he entered the service of the Eastern department of the ministry of foreign affairs, and spent more than twenty years in subordinate posts, chiefly in south-eastern Europe, until he was promoted in 1863 to the post of minister plenipotentiary in Persia. Here he remained for six years, and, after serving as a minister in Switzerland and Sweden, he was appointed in 1875 director of the Eastern department and assistant minister for foreign affairs under Prince Gorchakov, whose niece he had married. No sooner had he entered on his new duties than his great capacity for arduous work was put to a severe test. Besides events in central Asia, to which he had to devote much attention, the Herzegovinian insurrection had broken out, and he could perceive from secret official papers that the incident had far-reaching ramifications unknown to the general public. Soon this became apparent to all the world. While the Austrian officials in Dalmatia, with hardly a pretence of concealment, were assisting the insurgents, Russian volunteers were flocking to Servia with the connivance of the Russian and Austrian governments, and General Ignatiev, as ambassador inConstantinople, was urging his government to take advantage of the palpable weakness of Turkey for bringing about a radical solution of the Eastern question. Prince Gorchakov did not want a radical solution involving a great European war, but he was too fond of ephemeral popularity to stem the current of popular excitement. Alexander II., personally averse from war, was not insensible to the patriotic enthusiasm, and halted between two opinions. M. de Giers was one of the few who gauged the situation accurately. As an official and a man of non-Russian extraction he had to be extremely reticent, but to his intimate friends he condemned severely the ignorance and light-hearted recklessness of those around him. The event justified his sombre previsions, but did not cure the recklessness of the so-called patriots. They wished to defy Europe in order to maintain intact the treaty of San Stefano, and again M. de Giers found himself in an unpopular minority. He had to remain in the background, but all the influence he possessed was thrown into the scale of peace. His views, energetically supported by Count Shuvalov, finally prevailed, and the European congress assembled at Berlin. He was not present at the congress, and consequently escaped the popular odium for the concessions which Russia had to make to Great Britain and Austria. From that time he was practically minister of foreign affairs, for Prince Gorchakov was no longer capable of continued intellectual exertion, and lived mostly abroad. On the death of Alexander II. in 1881 it was generally expected that M. de Giers would be dismissed as deficient in Russian nationalist feeling, for Alexander III. was credited with strong anti-German Slavophil tendencies. In reality the young tsar had no intention of embarking on wild political adventures, and was fully determined not to let his hand be forced by men less cautious than himself. What he wanted was a minister of foreign affairs who would be at once vigilant and prudent, active and obedient, and who would relieve him from the trouble and worry of routine work while allowing him to control the main lines, and occasionally the details, of the national policy. M. de Giers was exactly what he wanted, and accordingly the tsar not only appointed him minister of foreign affairs on the retirement of Prince Gorchakov in 1882, but retained him to the end of his reign in 1894. In accordance with the desire of his august master, M. de Giers followed systematically a pacific policy. Accepting as afait accomplithe existence of the triple alliance, created by Bismarck for the purpose of resisting any aggressive action on the part of Russia and France, he sought to establish more friendly relations with the cabinets of Berlin, Vienna and Rome. To the advances of the French government he at first turned a deaf ear, but when therapprochementbetween the two countries was effected with little or no co-operation on his part, he utilized it for restraining France and promoting Russian interests. He died on the 26th of January 1895, soon after the accession of Nicholas II.
(D. M. W.)
GIESEBRECHT, WILHELM VON(1814-1889), German historian, was a son of Karl Giesebrecht (d. 1832), and a nephew of the poet Ludwig Giesebrecht (1792-1873). Born in Berlin on the 5th of March 1814, he studied under Leopold von Ranke, and his first important work,Geschichte Ottos II., was contributed to Ranke’sJahrbücher des deutschen Reichs unter dem sächsischen Hause(Berlin, 1837-1840); In 1841 he published hisJahrbücher des Klosters Altaich, a reconstruction of the lostAnnales Altahenses, a medieval source of which fragments only were known to be extant, and these were obscured in other chronicles. The brilliance of this performance was shown in 1867, when a copy of the original chronicle was found, and it was seen that Giesebrecht’s text was substantially correct. In the meantime he had been appointedOberlehrerin the Joachimsthaler Gymnasium in Berlin; had paid a visit to Italy, and as a result of his researches there had publishedDe litterarum studiis apud Italos primis medii aevi seculis(Berlin, 1845), a study upon the survival of culture in Italian cities during the middle ages, and also several critical essays upon the sources for the early history of the popes. In 1851 appeared his translation of theHistoriaeof Gregory of Tours, which is the standard German translation. Four years later appeared the first volume of his great work,Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit, the fifth volume of which was published in 1888. This work was the first in which the results of the scientific methods of research were thrown open to the world at large. Largeness of style and brilliance of portrayal were joined to an absolute mastery of the sources in a way hitherto unachieved by any German historian. Yet later German historians have severely criticized his glorification of the imperial era with its Italian entanglements, in which the interests of Germany were sacrificed for idle glory. Giesebrecht’s history, however, appeared when the new German empire was in the making, and became popular owing both to its patriotic tone and its intrinsic merits. In 1857 he went to Königsberg as professor ordinarius, and in 1862 succeeded H. von Sybel as professor of history in the university of Munich. The Bavarian government honoured him in various ways, and he died at Munich on the 17th of December 1889. In addition to the works already mentioned, Giesebrecht published a good monograph on Arnold of Brescia (Munich, 1873), a collection of essays under the titleDeutsche Reden(Munich, 1871), and was an active member of the group of scholars who took over the direction of theMonumenta Germaniae historicain 1875. In 1895 B. von Simson added a sixth volume to theGeschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit, thus bringing the work down to the death of the emperor Frederick I. in 1190.
See S. Riezler,Gedächtnisrede auf Wilhelm von Giesebrecht(Munich, 1891); and Lord Acton in theEnglish Historical Review, vol. v. (London, 1890).
See S. Riezler,Gedächtnisrede auf Wilhelm von Giesebrecht(Munich, 1891); and Lord Acton in theEnglish Historical Review, vol. v. (London, 1890).
GIESELER, JOHANN KARL LUDWIG(1792-1854), German writer on church history, was born on the 3rd of March 1792 at Petershagen, near Minden, where his father, Georg Christof Friedrich, was preacher. In his tenth year he entered the orphanage at Halle, whence he duly passed to the university, his studies being interrupted, however, from October 1813 till the peace of 1815 by a period of military service, during which he was enrolled as a volunteer in a regiment of chasseurs. On the conclusion of peace (1815) he returned to Halle, and, having in 1817 taken his degree in philosophy, he in the same year became assistant head master (Conrector) in the Minden gymnasium, and in 1818 was appointed director of the gymnasium at Cleves. Here he published his earliest work (Historisch-kritischer Versuch über die Entstehung u. die frühesten Schicksale der schriftlichen Evangelien), a treatise which had considerable influence on subsequent investigations as to the origin of the gospels. In 1819 Gieseler was appointed a professor ordinarius in theology in the newly founded university of Bonn, where, besides lecturing on church history, he made important contributions to the literature of that subject in Ernst Rosenmüller’sRepertorium, K. F. Stäudlin and H. G. Tschirner’sArchiv, and in various university “programs.” The first part of the first volume of his well-knownChurch Historyappeared in 1824. In 1831 he accepted a call to Göttingen as successor to J. G. Planck. He lectured on church history, the history of dogma, and dogmatic theology. In 1837 he was appointed aConsistorialrath, and shortly afterwards was created a knight of the Guelphic order. He died on the 8th of July 1854. The fourth and fifth volumes of theKirchengeschichte, embracing the period subsequent to 1814, were published posthumously in 1855 by E. R. Redepenning (1810-1883); and they were followed in 1856 by aDogmengeschichte, which is sometimes reckoned as the sixth volume of theChurch History. Among church historians Gieseler continues to hold a high place. Less vivid and picturesque in style than Karl Hase, conspicuously deficient in Neander’s deep and sympathetic insight into the more spiritual forces by which church life is pervaded, he excels these and all other contemporaries in the fulness and accuracy of his information. HisLehrbuch der Kirchengeschichte, with its copious references to original authorities, is of great value to the student: “Gieseler wished that each age should speak for itself, since only by this means can the peculiarity of its ideas be fully appreciated” (Otto Pfleiderer,Development of Theology, p. 284). The work, which has passed through several editions in Germany, has partially appeared also in two English translations. Thatpublished in New York (Text Book of Ecclesiastical History, 5 vols.) brings the work down to the peace of Westphalia, while that published in “Clark’s Theological Library” (Compendium of Ecclesiastical History, Edinburgh, 5 vols.) closes with the beginning of the Reformation. Gieseler was not only a devoted student but also an energetic man of business. He frequently held the office of pro-rector of the university, and did much useful work as a member of several of its committees.
GIESSEN,a town of Germany, capital of the province of Upper Hesse, in the grand-duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, is situated in a beautiful and fruitful valley at the confluence of the Wieseck with the Lahn, 41 m. N.N.W. of Frankfort-on-Main on the railway to Cassel; and at the junction of important lines to Cologne and Coblenz. Pop. (1885) 18,836; (1905) 29,149. In the old part of the town the streets are narrow and irregular. Besides the university, the principal buildings are the Stadtkirche, the provincial government offices, comprising a portion of the old castle dating from the 12th century, the arsenal (now barracks) and the town-hall (containing an historical collection). The university, founded in 1607 by Louis V, landgrave of Hesse, has a large and valuable library, a botanic garden, an observatory, medical schools, a museum of natural history, a chemical laboratory which was directed by Justus von Liebig, professor here from 1824 to 1852, and an agricultural college. The industries include the manufacture of woollen and cotton cloth of various kinds, machines, leather, candles, tobacco and beer.
Giessen, the name of which is probably derived from the streams which pour (giessen) their waters here into the Lahn, was formed in the 12th century out of the villages Selters, Aster and Kroppach, for whose protection Count William of Gleiberg built the castle of Giessen. Through marriage the town came, in 1203, into the possession of the count palatine, Rudolph of Tübingen, who sold it in 1265 to the landgrave Henry of Hesse. It was surrounded with fortifications in 1530, which were demolished in 1547, but rebuilt in 1560. In 1805 they were finally pulled down, and their site converted into promenades.
See O. Buchner,Führer für Giessen und das Lahntal(1891); andAus Glessens Vergangenheit(1885).
See O. Buchner,Führer für Giessen und das Lahntal(1891); andAus Glessens Vergangenheit(1885).
GIFFARD, GODFREY(c.1235-1302); chancellor of England and bishop of Worcester, was a son of Hugh Giffard of Boyton, Wiltshire. Having entered the church he speedily obtained valuable preferments owing to the influence of his brother Walter, who became chancellor of England in 1265. In 1266 Godfrey became chancellor of the exchequer, succeeding Walter as chancellor of England when, in the same year, the latter was made archbishop of York. In 1268 he was chosen bishop of Worcester, resigning the chancellorship shortly afterwards; and both before and after 1279, when he inherited the valuable property of his brother the archbishop, he was employed on public business by Edward I. His main energies, however, were devoted to the affairs of his see. He had one long dispute with the monks of Worcester, another with the abbot of Westminster, and was vigilant in guarding his material interests. The bishop died on the 26th of January 1302, and was buried in his cathedral. Giffard, although inclined to nepotism, was a benefactor to his cathedral, and completed and fortified the episcopal castle at Hartlebury.
See W. Thomas,Survey of Worcester Cathedral;Episcopal Registers;Register of Bishop Godfrey Giffard, edited by J. W. Willis-Bund (Oxford, 1898-1899); and the Annals of Worcester in theAnnales monastici, vol. iv., edited by H. R. Luard (London, 1869).
See W. Thomas,Survey of Worcester Cathedral;Episcopal Registers;Register of Bishop Godfrey Giffard, edited by J. W. Willis-Bund (Oxford, 1898-1899); and the Annals of Worcester in theAnnales monastici, vol. iv., edited by H. R. Luard (London, 1869).
GIFFARD, WALTER(d. 1279), chancellor of England and archbishop of York, was a son of Hugh Giffard of Boyton, Wiltshire, and after serving as canon and archdeacon of Wells, was chosen bishop of Bath and Wells in May 1264. In August 1265 Henry III. appointed him chancellor of England, and he was one of the arbitrators who drew up thedictum de Kenilworthin 1266. Later in this year Pope Clement IV. named him archbishop of York, and having resigned the chancellorship he was an able and diligent ruler of his see, although in spite of his great wealth he was frequently in pecuniary difficulties. When Henry III. died in November 1272 the archbishopric of Canterbury was vacant, and consequently the great seal was delivered to the archbishop of York, who was the chief of the three regents who successfully governed the kingdom until the return of Edward I. in August 1274. Having again acted in this capacity during the king’s absence in 1275, Giffard died in April 1279, and was buried in his cathedral.
SeeFasti Eboracenses, edited by J. Raine (London, 1863). Giffard’sRegisterfrom 1266 to 1279 has been edited for the Surtees Society by W. Brown.
SeeFasti Eboracenses, edited by J. Raine (London, 1863). Giffard’sRegisterfrom 1266 to 1279 has been edited for the Surtees Society by W. Brown.
GIFFARD, WILLIAM(d. 1129), bishop of Winchester, was chancellor of William II. and received his see, in succession to Bishop Walkelin, from Henry I. (1100). He was one of the bishops elect whom Anselm refused to consecrate (1101) as having been nominated and invested by the lay power. During the investitures dispute Giffard was on friendly terms with Anselm, and drew upon himself a sentence of banishment through declining to accept consecration from the archbishop of York (1103). He was, however, one of the bishops who pressed Anselm, in 1106, to give way to the king. He was consecrated after the settlement of 1107. He became a close friend of Anselm, aided the first Cistercians to settle in England, and restored Winchester cathedral with great magnificence.
See Eadmer,Historia novorum, edited by M. Rule (London, 1884); and S. H. Cass,Bishops of Winchester(London, 1827).
See Eadmer,Historia novorum, edited by M. Rule (London, 1884); and S. H. Cass,Bishops of Winchester(London, 1827).
GIFFEN, SIR ROBERT(1837-1910), British statistician and economist, was born at Strathaven, Lanarkshire. He entered a solicitor’s office in Glasgow, and while in that city attended courses at the university. He drifted into journalism, and after working for theStirling Journalhe went to London in 1862 and joined the staff of theGlobe. He also assisted Mr John (afterwards Lord) Morley, when the latter edited theFortnightly Review. In 1868 he became Walter Bagehot’s assistant-editor on theEconomist; and his services were also secured in 1873 as city-editor of theDaily News, and later ofThe Times. His high reputation as a financial journalist and statistician, gained in these years, led to his appointment in 1876 as head of the statistical department in the Board of Trade, and subsequently he became assistant secretary (1882) and finally controller-general (1892), retiring in 1897. In connexion with his position as chief statistical adviser to the government, he was constantly employed in drawing up reports, giving evidence before commissions of inquiry, and acting as a government auditor, besides publishing a number of important essays on financial subjects. His principal publications wereEssays on Finance(1879 and 1884),The Progress of the Working Classes(1884),The Growth of Capital(1890),The Case against Bimetallism(1892), andEconomic Inquiries and Studies(1904). He was president of the Statistical Society (1882-1884); and after being made a C.B. in 1891 was created K.C.B. in 1895. In 1892 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. Sir Robert Giffen continued in later years to take a leading part in all public controversies connected with finance and taxation, and his high authority and practical experience were universally recognized. He died somewhat suddenly in Scotland on the 12th of April 1910.
GIFFORD, ROBERT SWAIN(1840-1905), American marine and landscape painter, was born on Naushon Island, Massachusetts, on the 23rd of December 1840. He studied art with the Dutch marine painter Albert van Beest, who had a studio in New Bedford, and in 1864 he opened a studio for himself in Boston, subsequently settling in New York, where he was elected an associate of the National Academy of Design in 1867 and an academician in 1878. He was also a charter member of the American Water Color Society and the Society of American Artists. From 1878 until 1896 he was teacher of painting and chief master of the Woman’s Art School of Cooper Union, New York, and from 1896 until his death he was director. Gifford painted longshore views, sand dunes and landscapes generally, with charm and poetry. He was an etcher of considerable reputation, a member of the Society of American Etchers, and an honorary member of the Society of Painter-Etchers of London. He died in New York on the 13th of January 1905.
GIFFORD, SANDFORD ROBINSON(1823-1880), American landscape painter, was born at Greenfield, New York, on the 10th of July 1823. He studied (1842-1845) at Brown University, then went to New York, and entered the art schools of the National Academy of Design, of which organization he was elected an associate in 1851, and an academician in 1854. Subsequently he studied in Paris and Rome. He was one of the best known of the Hudson River school group, though it was at Lake George that he found most of his themes. In his day he enjoyed an enormous popularity, and his canvases are in many well-known American collections. He died in New York City on the 29th of August 1880.
GIFFORD, WILLIAM(1756-1826), English publicist and man of letters, was born at Ashburton, Devon, in April 1756. His father was a glazier of indifferent character, and before he was thirteen William had lost both parents. The business was seized by his godfather, on whom William and his brother, a child of two, became entirely dependent. For about three months William was allowed to remain at the free school of the town. He was then put to follow the plough, but after a day’s trial he proved unequal to the task, and was sent to sea with the Brixham fishermen. After a year at sea his godfather, driven by the opinion of the townsfolk, put the boy to school once more. He made rapid progress, especially in mathematics, and began to assist the master. In 1772 he was apprenticed to a shoemaker, and when he wished to pursue his mathematical studies, he was obliged to work his problems with an awl on beaten leather. By the kindness of an Ashburton surgeon, William Cooksley, a subscription was raised to enable him to return to school. Ultimately he proceeded in his twenty-third year to Oxford, where he was appointed a Bible clerk in Exeter College. Leaving the university shortly after graduation in 1782, he found a generous patron in the first Earl Grosvenor, who undertook to provide for him, and sent him on two prolonged continental tours in the capacity of tutor to his son, Lord Belgrave. Settling in London, Gifford published in 1794 his first work, a clever satirical piece, after Persius, entitled theBaviad, aimed at a coterie of second-rate writers at Florence, then popularly known as the Della Cruscans, of which Mrs Piozzi was the leader. A second satire of a similar description, theMaeviad, directed against the corruptions of the drama, appeared in 1795. About this time Gifford became acquainted with Canning, with whose help he in August 1797 originated a weekly newspaper of Conservative politics entitled theAnti-Jacobin, which, however, in the following year ceased to be published. An English version of Juvenal, on which he had been for many years engaged, appeared in 1802; to this an autobiographical notice of the translator, reproduced in Nichol’sIllustrations of Literature, was prefixed. Two years afterwards Gifford published an annotated edition of the plays of Massinger; and in 1809, when theQuarterly Reviewwas projected, he was made editor. The success which attended theQuarterlyfrom the outset was due in no small degree to the ability and tact with which Gifford discharged his editorial duties. He took, however, considerable liberties with the articles he inserted, and Southey, who was one of his regular contributors, said that Gifford looked on authors as Izaak Walton did on worms. His bitter opposition to Radicals and his onslaughts on new writers, conspicuous among which was the article on Keats’sEndymion, called forth Hazlitt’sLetter to W. Giffordin 1819. His connexion with theReviewcontinued until within about two years of his death, which took place in London on the 31st of December 1826. Besides numerous contributions to theQuarterlyduring the last fifteen years of his life, he wrote a metrical translation of Persius, which appeared in 1821. Gifford also edited the dramas of Ben Jonson in 1816, and his edition of Ford appeared posthumously in 1827. His notes on Shirley were incorporated in Dyce’s edition in 1833. His political services were acknowledged by the appointments of commissioner of the lottery and paymaster of the gentleman pensioners. He left a considerable fortune, the bulk of which went to the son of his first benefactor, William Cooksley.
GIFT(a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger.die Gift, gift,das Gift, poison, formed from the Teut. stemgab-, to give, cf. Dutchgeven, Ger.geben; in O. Eng. the word appears with initial y, the guttural of later English is due to Scandinavian influence), a general English term for a present or thing bestowed,i.e.an alienation of property otherwise than for a legal consideration, although in law it is often used to signify alienation with or without consideration. By analogy the terms “gift” and “gifted” are also used to signify the natural endowment of some special ability, or a miraculous power, in a person, as being not acquired in the ordinary way. The legal effect of a gratuitous gift only need be considered here. Formerly in English law property in land could be conveyed by one person to another by a verbal gift of the estate accompanied by delivery of possession. The Statute of Frauds required all such conveyances to be in writing, and a later statute (8 & 9 Vict. c. 106) requires them to be by deed. Personal property may be effectually transferred from one person to another by a simple verbal gift accompanied by delivery. If A delivers a chattel to B, saying or signifying that he does so by way of gift, the property passes, and the chattel belongs to B. But unless the actual thing is bodily handed over to the donee, the mere verbal expression of the donor’s desire or intention has no legal effect whatever. The persons are in the position of parties to an agreement which is void as being without consideration. When the nature of the thing is such that it cannot be bodily handed over, it will be sufficient to put the donee in such a position as to enable him to deal with it as the owner. For example, when goods are in a warehouse, the delivery of the key will make a verbal gift of them effectual; but it seems that part delivery of goods which are capable of actual delivery will not validate a verbal gift of the part undelivered. So when goods are in the possession of a warehouseman, the handing over of a delivery order might, by special custom (but not otherwise, it appears), be sufficient to pass the property in the goods, although delivery of a bill of lading for goods at sea is equivalent to an actual delivery of the goods themselves.
GIFU(Imaīzumi), a city of Japan, capital of theken(government) of Central Nippon, which comprises the two provinces of Mino and Hida. Pop. about 41,000. It lies E. by N. of Lake Biwa, on the Central railway, on a tributary of the river Kiso, which flows to the Bay of Miya Uro. Manufactures of silk and paper goods are carried on. Thekenhas an area of about 4000 sq. m. and is thickly peopled, the population exceeding 1,000,000. The whole district is subject to frequent earthquakes.
GIG,apparently an onomatopoeic word for any light whirling object, and so used of a top, as in Shakespeare’sLove’s Labour’s Lost, v. i. 70 (“Goe whip thy gigge”), or of a revolving lure made of feathers for snaring birds. The word is now chiefly used of a light two-wheeled cart or carriage for one horse, and of a narrow, light, ship’s boat for oars or sails, and also of a clinker-built rowing-boat used for rowing on the Thames. “Gig” is further applied, in mining, to a wooden chamber or box divided in the centre and used to draw miners up and down a pit or shaft, and to a textile machine, the “gig-mill” or “gigging machine,” which raises the nap on cloth by means of teazels. A “gig” or “fish-gig” (properly “fiz-gig,” possibly an adaptation of Span.fisga, harpoon) is an instrument used for spearing fish.
GIGLIO(anc.Igilium), an island of Italy, off the S.W. coast of Italy, in the province of Grosseto, 11 m. to the W. of Monte Argentario, the nearest point on the coast. It measures about 5 m. by 3 and its highest point is 1634 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1901) 2062. It is partly composed of granite, which was quarried here by the Romans, and is still used; the island is fertile, and produces wine and fruit, the cultivation of which has taken the place of the forests of which Rutilius spoke (Itin.i. 325, “eminus Igilii silvosa cacumina miror”). Julius Caesar mentions its sailors in the fleet of Domitius Ahenobarbus. In Rutilius’s time it served as a place of refuge from the barbarian invaders. Charlemagne gave it to the abbey of Tre Fontane at Rome. In the 14th century it belonged to Pisa, then to Florence,then, after being seized by the Spanish fleet, it was ceded to Antonio Piccolomini, nephew of Pius II. In 1558 it was sold to the wife of Cosimo I. of Florence.
See Archduke Ludwig Salvator,Die Insel Giglio(Prague, 1900).
See Archduke Ludwig Salvator,Die Insel Giglio(Prague, 1900).
GIJÓN,a seaport of northern Spain, in the province of Oviedo; on the Bay of Biscay, and at the terminus of railways from Avilés, Oviedo and Langreo. Pop. (1900) 47,544. The older parts of Gijón, which are partly enclosed by ancient walls, occupy the upper slopes of a peninsular headland, Santa Catalina Point; while its more modern suburbs extend along the shore to Cape Torres, on the west, and Cape San Lorenzo, on the east. These suburbs contain the town-hall, theatre, markets, and a bull-ring with seats for 12,000 spectators. Few of the buildings of Gijón are noteworthy for any architectural merit, except perhaps the 15th-century parish church of San Pedro, which has a triple raw of aisles on each side, the palace of the marquesses of Revillajigedo (or Revilla Gigedo), and the Asturian Institute or Jovellanos Institute. The last named has a very fine collection of drawings by Spanish and other artists, a good library and classes for instruction in seamanship, mathematics and languages. It was founded in 1797 by the poet and statesman Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (1744-1811). Jovellanos, a native of Gijón, is buried in San Pedro.
The Bay of Gijón is the most important roadstead on the Spanish coast between Ferrol and Santander. Its first quay was constructed by means of a grant from Charles V. in 1552-1554; and its arsenal, added in the reign of Philip II. (1556-1598), was used in 1588 as a repairing station for the surviving ships of the Invincible Armada. A new quay was built in 1766-1768, and extended in 1859; the harbour was further improved in 1864, and after 1892, when the Musel harbour of refuge was created at the extremity of the bay. It was, however, the establishment of railway communication in 1884 which brought the town its modern prosperity, by rendering it the chief port of shipment for the products of Langreo and other mining centres in Oviedo. A rapid commercial development followed. Besides large tobacco, glass and porcelain factories, Gijón possesses iron foundries and petroleum refineries; while its minor industries include fisheries, and the manufacture of preserved foods, soap, chocolate, candles and liqueurs. In 1903 the harbour accommodated 2189 vessels of 358,375 tons. In the same year the imports, consisting chiefly of machinery, iron, wood and food-stuffs, were valued at £660,889; while the exports, comprising zinc, copper, iron and other minerals, with fish, nuts and farm produce, were valued at £100,941.
Gijón is usually identified with theGigiaof the Romans, which, however, occupied the site of the adjoining suburb of Cima de Villa. Early in the 8th century Gijón was captured and strengthened by the Moors, who used the stones of the Roman city for their fortifications, but were expelled by King Pelayo (720-737). In 844 Gijón successfully resisted a Norman raid; in 1395 it was burned down; but thenceforward it gradually rose to commercial importance.
GĪLĀN(Ghilan,Guilan), one of the three small but important Caspian provinces of Persia, lying along the south-western shore of the Caspian Sea between 48° 50′ and 50° 30′ E. with a breadth varying from 15 to 50 m. It has an area of about 5000 sq. m. and a population of about 250,000. It is separated from Russia by the little river Astara, which flows into the Caspian, and bounded W. by Azerbāïjān, S. by Kazvin and E. by Mazandaran. The greater portion of the province is a lowland region extending inland from the sea to the base of the mountains of the Elburz range and, though the Sefīd Rūd (White river), which is called Kizil Uzain in its upper course and has its principal sources in the hills of Persian Kurdistan, is the only river of any size, the province is abundantly watered by many streams and an exceptionally great rainfall (in some years 50 in.).
The vegetation is very much like that of southern Europe, but in consequence of the great humidity and the mild climate almost tropically luxuriant, and the forests from the shore of the sea up to an altitude of nearly 5000 ft. on the mountain slopes facing the sea are as dense as an Indian jungle. The prevailing types of trees are the oak, maple, hornbeam, beech, ash and elm. The box tree comes to rare perfection, but in consequence of indiscriminate cutting for export during many years, is now becoming scarce. Of fruit trees the apple, pear, plum, cherry, medlar, pomegranate, fig, quince, as well as two kinds of vine, grow wild; oranges, sweet and bitter, and other Aurantiaceae thrive well in gardens and plantations. The fauna also is well represented, but tigers which once were frequently seen are now very scarce; panther, hyena, jackal, wild boar, deer (Cervus maral) are common; pheasant, woodcock, ducks, teal, geese and various waterfowl abound; the fisheries are very productive and are leased to a Russian firm. The ordinary cattle of the province is the small humped kind,Bos indicus, and forms an article of export to Russia, the humps, smoked, being much in demand as a delicacy. Rice of a kind not much appreciated in Persia, but much esteemed in Gīlān and Russia, is largely cultivated and a quantity valued at about £120,000 was exported to Russia during 1904-1905. Tea plantations, with seeds and plants from Assam, Ceylon and the Himalayas, were started in the early part of 1900 on the slopes of the hills south of Resht at an altitude of about 1000 ft. The results were excellent and very good tea was produced in 1904 and 1905, but the Persian government gave no support and the enterprise was neglected. The olive thrives well at Rúdbár and Manjíl in the Sefíd Rúd valley and the oil extracted from it by a Provençal for some years until 1896, when he was murdered, was of very good quality and found a ready market at Baku. Since then the oil has been, as before, only used for the manufacture of soap. Tobacco from Turkish seed, cultivated since 1875, grows well, and a considerable quantity of it is exported. The most valuable produce of the province is silk. In 1866 it was valued at £743,000 and about two-thirds of it was exported. The silkworm disease appeared in 1864 and the crops decreased in consequence until 1893 when the value of the silk exported was no more than £6500. Since then there has been a steady improvement, and in 1905-1906 the value of the produce was estimated at £300,000 and that of the quantity exported at £200,000. The eggs of the silk-worms, formerly obtained from Japan, are now imported principally from Brusa by Greeks under French protection and from France.
There is only one good road in the province, that from Enzeli to Kazvin by way of Resht; in other parts communication is by narrow and frequently impassable lanes through the thick forest, or by intricate pathways through the dense undergrowth.
The province is divided into the following administrative districts: Resht (with the capital and its immediate neighbourhood), Fumen (with Tulam and Mesula, where are iron mines), Gesker, Talish (with Shandarman, Kerganrud, Asalim, Gil-Dulab, Talish-Dulab), Enzeli (the port of Resht), Sheft, Manjíl (with Rahmetabad and Amarlu), Lahijan (with Langarud, Rúdsar and Ranehkuh), Dilman and Lashtnisha. The revenue derived from taxes and customs is about £80,000. The crown lands have been much neglected and the revenue from them amounts to hardly £3000 per annum. The value of the exports and imports from and into Gīlān, much of them in transit, is close upon £2,000,000.
Gīlān was an independent khanate until 1567 when Khan Ahmed, the last of the Kargia dynasty, which had reigned 205 years, was deposed by Tahmasp I., the second Safawid shah of Persia (1524-1576). It was occupied by a Russian force in the early part of 1723; and Tahmasp III., the tenth Safawid shah (1722-1731); then without a throne and his country occupied by the Afghans, ceded it, together with Mazandaran and Astarabad, to Peter the Great by a treaty of the 12th of September of the same year. Russian troops remained in Gīlān until 1734, when they were compelled to evacuate it.
The derivation of the name Gīlān from the modern Persian wordgilmeaning mud (hence “land of mud”) is incorrect. It probably means “land of the Gīl,” an ancient tribe which classical writers mention as the Gelae.