Chapter 22

See John, marquess of Bute, and E. A. Wallis Budge,The Blessing of the Waters(London, 1901); E. B. Tylor,Primitive Culture(London, 1903).

(F. C. C.)

HOLY WEEK(ἑβδομὰς μεγάλη, ἁγίαorτῶν ἁγίων, ξηροφαγίας, ἄπρακτος, alsoἡμέραι παθημάτων, ἡμέραι σταυρώσιμαι:hebdomas[orseptimana]major,sancta,authentica[i.e.canonizata, du Cange],ultima,poenosa,luctuosa,nigra,inofficiosa,muta,crucis,lamentationum,indulgentiae), in the Christian ecclesiastical year the week immediately preceding Easter. The earliest allusion to the custom of marking this week as a whole with special observances is to be found in theApostolical Constitutions(v. 18, 19), dating from the latter half of the 3rd centuryA.D.Abstinence from wine and flesh is there commanded for all the days, while for the Friday and Saturday an absolute fast is enjoined. Dionysius Alexandrinus also, in his canonical epistle (260A.D.), refers to the six fasting days (ἕξ τῶν νηστειῶν ἡμέραι) in a manner which implies that the observance of them had already become an established usage in his time. There is some doubt about the genuineness of an ordinance attributed to Constantine, in which abstinence from public business was enforced for the seven days immediately preceding Easter Sunday, and also for the seven which followed it; theCodex Theodosianus, however, is explicit in ordering that all actions at law should cease, and the doors of all courts of law be closed during those fifteen days (l. ii. tit. viii.). Of the particular days of the “great week” the earliest to emerge into special prominence was naturally Good Friday. Next came the Sabbatum Magnum (Holy Saturday or Easter Eve) with its vigil, whichin the early church was associated with an expectation that the second advent would occur on an Easter Sunday.

For details of the ceremonial observed in the Roman Catholic Church during this week, reference must be made to theMissalandBreviary. In the Eastern Church the week is marked by similar practices, but with less elaboration and differentiation of rite. See alsoEaster,Good Friday,Maundy Thursday,Palm SundayandPassion Week.

HOLYWELL(Tre’ffynnon, well-town), a market town and contributory parliamentary borough of Flintshire, N. Wales, situated on a height near the left bank of the Dee estuary, 196 m. from London by the London & North-Western railway (the station being 2 m. distant). Pop. of urban district (1901) 2652. The parish church (1769) has some columns of an earlier building, interesting brasses and strong embattled tower. The remains of Basingwerk Abbey (Maes glas, green field), partly Saxon and partly Early English, are near the station. It is of uncertain origin but was used as a monastery before 1119. In 1131 Ranulph, 2nd earl of Chester, introduced the Cistercians. In 1535, when Its revenues were £150, 7s. 3d., it was dissolved, but revived under Mary I. and used as a Roman Catholic burial place in 1647. Scarcely any traces remain of Basingwerk castle, an old fort. Small up to the beginning of the 19th century, Holywell has increasingly prospered, thanks to lime quarries, lead, copper and zinc mines, smelting works, a shot manufactory, copper, brass, iron and zinc works; brewing, tanning and mineral water, flannel and cement works. St Winifred’s holy well, one of the wonders of Wales, sends up water at the rate of 21 tons a minute, of an almost unvarying temperature, higher than that of ordinary spring water. To its curative powers many crutches andex votoobjects, hung round the well, as in the Lourdes Grot, bear ample witness. The stones at the bottom are slightly reddish, owing to vegetable substances. The well itself is covered by a fine Gothic building, said to have been erected by Margaret, countess of Richmond and mother of Henry VII., with some portions of earlier date. The chapel (restored) is used for public service. Catholics and others visit it in great numbers. There are swimming baths for general use. In 1870 a hospice for poorer pilgrims was erected. Other public buildings are St Winifred’s (Catholic) church and a convent, a town hall and a market-hall. The export trade is expedited by quays on the Dee.

HOLYWOOD,a seaport of county Down, Ireland, on the east shore of Belfast Lough, 4½ m. N.E. from Belfast by the Belfast & County Down railway. Its pleasant situation renders it a favourite residential locality of the wealthier classes in Belfast. There was a religious settlement here from the 7th century, which subsequently became a Franciscan monastery. The old church dating from the late 12th or early 13th century marks its site. A Solemn League and Covenant was signed here in 1644 for the defence of the kingdom, and the document is preserved at Belfast.

HOLZMINDEN,a town of Germany, in the duchy of Brunswick, on the right bank of the Weser, at the foot of the Sollinger Mountains, at the junction of the railways Scherfede-Holzminden and Soest-Börssum, 56 m. S.W. of Brunswick. Pop. (1905) 9938. It has an Evangelical and a Roman Catholic church, a gymnasium, an architectural school and a school of engineering. The prosperity of the town depends chiefly on agriculture and the manufacture of iron and steel wares, and of chemicals, but weaving and the making of pottery are also carried on, and there are baryta mills and polishing-mills for sandstone. By means of the Weser it carries on a lively trade. Holzminden obtained municipal rights from Count Otto of Eberstein in 1245, and in 1410 it came into the possession of Brunswick.

HOLZTROMPETE(Wooden Trumpet), an instrument somewhat resembling the Alpenhorn (q.v.) in tone-quality, designed by Richard Wagner for representing the natural pipe of the peasant inTristan and Isolde. This instrument is not unlike the cor anglais in rough outline, being a conical tube of approximately the same length, terminating in a small globular bell, but having neither holes nor keys; it is blown through a cup-shaped mouthpiece made of horn. The Holztrompete is in the key of C; the scale is produced by overblowing, whereby the upper partials from the 2nd to the 6th are produced. A single piston placed at a third of the distance from the mouthpiece to the bell gives the notes D and F. Wagner inserted a note in the score concerning the cor anglais for which the part was originally scored, and advised the use of oboe or clarinet to reinforce the latter, the effect intended being that of a powerful natural instrument, unless a wooden instrument with a natural scale be specially made for the part, which would be preferable. The Holztrompete was used at Munich for the first performance ofTristan and Isolde, and was still in use there in 1897. At Bayreuth it was also used for the Tristan performances at the festivals of 1886 and 1889, but in 1891 W. Heckel’s clarina, an instrument partaking of the nature of both oboe and clarinet, was substituted for the Holztrompete and has been retained ever since, having been found more effective.1

(K. S.)

1Communicated by Madame Wagner, December 28th, 1897.

HOMAGE(fromhomo, through the Low Lat.hominaticum, which occurs in a document of 1035), one of the ceremonies used in the granting of a fief, and indicating the submission of a vassal to his lord. It could be received only by the suzerain in person. With head uncovered the vassal humbly requested to be allowed to enter into the feudal relation; he then laid aside his sword and spurs, ungirt his belt, and kneeling before his lord, and holding his hands extended and joined between the hands of his lord, uttered words to this effect: “I become your man from this day forth, of life and limb, and will hold faith to you for the lands I claim to hold of you.” The oath of fealty, which could be received by proxy, followed the act of homage; then came the ceremony of investiture, either directly on the ground or by the delivery of a turf, a handful of earth, a stone, or some other symbolical object. Homage was done not only by the vassal to whom feudal lands were first granted but by every one in turn by whom they were inherited, since they were not granted absolutely but only on condition of military and other service. An infant might do homage, but he did not thus enter into full possession of his lands. The ceremony was of a preliminary nature, securing that the fief would not be alienated; but the vassal had to take the oath of fealty, and to be formally invested, when he reached his majority. The obligations involved in the act of homage were more general than those associated with the oath of fealty, but they provided a strong moral sanction for more specific engagements. They essentially resembled the obligations undertaken towards a Teutonic chief by the members of his “comitatus” or “gefolge,” one of the institutions from which feudalism directly sprang. Besideshomagium ligeum, there was a kind of homage which imposed no feudal duty; this washomagium per paragium, such as the dukes of Normandy rendered to the kings of France, and as the dukes of Normandy received from the dukes of Brittany. The act of liege homage to a particular lord did not interfere with the vassal’s allegiance as a subject to his sovereign, or with his duty to any other suzerain of whom he might hold lands.

The word is also used of the body of tenants attending a manorial court, or of the court in a court baron (consisting of the tenants that do homage and make inquiries and presentments, termed ahomage jury).

HOMBERG, WILHELM(1652-1715), Dutch natural philosopher, was the son of an officer of the Dutch East India Company, and was born at Batavia (Java) on the 8th of January 1652. Coming to Europe with his family in 1670, he studied law at Jena and Leipzig, and in 1674 became an advocate at Magdeburg. In that town he made the acquaintance of Otto von Guericke, and under his influence determined to devote himself to natural science. He, therefore, travelled in various parts of Europe for study, and after graduating in medicine at Wittenberg, settled in Paris in 1682. From 1685 to 1690 he practised as a physician at Rome; then returning to Paris in 1691, he was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences and appointed director ofits chemical laboratory. Subsequently he became teacher of physics and chemistry (1702), and private physician (1705) to the duke of Orleans. His death occurred at Paris on the 24th of September 1715. Homberg was not free from alchemistical tendencies, but he made many solid contributions to chemical and physical knowledge, recording observations on the preparation of Kunkel’s phosphorus, on the green colour produced in flames by copper, on the crystallization of common salt, on the salts of plants, on the saturation of bases by acids, on the freezing of water and its evaporationin vacuo, &c. Much of his work was published in theRecueil de l’Académie des Sciencesfrom 1692 to 1714. TheSal Sedativum Hombergiis boracic acid, which he discovered in 1702, and “Homberg’s phosphorus” is prepared by fusing sal-ammoniac with quick lime.

HOMBURG-VOR-DER-HÖHE,a town and watering-place of Germany, in the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau, prettily situated at the south-east foot of the Taunus Mountains, 12 m. N. of Frankfort-on-Main, with which it is connected by rail. Pop. (1905) 13,740. Homburg consists of an old and a new town, the latter, founded by the landgrave of Hesse-Homburg Frederick II. (d. 1708), being regular and well-built. Besides the palatial edifices erected in connexion with the mineral water-cure, there are churches of various denominations, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian-Greek and Anglican, schools and benevolent institutions. On a neighbouring hill stands the palace of the former landgraves, built in 1680 and subsequently enlarged and improved. The White Tower, 183 ft. in height, is said to date from Roman times, and certainly existed under the lords of Eppstein, who held the district in the 12th century. The palace is surrounded by extensive grounds, laid out in the manner of an English park. The eight mineral springs which form the attraction of the town to strangers belong to the class of saline acidulous chalybeates and contain a considerable proportion of carbonate of lime. Their use is beneficial for diseases of the stomach and intestines, and externally, for diseases of the skin and rheumatism. The establishments connected with the springs are arranged on a scale of great magnificence, and include the Kurhaus (built 1841-1843), with a theatre, the Kaiser Wilhelmsbad and the Kurhausbad. They lie grouped round a pretty park which also furnishes the visitors with facilities for various recreations, such as lawn tennis, croquet, polo and other games. The industries of Homburg embrace iron founding and the manufacture of leather and hats, but they are comparatively unimportant, the prosperity of the town being almost entirely due to the annual influx of visitors, which during the season from May to October inclusive averages 12,000. In the beautiful neighbourhood lies the ancient Roman castle of Saalburg, which can be reached by an electric tramway.

Homburg first came into repute as a watering-place in 1834, and owing to its gaming-tables, which were set up soon after, it rapidly became one of the favourite and most fashionable health-resorts of Europe. In 1849 the town was occupied by Austrian troops for the purpose of enforcing the imperial decree against gambling establishments, but immediately on their withdrawal the bank was again opened, and play continued unchecked until 1872, when the Prussian government refused to renew the lease for gambling purposes, which then expired. As the capital of the former landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg, the town shared the vicissitudes of that state.

Homburg is also the name of a town in Bavaria. Pop. (1900) 4785. It has a Roman Catholic and an Evangelical church, and manufactures of iron goods. In the neighbourhood are the ruins of the castles of Karlsberg and of Hohenburg. The family of the counts of Homburg became extinct in the 15th century. The town came into the possession of Zweibrücken in 1755 and later into that of Bavaria.

See Supp,Bad Homburg(7th ed., Homburg, 1903); Baumstark,Bad Homburg und seine Heilquellen(Wiesbaden, 1901); Schiek,Homburg und Umgebung(Homburg, 1896); Will,Der Kurort Homburg, seine Mineralquellen(Homburg, 1880); Hoeben,Bad Homburg und sein Heilapparat(Homburg, 1901); and N. E. Yorke-Davies,Homburg and its Waters(London, 1897).

HOME, EARLS OF.Alexander Home or Hume, 1st earl of Home (c.1566-1619), was the son of Alexander, 5th Lord Home (d. 1575), who fought against Mary, queen of Scots, at Carberry Hill and at Langside, but was afterwards one of her most stalwart supporters, being taken prisoner when defending Edinburgh castle in her interests in 1573 and probably dying in captivity. He belonged to an old and famous border family, an early member of which, Sir Alexander Home, was killed at the battle of Verneuil in 1424. This Sir Alexander was the father of Sir Alexander Home (d. 1456), warden of the marches and the founder of the family fortunes, whose son, another Sir Alexander (d. 1491), was created a lord of parliament as Lord Home in 1473, being one of the band of nobles who defeated the forces of King James III. at the battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. Other distinguished members of the family were: the first lord’s grandson and successor, Alexander, 2nd Lord Home (d. 1506), chamberlain of Scotland; and the latter’s son, Alexander, 3rd Lord Home (d. 1516), a person of great importance during the reign of James IV., whom he served as chamberlain. He fought at Flodden, but before the death of the king he had led his men away to plunder. During the minority of the new king, James V., he was engaged in quarrelling with the regent, John Stewart, duke of Albany, and in intriguing with England. In September 1516 he was seized, was charged with treachery and beheaded, his title and estates being restored to his brother George in 1522. George, who was killed in September 1547 during a skirmish just before the battle of Pinkie, was the father of Alexander, the 5th lord.

Alexander Home became 6th Lord Home on his father’s death in August 1575, and took part in many of the turbulent incidents which marked the reign of James VI. He was warden of the east marches, and was often at variance with the Hepburns, a rival border family whose head was the earl of Bothwell; the feud between the Homes and the Hepburns was an old one, and it was probably the main reason why Home’s father, the 5th lord, sided with the enemies of Mary during the period of her intimacy with Bothwell. Home accompanied James to England in 1603 and was created earl of Home in 1605; he died in April 1619.

His son James, the 2nd earl, died childless in 1633 when his titles passed to a distant kinsman, Sir James Home of Coldingknows (d. 1666), a descendant of the 1st Lord Home. This earl was in the Scottish ranks at the battle of Preston and lost his estates under the Commonwealth, but these were restored to him in 1661. His descendant, William, the 8th earl (d. 1761) fought on the English side at Prestonpans, and from his brother Alexander, the 9th earl (d. 1786), the present earl of Home is descended. In 1875 Cospatrick Alexander, the 11th earl (1799-1881), was created a peer of the United Kingdom as Baron Douglas, and his son Charles Alexander, the 12th earl (b. 1834), took the additional name of Douglas. The principal strongholds of the Homes were Douglas castle in Haddington and Home castle in Berwickshire.

See H. Drummond,Histories of Noble British Families(1846).

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