KILHAM, ALEXANDER(1762-1798), English Methodist, was born at Epworth, Lincolnshire, on the 10th of July 1762. He was admitted by John Wesley in 1785 into the regular itinerant ministry. He became the leader and spokesman of the democratic party in the Connexion which claimed for the laity the free election of class-leaders and stewards, and equal representation with ministers at Conference. They also contended that the ministry should possess no official authority or pastoral prerogative, but should merely carry into effect the decisions of majorities in the different meetings. Kilham further advocated the complete separation of the Methodists from the Anglican Church. In the violent controversy that ensued hewrote many pamphlets, often anonymous, and frequently not in the best of taste. For this he was arraigned before the Conference of 1796 and expelled, and he then founded the Methodist New Connexion (1798, merged since 1906 in the United Methodist Church). He died in 1798, and the success of the church he founded is a tribute to his personality and to the principles for which he strove. Kilham’s wife (Hannah Spurr, 1774-1832), whom he married only a few months before his death, became a Quaker, and worked as a missionary in the Gambia and at Sierra Leone; she reduced to writing several West African vernaculars.
KILIA,a town of S. Russia, in the government of Bessarabia, 100 m. S.W. of Odessa, on the Kilia branch of the Danube, 20 m. from its mouth. Pop. (1897), 11,703. It has steam flour-mills and a rapidly increasing trade. The town, anciently known as Chilia, Chele, and Lycostomium, was a place of banishment for political dignitaries of Byzantium in the 12th-13th centuries. After belonging to the Genoese from 1381-1403 it was occupied successively by Walachia and Moldavia, until in 1484 it fell into the hands of the Ottoman Turks. It was taken from them by the Russians in 1790. After being bombarded by the Anglo-French fleet in July 1854, it was given to Rumania on the conclusion of the war; but in 1878 was transferred to Russia with Bessarabia.
KILIAN(Chilian,Killian),ST,British missionary bishop and the apostle of eastern Franconia, where he began his labours towards the end of the 7th century. There are several biographies of him, the first of which dates back to the 9th century (Bibliotheca hagiographica latina, Nos. 4660-4663). The oldest texts which refer to him are an 8th century necrology at Würzburg and the notice by Hrabanus Maurus in his martyrology. According to Maurus, Kilian was a native of Ireland, whence with his companions he went to eastern Franconia. After having preached the gospel in Würzburg, the whole party were put to death by the orders of an unjust judge named Gozbert. It is difficult to fix the period with precision, as the judge (or duke) Gozbert is not known through other sources. Kilian’s comrades, Coloman and Totman, were, according to the Würzburg necrology, respectively priest and deacon. The elevation of the relics of the three martyrs was performed by Burchard, the first bishop of Würzburg, and they are venerated in the cathedral of that town. His festival is celebrated on the 8th of July.
SeeActa Sanctorum, Julii, ii. 599-619; F. Emmerich,Der heilige Kilian(Würzburg, 1896); J. O’Hanlon,Lives of the Irish Saints, vii. 122-143 (Dublin, 1875-1904); A. Hauck,Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands, 3rd ed., i. 382 seq.
SeeActa Sanctorum, Julii, ii. 599-619; F. Emmerich,Der heilige Kilian(Würzburg, 1896); J. O’Hanlon,Lives of the Irish Saints, vii. 122-143 (Dublin, 1875-1904); A. Hauck,Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands, 3rd ed., i. 382 seq.
(H. De.)
KILIMANJARO,a great mountain in East Africa, its centre lying in 3° 5′ S. and 37° 23′ E. It is the highest known summit of the continent, rising as a volcanic cone from a plateau of about 3000 ft. to 19,321 ft. Though completely isolated it is but one of several summits which crown the eastern edge of the great plateau of equatorial Africa. About 200 m. almost due north, across the wide expanse of the Kapte and Kikuyu uplands, lies Mount Kenya, somewhat inferior in height and mass to Kilimanjaro; and some 25 m. due west rises the noble mass of Mount Meru.
The major axis of Kilimanjaro runs almost east and west, and on it rise the two principal summits, Kibo in the west, Mawenzi (Ki-mawenzi) in the east. Kibo, the higher, is a truncated cone with a nearly perfect extinct crater, and marks a comparatively recent period of volcanic activity; while Mawenzi (16,892 ft.) is the very ancient core of a former summit, of which the crater walls have been removed by denudation. The two peaks, about 7 m. apart, are connected by a saddle or plateau, about 14,000 ft. in altitude, below which the vast mass slopes with great regularity in a typical volcanic curve, especially in the south, to the plains below. The sides are furrowed on the south and east by a large number of narrow ravines, down which flow streams which feed the Pangani and Lake Jipe in the south and the Tsavo tributary of the Sabaki in the east. South-west of Kibo, the Shira ridge seems to be of independent origin, while in the north-west a rugged group of cones, of comparatively recent origin, has poured forth vast lava-flows. In the south-east the regularity of the outline is likewise broken by a ridge running down from Mawenzi.
The lava slopes of the Kibo peak are covered to a depth of some 200 ft. with an ice-cap, which, where ravines occur, takes the form of genuine glaciers. The crater walls are highest on the south, three small peaks, uncovered by ice, rising from the rim on this side. To the central and highest of these, the culminating point of the mountain, the name Kaiser Wilhelm Spitze has been given. The rim here sinks precipitously some 600 ft. to the interior of the crater, which measures rather over 2000 yds. in diameter, and is in part covered by ice, in part by a bare cone of ashes. On the west the rim is breached, allowing the passage of an important glacier formed from the snow which falls within the crater. Lower down this cleft, which owed its origin to dislocation, is occupied by two glaciers, one of which reaches a lower level (13,800 ft.) than any other on Kilimanjaro. On the north-west three large glaciers reach down to 16,000 ft.
Mawenzi peak has no permanent ice-cap, though at times snow lies in patches. The rock of which it is composed has become very jagged by denudation, forming stupendous walls and precipices. On the east the peak falls with great abruptness some 6500 ft. to a vast ravine, due apparently to dislocation and sinking of the ground. Below this the slope is more gradual and more symmetrical. Like the other high mountains of eastern Africa, Kilimanjaro presents well-defined zones of vegetation. The lowest slopes are arid and scantily covered with scrub, but between 4000 and 6000 ft. on the south side the slopes are well watered and cultivated. The forest zone begins, on the south, at about 6500 ft., and extends to 9500, but in the north it is narrower, and in the north-west, the driest quarter of the mountain, almost disappears. In the alpine zone, marked especially by tree lobelias andSenecio, flowering plants extend up to 15,700 ft. on the sheltered south-west flank of Mawenzi, but elsewhere vegetation grows only in dwarfed patches beyond 13,000 ft. The special fauna and flora of the upper zone are akin to those of other high African mountains, including Cameroon. The southern slopes, between 4000 and 6000 ft., form the well-peopled country of Chaga, divided into small districts.
As the natives believe that the summit of Kilimanjaro is composed of silver, it is conjectured that Aristotle’s reference to “the so-called Silver Mountain” from which the Nile flows was based on reports about this mountain. It is possible, however, that the “Silver Mountain” was Ruwenzori (q.v.), from whose snow-clad heights several headstreams of the Nile do descend. It is also possible, though improbable, that Ruwenzori and not Kilimanjaro nor Kenya may be the range known to Ptolemy and to the Arab geographers of the middle ages as the Mountains of the Moon. Reports of the existence of mountains covered with snow were brought to Zanzibar about 1845 by Arab traders. Attracted by these reports Johannes Rebmann of the Church Missionary Society journeyed inland from Mombasa in 1848 and discovered Kilimanjaro, which is some 200 m. inland. Rebmann’s account, though fully borne out by his colleague Dr Ludwig Krapf, was at first received with great incredulity by professional geographers. The matter was finally set at rest by the visits paid to the mountain by Baron Karl von der Decken (1861 and 1862) and Charles New (1867), the latter of whom reached the lower edge of the snow. Kilimanjaro has since been explored by Joseph Thomson (1883), Sir H. H. Johnston (1884), and others. It has been the special study of Dr Hans Meyer, who made four expeditions to it, accomplishing the first ascent to the summit in 1889. In the partition of Africa between the powers of western Europe, Kilimanjaro was secured by Germany (1886) though the first treaties concluded with native chiefs in that region had been made in 1884 by Sir H. H. Johnston on behalf of a British company. On the southern side of the mountain at Moshi is a German government station.See R. Thornton (the geologist of von der Decken’s party) inProc. of Roy. Geog. Soc.(1861-1862); Ludwig Krapf,Travels in East Africa(1860); Charles New,Life ... in East Africa(1873); Sir J. D. Hooker inJournal of Linnean Society(1875); Sir H. H. Johnston,The Kilimanjaro Expedition(1886); Hans Meyer,Across East African Glaciers(1891);Der Kilimanjaro(Berlin, 1900). Except the last-named all these works were published in London.
As the natives believe that the summit of Kilimanjaro is composed of silver, it is conjectured that Aristotle’s reference to “the so-called Silver Mountain” from which the Nile flows was based on reports about this mountain. It is possible, however, that the “Silver Mountain” was Ruwenzori (q.v.), from whose snow-clad heights several headstreams of the Nile do descend. It is also possible, though improbable, that Ruwenzori and not Kilimanjaro nor Kenya may be the range known to Ptolemy and to the Arab geographers of the middle ages as the Mountains of the Moon. Reports of the existence of mountains covered with snow were brought to Zanzibar about 1845 by Arab traders. Attracted by these reports Johannes Rebmann of the Church Missionary Society journeyed inland from Mombasa in 1848 and discovered Kilimanjaro, which is some 200 m. inland. Rebmann’s account, though fully borne out by his colleague Dr Ludwig Krapf, was at first received with great incredulity by professional geographers. The matter was finally set at rest by the visits paid to the mountain by Baron Karl von der Decken (1861 and 1862) and Charles New (1867), the latter of whom reached the lower edge of the snow. Kilimanjaro has since been explored by Joseph Thomson (1883), Sir H. H. Johnston (1884), and others. It has been the special study of Dr Hans Meyer, who made four expeditions to it, accomplishing the first ascent to the summit in 1889. In the partition of Africa between the powers of western Europe, Kilimanjaro was secured by Germany (1886) though the first treaties concluded with native chiefs in that region had been made in 1884 by Sir H. H. Johnston on behalf of a British company. On the southern side of the mountain at Moshi is a German government station.
See R. Thornton (the geologist of von der Decken’s party) inProc. of Roy. Geog. Soc.(1861-1862); Ludwig Krapf,Travels in East Africa(1860); Charles New,Life ... in East Africa(1873); Sir J. D. Hooker inJournal of Linnean Society(1875); Sir H. H. Johnston,The Kilimanjaro Expedition(1886); Hans Meyer,Across East African Glaciers(1891);Der Kilimanjaro(Berlin, 1900). Except the last-named all these works were published in London.
(E. He.)
KILIN,orCh’-i-lin, one of the four symbolical creatures which in Chinese mythology are believed to keep watch and ward over the Celestial Empire. It is a unicorn, portrayed in Chinese art as having the body and legs of a deer and an ox’stail. Its advent on earth heralds an age of enlightened government and civic prosperity. It is regarded as the noblest of the animal creation and as the incarnation of fire, water, wood, metal and earth. It lives for a thousand years, and is believed to step so softly as to leave no footprints and to crush no living thing.
KILKEE,a seaside resort of county Clare, Ireland, the terminus of a branch of the West Clare railway. Pop. (1901), 1661. It lies on a small and picturesque inlet of the Atlantic named Moore Bay, with a beautiful sweep of sandy beach. The coast, fully exposed to the open ocean, abounds in fine cliff scenery, including numerous caves and natural arches, but is notoriously dangerous to shipping. Moore Bay is safe and attractive for bathers. Bishop’s Island, a bold isolated rock in the vicinity, has remains of an oratory and house ascribed to the recluse St Senan.
KILKENNY,a county of Ireland, in the province of Leinster, bounded N. by Queen’s County, E. by Carlow and Wexford, S. by Waterford, and W. by Waterford and Tipperary. The area is 511,775 acres, or about 800 sq. m. The greater part of Kilkenny forms the south-eastern extremity of the great central plain of Ireland, but in the south-east occurs an extension of the mountains of Wicklow and Carlow, and the plain is interrupted in the north by a hilly region forming part of the Castlecomer coal-field, which extends also into Queen’s County and Tipperary. The principal rivers, the Suir, the Barrow and the Nore, have their origin in the Slieve Bloom Mountains (county Tipperary and Queen’s County), and after widely divergent courses southward discharge their waters into Waterford Harbour. The Suir forms the boundary of the county with Waterford, and is navigable for small vessels to Carrick. The Nore, which is navigable to Innistioge, enters the county at its north-western boundary, and flows by Kilkenny to the Barrow, 9 m. above Ross, having received the King’s River at Jerpoint and the Argula near Innistioge. The Barrow, which is navigable beyond the limits of Kilkenny into Kildare, forms the eastern boundary of the county from near New Bridge. There are no lakes of any extent, but turloughs or temporary lakes are occasionally formed by the bursting up of underground streams.
The coal of the Castlecomer basin is anthracite, and the most productive portions of the bed are in the centre of the basin at Castlecomer. Hematitic iron of a rich quality is found in the Cambro-Silurian rocks at several places; and tradition asserts that silver shields were made about 850B.C.at Argetros or Silverwood on the Nore. Manganese is obtained in some of the limestone quarries, and also near the Barrow. Marl is abundant in various districts. Pipeclay and potter’s clay are found, and also yellow ochre. Copper occurs near Knocktopher.
The high synclinal coal-field forms the most important feature of the north of the county. A prolongation of the field runs out south-west by Tullaroan. The lower ground is occupied by Carboniferous limestone. The Old Red Sandstone, with a Silurian core, forms the high ridge of Slievenaman in the south; and its upper laminated beds containArchanodon, the earliest known freshwater mollusc, and plant-remains, at Kiltorcan near Ballyhale. The Leinster granite appears mainly as inliers in the Silurian of the south-east. The Carboniferous sandstones furnish the hard pavement-slabs sold as “Carlow flags.” The black limestone with white shells in it at Kilkenny is quarried as an ornamental marble. Good slates are quarried at Kilmoganny, in the Silurian inlier on the Slievenaman range.
The high synclinal coal-field forms the most important feature of the north of the county. A prolongation of the field runs out south-west by Tullaroan. The lower ground is occupied by Carboniferous limestone. The Old Red Sandstone, with a Silurian core, forms the high ridge of Slievenaman in the south; and its upper laminated beds containArchanodon, the earliest known freshwater mollusc, and plant-remains, at Kiltorcan near Ballyhale. The Leinster granite appears mainly as inliers in the Silurian of the south-east. The Carboniferous sandstones furnish the hard pavement-slabs sold as “Carlow flags.” The black limestone with white shells in it at Kilkenny is quarried as an ornamental marble. Good slates are quarried at Kilmoganny, in the Silurian inlier on the Slievenaman range.
On account of the slope of the country, and the nature of the soil, the surface occupied by bog or wet land is very small, and the air is dry and healthy. So temperate is it in winter that the myrtle and arbutus grow in the open air. There is less rain than at Dublin, and vegetation is earlier than in the adjacent counties. Along the banks of the Suir, Nore and Barrow a very rich soil has been formed by alluvial deposits. Above the Coal-measures in the northern part of the county there is a moorland tract devoted chiefly to pasturage. The soil above the limestone is for the most part a deep and rich loam admirably adapted for the growth of wheat. The heath-covered hills afford honey with a flavour of peculiar excellence. Proportionately to its area, Kilkenny has an exceptionally large cultivable area. The proportion of tillage to pasturage is roughly as 1 to 2¼. Oats, barley, turnips and potatoes are all grown; the cultivation of wheat has very largely lapsed. Cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry are extensively reared, the Kerry cattle being in considerable request.
The linen manufacture introduced into the county in the 17th century by the duke of Ormonde to supersede the woollen manufacture gradually became extinct, and the woollen manufacture now carried on is also very small. There are, however, breweries, distilleries, tanneries and flour-mills, as well as marble polishing works. The county is traversed from N. to S. by the Maryborough, Kilkenny and Waterford branch of the Great Southern & Western railway, with a connexion from Kilkenny to Bagenalstown on the Kildare and Carlow line; and the Waterford and Limerick line of the same company runs for a short distance through the southern part of the county.
The population (87,496 in 1891; 79,159 in 1901) includes about 94% of Roman Catholics. The decrease of population is a little above the average, though emigration is distinctly below it. The chief towns and villages are Kilkenny (q.v.), Callan (1840), Castlecomer, Thomastown and Graigue. The county comprises 10 baronies and contains 134 civil parishes. The county includes the parliamentary borough of Kilkenny, and is divided into north and south parliamentary divisions, each returning one member. Kilkenny returned 16 members to the Irish parliament, two representing the county. Assizes are held at Kilkenny, and quarter sessions at Kilkenny, Pilltown, Urlingford, Castlecomer, Callan, Grace’s Old Castle and Thomastown. The county is in the Protestant diocese of Ossory and the Roman Catholic dioceses of Ossory and Kildare and Leighlin.
Kilkenny is one of the counties generally considered to have been created by King John. It had previously formed part of the kingdom of Ossory, and was one of the liberties granted to the heiresses of Strongbow with palatinate rights. Circular groups of stones of very ancient origin are on the summits of Slieve Grian and the hill of Cloghmanta. There are a large number of cromlechs as well as raths (or encampments) in various parts of the county. Besides numerous forts and mounds there are five round towers, one adjoining the Protestant cathedral of Kilkenny, and others at Tulloherin, Kilree, Fertagh and Aghaviller. All, except that at Aghaviller, are nearly perfect. There are remains of a Cistercian monastery at Jerpoint, said to have been founded by Dunnough, King of Ossory, and of another belonging to the same order at Graigue, founded by the earl of Pembroke in 1212. The Dominicans had an abbey at Rosbercon founded in 1267, and another at Thomastown, of which there are some remains. The Carmelites had a monastery at Knocktopher. There were an Augustinian monastery at Inistioge, and priories at Callan and Kells, of all of which there are remains. There are also ruins of several old castles, such as those of Callan, Legan, Grenan and Clonamery, besides the ancient portions of Kilkenny Castle.
KILKENNY,a city and municipal and parliamentary borough (returning one member), the capital of county Kilkenny, Ireland, finely situated on the Nore, and on the Great Southern and Western railway, 81 m. S.W. of Dublin. Pop. (1901), 10,609. It consists of Englishtown (or Kilkenny proper) and Irishtown, which are separated by a small rivulet, but although Irishtown retains its name, it is now included in the borough of Kilkenny. The city is irregularly built, possesses several spacious streets with many good houses, while its beautiful environs and imposing ancient buildings give it an unusual interest and picturesque appearance. The Nore is crossed by two handsome bridges. The cathedral of St Canice, from whom the town takes its name, dates in its present form from about 1255. The see of Ossory, which originated in the monastery of Aghaboe founded by St Canice in the 6th century, and took its name from the early kingdom of Ossory, was moved to Kilkenny (according to conjecture) about the year 1200. In 1835 the diocese of Ferns and Leighlin was united to it. With the exception of St Patrick’s, Dublin, the cathedral is the largestecclesiastical building in Ireland, having a length from east to west of 226 ft., and a breadth along the transepts from north to south of 123 ft. It occupies an eminence at the western extremity of Irishtown. It is a cruciform structure mainly in Early English style, with a low massive tower supported on clustered columns of the black marble peculiar to the district. The building was extensively restored in 1865. It contains many old sepulchral monuments and other ancient memorials. The north transept incorporates the parish church. The adjacent library of St Canice contains numerous ancient books of great value. A short distance from the south transept is a round tower 100 ft. high; the original cap is wanting. The episcopal palace near the east end of the cathedral was erected in the time of Edward III. and enlarged in 1735. Besides the cathedral the principal churches are the Protestant church of St Mary, a plain cruciform structure of earlier foundation than the present cathedral; that of St John, including a portion of the hospital of St John founded about 1220; and the Roman Catholic cathedral, of the diocese of Ossory, dedicated to St Mary (1843-1857), a cruciform structure in the Early Pointed style, with a massive central tower. There are important remains of two monasteries—the Dominican abbey founded in 1225, and now used as a Roman Catholic church; and the Franciscan abbey on the banks of the Nore, founded about 1230. But next in importance to the cathedral is the castle, the seat of the marquess of Ormonde, on the summit of a precipice above the Nore. It was originally built by Strongbow, but rebuilt by William Marshall after the destruction of the first castle in 1175; and many additions and restorations by members of the Ormonde family have maintained it as a princely residence. The Protestant college of St John, originally founded by Pierce Butler, 8th earl of Ormonde, in the 16th century, and re-endowed in 1684 by James, 1st duke of Ormonde, stands on the banks of the river opposite the castle. In it Swift, Farquhar, Congreve and Bishop Berkeley received part of their education. On the outskirts of the city is the Roman Catholic college of St Kyran (Kieran), a Gothic building completed about 1840. The other principal buildings are the modern court-house, the tholsel or city court (1764), the city and county prison, the barracks and the county infirmary. In the neighbourhood are collieries as well as long-established quarries for marble, the manufactures connected with which are an important industry of the town. The city also possesses corn-mills, breweries and tanneries. Not far from the city are the remarkable limestone caverns of Dunmore, which have yielded numerous human remains. The corporation of Kilkenny consists of a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors.
Kilkenny proper owes its origin to an English settlement in the time of Strongbow, and it received a charter from William Marshall, who married Strongbow’s daughter. This charter was confirmed by Edward III., and from Edward IV. Irishtown received the privilege of choosing a portreeve independent of Kilkenny. By Elizabeth the boroughs, while retaining their distinct rights, were constituted one corporation, which in 1609 was made a free borough by James I., and in the following year a free city. From James II. the citizens received a new charter, constituting the city and liberties a distinct county, to be styled the county of the city of Kilkenny, the burgesses of Irishtown continuing, however, to elect a portreeve until the passing of the Muncipal Reform Act. Frequent parliaments were held at Kilkenny from the 14th to the 16th century, and so late as the reign of Henry VIII. it was the occasional residence of the lord-lieutenant. In 1642 it was the meeting-place of the assembly of confederate Catholics. In 1648 Cromwell, in the hope of obtaining possession of the town by means of a plot, advanced towards it, but before his arrival the plot was discovered. In 1650 it was, however, compelled to surrender after a long and resolute defence. At a very early period Kilkenny and Irishtown returned each two members to the Irish parliament, but since the Union one member only has been returned to Westminster for the city of Kilkenny.
The origin of the expression “to fight like Kilkenny cats,” which, according to the legend, fought till only their tails were left, has been the subject of many conjectures. It is said to be an allegory on the disastrous municipal quarrels of Kilkenny and Irishtown which lasted from the end of the 14th to the end of the 17th centuries (Notes and Queries, 1st series, vol. ii. p. 71). It is referred also to the brutal sport of some Hessian soldiers, quartered in Kilkenny during the rebellions of 1798 or 1803, who tied two cats together by their tails, hung them over a line and left them to fight. A soldier is said to have freed them by cutting off their tails to escape censure from the officers (ibid.3rd series, vol. v. p. 433). Lastly, it is attributed to the invention of J. P. Curran. As a sarcastic protest against cock-fighting in England, he declared that he had witnessed in Sligo (?) fights between trained cats, and that once they had fought so fiercely that only their tails were left (ibid.7th series, vol. ii. p. 394).
The origin of the expression “to fight like Kilkenny cats,” which, according to the legend, fought till only their tails were left, has been the subject of many conjectures. It is said to be an allegory on the disastrous municipal quarrels of Kilkenny and Irishtown which lasted from the end of the 14th to the end of the 17th centuries (Notes and Queries, 1st series, vol. ii. p. 71). It is referred also to the brutal sport of some Hessian soldiers, quartered in Kilkenny during the rebellions of 1798 or 1803, who tied two cats together by their tails, hung them over a line and left them to fight. A soldier is said to have freed them by cutting off their tails to escape censure from the officers (ibid.3rd series, vol. v. p. 433). Lastly, it is attributed to the invention of J. P. Curran. As a sarcastic protest against cock-fighting in England, he declared that he had witnessed in Sligo (?) fights between trained cats, and that once they had fought so fiercely that only their tails were left (ibid.7th series, vol. ii. p. 394).
KILKENNY, STATUTE OF,the name given to a body of laws promulgated in 1366 with the object of strengthening the English authority in Ireland. In 1361, when Edward III. was on the English throne, he sent one of his younger sons, Lionel, duke of Clarence, who was already married to an Irish heiress, to represent him in Ireland. From the English point of view the country was in a most unsatisfactory condition. Lawless and predatory, the English settlers were hardly distinguishable from the native Irish, and the authority of the English king over both had been reduced to vanishing point. In their efforts to cope with the prevailing disorder Lionel and his advisers summoned a parliament to meet at Kilkenny early in 1366 and here the statute of Kilkenny was passed into law. This statute was written in Norman-French, and nineteen of its clauses are merely repetitions of some ordinances which had been drawn up at Kilkenny fifteen years earlier. It began by relating how the existing state of lawlessness was due to the malign influence exercised by the Irish over the English, and, like Magna Carta, its first positive provision declared that the church should be free. As a prime remedy for the prevailing evils all marriages between the two races were forbidden. Englishmen must not speak the Irish tongue, nor receive Irish minstrels into their dwellings, nor even ride in the Irish fashion; while to give or sell horses or armour to the Irish was made a treasonable offence. Moreover English and not Breton law was to be employed, and no Irishman could legally bereceivedinto a religious house, nor presented to a benefice. The statute also contained clauses for compelling the English settlers to keep the laws. For each county four wardens of the peace were to be appointed, while the sheriffs were to hold their tourns twice a year and were not to oppress the people by their exactions. An attempt was made to prevent the emigration of labourers, and finally the spiritual arm was invoked to secure obedience to these laws by threats of excommunication. The statute, although marking an interesting stage in the history of Ireland, had very little practical effect.
The full text is published in theStatutes and Ordinances of Ireland. John to Henry V., by H. F. Berry (1907).
The full text is published in theStatutes and Ordinances of Ireland. John to Henry V., by H. F. Berry (1907).
KILLALA(pron.Killálla), a small town on the north coast of county Mayo, Ireland, in the northern parliamentary division, on the western shore of a fine bay to which it gives name. Pop. (1901), 510. It is a terminus of a branch of the Midland Great Western railway. Its trade is almost wholly diverted to Ballina on the river Moy, which enters the bay, but Killala is of high antiquarian and historical interest. It was for many centuries a bishop’s see, the foundation being attributed to St Patrick in the 5th century, but the diocese was joined with Achonry early in the 17th century and with Tuam in 1833. The cathedral church of St Patrick is a plain structure of the 17th century. There is a fine souterrain, evidently connected with a rath, or encampment, in the graveyard. A round tower, 84 ft. in height, stands boldly on an isolated eminence. Close to Killala the French under Humbert landed in 1798, being diverted by contrary winds from the Donegal coast. Near the Moy river, south of Killala, are the abbeys of Moyne and Roserk or Rosserick, both Decorated in style, and both possessing fine cloisters. At Rathfran, 2 m. N., is a Dominican abbey (1274), and in the neighbourhood are camps, cromlechs, and an inscribed ogham stone, 12 ft. in height. Killala gives name to a Roman Catholic diocese, the seat of which, however, is at Ballina.
KILLALOE,a town of county Clare, Ireland, in the east parliamentary division, at the lower extremity of Lough Derg on the river Shannon, at the foot of the Slieve Bernagh mountains. Pop. (1901), 885. It is connected, so as to form one town, with Ballina (county Tipperary) by a bridge of 13 arches. Ballina is the terminus of a branch of the Great Southern and Western railway, 15 m. N.E. of Limerick. Slate is quarried in the vicinity, and there were formerly woollen manufactures. The cathedral of St Flannan occupies the site of a church founded by St Dalua in the 6th century. The present building is mainly of the 12th century, a good cruciform example of the period, preserving, however, a magnificent Romanesque doorway. It was probably completed by Donall O’Brien, king of Munster, but part of the fabric dates from a century before his time. In the churchyard is an ancient oratory said to date from the period of St Dalua. Near Killaloe stood Brian Boru’s palace of Kincora, celebrated in verse by Moore; for this was the capital of the kings of Munster. Killaloe is frequented by anglers for the Shannon salmon-fishing and for trout-fishing in Lough Derg. Killaloe gives name to Protestant and Roman Catholic dioceses.
KILLARNEY,a market town of county Kerry, Ireland, in the east parliamentary division, on a branch line of the Great Southern & Western railway, 185¼ m. S.W. from Dublin. Pop. of urban district (1901), 5656. On account of the beautiful scenery in the neighbourhood the town is much frequented by tourists. The principal buildings are the Roman Catholic cathedral and bishop’s palace of the diocese of Kerry, designed by A. W. Pugin, a large Protestant church and several hotels. Adjoining the town is the mansion of the earl of Kenmare. There is a school of arts and crafts, where carving and inlaying are prosecuted. The only manufacture of importance now carried on at Killarney is that of fancy articles from arbutus wood; but it owed its origin to iron-smelting works, for which abundant fuel was obtained from the neighbouring forests.
The lakes of Killarney, about 1½ m. from the town, lie in a basin between several lofty mountain groups, some of which rise abruptly from the water’s edge, and all clothed with trees and shrubbery almost to their summits. The lower lake, or Lough Leane (area 5001 acres), is studded with finely wooded islands, on the largest of which, Ross Island, are the ruins of Ross Castle, an old fortress of the O’Donoghues; and on another island, the “sweet Innisfallen” of Moore, are the picturesque ruins of an abbey founded by St Finian the leper at the close of the 6th century. Between the lower lake and the middle or Torc lake (680 acres in extent) stands Muckross Abbey, built by Franciscans about 1440. With the upper lake (430 acres), thickly studded with islands, and close shut in by mountains, the lower and middle lakes are connected by the Long Range, a winding and finely wooded channel, 2½ m. in length, and commanding magnificent views of the mountains. Midway in its course is a famous echo caused by the Eagle’s Nest, a lofty pyramidal rock.
Besides the lakes of Killarney themselves, the immediate neighbourhood includes many features of natural beauty and of historic interest. Among the first are Macgillicuddy’s Reeks and the Torc and Purple Mountains, the famous pass known as the Gap of Dunloe, Mount Mangerton, with a curious depression (the Devil’s Punchbowl) near its summit, the waterfalls of Torc and Derrycunihy, and Lough Guitane, above Lough Leane. Notable ruins and remains, besides Muckross and Innisfallen, include Aghadoe, with its ruined church of the 12th century (formerly a cathedral) and remains of a round tower; and the Ogham Cave of Dunloe, a souterrain containing inscribed stones. The waters of the neighbourhood provide trout and salmon, and the flora is of high interest to the botanist. Innumerable legends centre round the traditional hero O’Donoghue.
KILLDEER,a common American plover, so called in imitation of its whistling cry, theCharadrius vociferusof Linnaeus, and theAegialitis vociferaof modern ornithologists. About the size of a snipe, it is mostly sooty-brown above, but showing a bright buff on the tail coverts, and in flight a white bar on the wings; beneath it is pure white except two pectoral bands of deep black. It is one of the finest as well as the largest of the group commonly known as ringed plovers or ring dotterels,1forming the genusAegialitisof Boie. Mostly wintering in the south or only on the sea-shore of the more northern states, in spring it spreads widely over the interior, breeding on the newly ploughed lands or on open grass-fields. The nest is made in a slight hollow, and is often surrounded with small pebbles and fragments of shells. Here the hen lays her pear-shaped, stone-coloured eggs, four in number, and always arranged with their pointed ends touching each other, as is the custom of most Limicoline birds. The parents exhibit the greatest anxiety for their offspring on the approach of an intruder. It is the best-known bird of its family in the United States, where it is less abundant in the north-east than farther south or west. In Canada it does not range farther northward than 56° N.; it is not known in Greenland, and hardly in Labrador, though it is a passenger in Newfoundland every spring and autumn.2In winter it finds its way to Bermuda and to some of the Antilles, but it is not recorded from any of the islands to the windward of Porto Rico. In the other direction, however, it travels down the Isthmus of Panama and the west coast of South America to Peru. The killdeer has several other congeners in America, among which may be noticedAe. semipalmata, curiously resembling the ordinary ringed plover of the Old World,Ae. hiaticula, except that it has its toes connected by a web at the base; and Ae. nivosa, a bird inhabiting the western parts of both the American continents, which in the opinion of some authors is only a local form of the widely spreadAe. alexandrinaorcantiana, best known as Kentish plover, from its discovery near Sandwich towards the end of the 18th century, though it is far more abundant in many other parts of the Old World. The common ringed plover,Ae. hiaticula, has many of the habits of the killdeer, but is much less often found away from the sea-shore, though a few colonies may be found in dry warrens in certain parts of England many miles from the coast, and in Lapland at a still greater distance. In such localities it paves its nest with small stones (whence it is locally known as “Stone hatch”), a habit almost unaccountable unless regarded as an inherited instinct from shingle-haunting ancestors.
(A. N.)
1The word dotterel seems properly applicable to a single species only, theCharadrius morinellusof Linnaeus, which, from some of its osteological characters, may be fitly regarded as the type of a distinct genus,Eudromias. Whether any other species agree with it in the peculiarity alluded to is at present uncertain.2A single example is said to have been shot near Christchurch, in Hampshire, England, in April 1857 (Ibis, 1862, p. 276).
1The word dotterel seems properly applicable to a single species only, theCharadrius morinellusof Linnaeus, which, from some of its osteological characters, may be fitly regarded as the type of a distinct genus,Eudromias. Whether any other species agree with it in the peculiarity alluded to is at present uncertain.
2A single example is said to have been shot near Christchurch, in Hampshire, England, in April 1857 (Ibis, 1862, p. 276).
KILLIECRANKIE,a pass of Perthshire, Scotland, 3¾ m. N.N.W. of Pitlochry by the Highland railway. Beginning close to Killiecrankie station it extends southwards to the bridge of Garry for nearly 1½ m. through the narrow, extremely beautiful, densely wooded glen in the channel of which flows the Garry. A road constructed by General Wade in 1732 runs up the pass, and between this and the river is the railway, built in 1863. The battle of the 27th of July 1689, between some 3000 Jacobites under Viscount Dundee and the royal force, about 4000 strong, led by General Hugh Mackay, though named from the ravine, was not actually fought in the pass. When Mackay emerged from the gorge he found the Highlanders already in battle array on the high ground on the right bank of the Girnaig, a tributary of the Garry, within half a mile of where the railway station now is. Before he had time to form on the more open table-land, the clansmen charged impetuously with their claymores and swept his troops back into the pass and the Garry. Mackay lost nearly half his force, the Jacobites about 900, including their leader. Urrard House adjoins the spot where Viscount Dundee received his death-wound.
KILLIGREW, SIR HENRY(d. 1603), English diplomatist, belonged to an old Cornish family and became member of parliament for Launceston in 1553. Having lived abroadduring the whole or part of Mary’s reign, he returned to England when Elizabeth came to the throne and at once began to serve the new queen as a diplomatist. He was employed on a mission to Germany, and in conducting negotiations in Scotland, where he had several interviews with Mary Queen of Scots. He was knighted in 1591, and after other diplomatic missions in various parts of Europe he died early in 1603. Many of Sir Henry’s letters on public matters are in the Record Office, London, and in the British Museum. His first wife, Catherine (c.1530-1583), daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke (1504-1576), tutor to Edward VI., was a lady of talent.
Another celebrated member of this family was SirRobert Killigrew(c.1579-1633), who was knighted by James I. in the same year (1603) as his father, Sir William Killigrew. Sir William was an officer in Queen Elizabeth’s household and a member of parliament; he died in November 1622. Sir Robert was a member of all the parliaments between 1603 and his death, but he came more into prominence owing to his alleged connexion with the death of Sir Thomas Overbury. A man of some scientific knowledge, he had been in the habit of supplying powders to Robert Carr, earl of Somerset, but it is not certain that the fatal powder came from the hands of Killigrew. He died early in 1633, leaving five sons, three of whom attained some reputation (see below).
KILLIGREW, THOMAS(1612-1683), English dramatist and wit, son of Sir Robert Killigrew, was born in Lothbury, London, on the 7th of February 1612. Pepys says that as a boy he satisfied his love of the stage by volunteering at the Red Bull to take the part of a devil, thus seeing the play for nothing. In 1633 he became page to Charles I., and was faithfully attached to the royal house throughout his life. In 1635 he was in France, and has left an account (printed in theEuropean Magazine, 1803) of the exorcizing of an evil spirit from some nuns at Loudun. In 1641 he published two tragi-comedies,The PrisonersandClaracilla, both of which had probably been produced before 1636. In 1647 he followed Prince Charles into exile. His wit, easy morals and accommodating temper recommended him to Charles, who sent him to Venice in 1651 as his representative. Early in the following year he was recalled at the request of the Venetian ambassador in Paris. At the Restoration he became groom of the bedchamber to Charles II., and later chamberlain to the queen. He received in 1660, with Sir William Davenant, a patent to erect a new playhouse, the performances in which were to be independent of the censorship of the master of the revels. This infringement of his prerogative caused a dispute with Sir Henry Herbert, then holder of the office, but Killigrew settled the matter by generous concessions. He acted independently of Davenant, his company being known as the King’s Servants. They played at the Red Bull, until in 1663 he built for them the original Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. Pepys writes in 1664 that Killigrew intended to have four opera seasons of six weeks each during the year, and with this end in view paid several visits to Rome to secure singers and scene decorators. In 1664 his plays were published asComedies and Tragedies.Written by Thomas Killigrew.They areClaracilla;The Princess, or Love at First Sight;The Parson’s Wedding;The Pilgrim;Cicilia and Clorinda, or Love in Arms;Thomaso, or the Wanderer; andBellamira, her Dream, or Love of Shadows.The Parson’s Wedding(actedc.1640, reprinted in the various editions of Dodsley’sOld Playsand in theAncient British Drama) is an unsavoury play, which displays nevertheless considerable wit, and some of its jokes were appropriated by Congreve. It was revived after the Restoration in 1664 and 1672 or 1673, all the parts being in both cases taken by women. Killigrew succeeded Sir Henry Herbert as master of the revels in 1673. He died at Whitehall on the 19th of March 1683. He was twice married, first to Cecilia Crofts, maid of honour to Queen Henrietta Maria, and secondly to Charlotte de Hesse, by whom he had a son Thomas (1657-1719), who was the author of a successful little piece,Chit-Chat, played at Drury Lane on the 14th of February 1719, with Mrs Oldfield in the part of Florinda.
Killigrew enjoyed a greater reputation as a wit than as a dramatist. Sir John Denham said of him:—Had Cowley ne’er spoke, Killigrew ne’er writ,Combined in one, they’d made a matchless wit.Many stories are related of his bold speeches to Charles I. Pepys (Feb. 12, 1668) records that he was said to hold the title of King’s Fool or Jester, with a cap and bells at the expense of the king’s wardrobe, and that he might therefore revile or jeer anybody, even the greatest, without offence.
Killigrew enjoyed a greater reputation as a wit than as a dramatist. Sir John Denham said of him:—
Had Cowley ne’er spoke, Killigrew ne’er writ,Combined in one, they’d made a matchless wit.
Had Cowley ne’er spoke, Killigrew ne’er writ,
Combined in one, they’d made a matchless wit.
Many stories are related of his bold speeches to Charles I. Pepys (Feb. 12, 1668) records that he was said to hold the title of King’s Fool or Jester, with a cap and bells at the expense of the king’s wardrobe, and that he might therefore revile or jeer anybody, even the greatest, without offence.
His elder brother, SirWilliam Killigrew(1606-1695), was a court official under Charles I. and Charles II. He attempted to drain the Lincolnshire fens, and was the author of four plays (printed 1665 and 1666) of some merit.
A younger brother, DrHenry Killigrew(1613-1700), was chaplain and almoner to the duke of York, and master of the Savoy after the Restoration. A juvenile play of his,The Conspiracy, was printed surreptitiously in 1638, and in an authenticated version in 1653 asPallantus and Eudora. He had two sons,Henry Killigrew(d. 1712), an admiral, andJames Killigrew, also a naval officer, who was killed in an encounter with the French in January 1695; and a daughter,Anne(1660-1685), poet and painter, who was maid of honour to the duchess of York, and was the subject of an ode by Dryden, which Samuel Johnson thought the noblest in the language.
A sister,Elizabeth Killigrew, married Francis Boyle, 1st Viscount Shannon, and became a mistress of Charles II.
KILLIN,a village and parish of Perthshire, Scotland, at the south-western extremity of Loch Tay, 4 m. N.E. of Killin Junction on a branch line of the Callander & Oban railway. Pop. of parish (1901), 1423. It is situated near the confluence of the rivers and glens of the Dochart and Lochay, and is a popular tourist centre, having communication by steamer with Kenmore at the other end of the lake, and thence by coach to Aberfeldy, the terminus of a branch of the Highland railway. It has manufactures of tweeds. In a field near the village a stone marks the site of what is known as Fingal’s Grove. An island in the Dochart (which is crossed at Killin by a bridge of five arches) is the ancient burial-place of the clan Macnab. Finlarig Castle, a picturesque mass of ivy-clad ruins, was a stronghold of the Campbells of Glenorchy, and several earls of Breadalbane were buried in ground adjoining it, where the modern mausoleum of the family stands. Three miles up the Lochay, which rises in the hills beyond the forest of Mamlorn and has a course of 15 m., the river forms a graceful cascade. The Dochart, issuing from Loch Dochart, flows for 13 m. in a north-easterly direction and falls into Loch Tay. The ruined castle on an islet in the loch once belonged to the Campbells of Lochawe.
KILLIS,a town of N. Syria, in the vilayet of Aleppo, 60 m. N. of Aleppo city. It is situated in an extremely fertile plain, and is completely surrounded with olive groves, the produce of which is reckoned the finest oil of all Syria; and its position on the carriage-road from Aleppo to Aintab and Birejik gives it importance. The population (20,000) consists largely of Circassians, Turkomans and Arabs, the town lying just on the northern rim of the Arab territory. As Killis lies also very near the proposed junction of the Bagdad and the Beirut-Aleppo railways (at Tell Habesh), it is likely to increase in importance.