EHUD ELBERFELD
EIBENSTOCK ELBEUF
EICHBERG, JULIUS ELBING
EICHENDORFF, JOSEPH, FREIHERR VON ELBOW
EICHHORN, JOHANN GOTTFRIED ELBURZ
EICHHORN, KARL FRIEDRICH ELCHE
EICHSTATT ELCHINGEN
EICHWALD, KARL EDUARD VON ELDAD BEN MAHLI
EIDER (river of Prussia) ELDER (ruler or officer)
EIDER (duck) ELDER (shrubs and trees)
EIFEL ELDON, JOHN SCOTT
EIFFEL TOWER EL DORADO
EILDON HILLS ELDUAYEN, JOSE DE
EILENBURG ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE
EINBECK ELEATIC SCHOOL
EINDHOVEN ELECAMPANE
EINHARD ELECTION (politics)
EINHORN, DAVID ELECTION (English law choice)
EINSIEDELN ELECTORAL COMMISSION
EISENACH ELECTORS
EISENBERG ELECTRA
EISENERZ ELECTRICAL MACHINE
EISLEBEN ELECTRIC EEL
EISTEDDFOD ELECTRICITY
EJECTMENT ELECTRICITY SUPPLY
EKATERINBURG ELECTRIC WAVES
EKATERINODAR ELECTROCHEMISTRY
EKATERINOSLAV (Russian government) ELECTROCUTION
EKATERINOSLAV (Russian town) ELECTROKINETICS
EKHOF, KONRAD ELECTROLIER
EKRON ELECTROLYSIS
ELABUGA ELECTROMAGNETISM
ELAM ELECTROMETALLURGY
ELAND ELECTROMETER
ELASTICITY ELECTRON
ELATERITE ELECTROPHORUS
ELATERIUM ELECTROPLATING
ELBA ELECTROSCOPE
ELBE
EHUD, in the Bible, a "judge" who delivered Israel from the Moabites
(Judg. iii. 12-30). He was sent from Ephraim to bear tribute to Eglon
king of Moab, who had crossed over the Jordan and seized the district
around Jericho. Being, like the Benjamites, left-handed (cf. xx. 16), he
was able to conceal a dagger and strike down the king before his
intentions were suspected. He locked Eglon in his chamber and escaped.
The men from Mt Ephraim collected under his leadership and by seizing
the fords of the Jordan were able to cut off the Moabites. He is called
the son of Gera a Benjamite, but since both Ehud and Gera are tribal
names (2 Sam. xvi. 5, 1 Chron. viii. 3, 5 sq.) it has been thought that
this notice is not genuine. The tribe of Benjamin rarely appears in the
old history of the Hebrews before the time of Saul. See further
BENJAMIN; JUDGES.
EIBENSTOCK, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Saxony, near the Mulde,
on the borders of Bohemia, 17 m. by rail S.S.E. of Zwickau. Pop. (1905)
7460. It is a principal seat of the tambour embroidery which was
introduced in 1775 by Clara Angermann. It possesses chemical and tobacco
manufactories, and tin and iron works. It has also a large cattle
market. Eibenstock, together with Schwarzenberg, was acquired by
purchase in 1533 by Saxony and was granted municipal rights in the
following year.
EICHBERG, JULIUS (1824-1893), German musical composer, was born at
Dusseldorf on the 13th of June 1824. When he was nineteen he entered the
Brussels Conservatoire, where he took first prizes for violin-playing
and composition. For eleven years he occupied the post of professor in
the Conservatoire of Geneva. In 1857 he went to the United States,
staying two years in New York and then proceeding to Boston, where he
became director of the orchestra at the Boston Museum. In 1867 he
founded the Boston Conservatory of Music. Eichberg published several
educational works on music; and his four operettas, _The Doctor of
Alcantara_, _The Rose of Tyrol_, _The Two Cadis_ and _A Night in Rome_,
were highly popular. He died in Boston on the 18th of January 1893.
EICHENDORFF, JOSEPH, FREIHERR VON (1788-1857), German poet and
romance-writer, was born at Lubowitz, near Ratibor, in Silesia, on the
10th of March 1788. He studied law at Halle and Heidelberg from 1805 to
1808. After a visit to Paris he went to Vienna, where he resided until
1813, when he joined the Prussian army as a volunteer in the famous
Lutzow corps. When peace was concluded in 1815, he left the army, and in
the following year he was appointed to a judicial office at Breslau. He
subsequently held similar offices at Danzig, Konigsberg and Berlin.
Retiring from public service in 1844, he lived successively in Danzig,
Vienna, Dresden and Berlin. He died at Neisse on the 26th of November
1857. Eichendorff was one of the most distinguished of the later members
of the German romantic school. His genius was essentially lyrical. Thus
he is most successful in his shorter romances and dramas, where
constructive power is least called for. His first work, written in 1811,
was a romance, _Ahnung und Gegenwart_ (1815). This was followed at short
intervals by several others, among which the foremost place is by
general consent assigned to _Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts_ (1826),
which has often been reprinted. Of his dramas may be mentioned _Ezzelin
von Romano_ (1828); and _Der letzte Held von Marienburg_ (1830), both
tragedies; and a comedy, _Die Freier_ (1833). He also translated several
of Calderon's religious dramas (_Geistliche Schauspiele_, 1846). It is,
however, through his lyrics (_Gedichte_, first collected 1837) that
Eichendorff is best known; he is the greatest lyric poet of the romantic
movement. No one has given more beautiful expression than he to the
poetry of a wandering life; often, again, his lyrics are exquisite word
pictures interpreting the mystic meaning of the moods of nature, as in
_Nachts_, or the old-time mystery which yet haunts the twilight forests
and feudal castles of Germany, as in the dramatic lyric _Waldesgesprach_
or _Auf einer Burg_. Their language is simple and musical, which makes
them very suitable for singing, and they have been often set, notably by
Schubert and Schumann.
In the later years of his life Eichendorff published several works on
subjects in literary history and criticism such as _Uber die ethische
und religiose Bedeutung der neuen romantischen Poesie in Deutschland_
(1847), _Der deutsche Roman des 18. Jahrhunderts in seinem Verhaltniss
zum Christenthum_ (1851), and _Geschichte der poetischen Litteratur
Deutschlands_ (1856), but the value of these works is impaired by the
author's reactionary standpoint. An edition of his collected works in
six volumes, appeared at Leipzig in 1870.
Eichendorff's _Samtliche Werke_ appeared in 6 vols., 1864 (reprinted
1869-1870); his _Samtliche poetische Werke_ in 4 vols. (1883). The
latest edition is that edited by R. von Gottschall in 4 vols. (1901).
A good selection edited by M. Kaoch will be found in vol. 145 of
Kurschner's _Deutsche Nationalliteratur_ (1893). Eichendorff's
critical writings were collected in 1866 under the title _Vermischte
Schriften_ (5 vols.). Cp. H. von Eichendorff's biographical
introduction to the _Samtliche Werke_; also H. Keiter, _Joseph von
Eichendorff_ (Cologne, 1887); H.A. Kruger, _Der junge Eichendorff_
(Oppeln, 1898).
EICHHORN, JOHANN GOTTFRIED (1752-1827), German theologian, was born at
Dorrenzimmern, in the principality of Hohenlohe-Oehringen, on the 16th
of October 1752. He was educated at the state school in Weikersheim,
where his father was superintendent, at the gymnasium at Heilbronn and
at the university of Gottingen (1770-1774), studying under J.D.
Michaelis. In 1774 he received the rectorship of the gymnasium at
Ohrdruf, in the duchy of Gotha, and in the following year was made
professor of Oriental languages at Jena. On the death of Michaelis in
1788 he was elected professor _ordinarius_ at Gottingen, where he
lectured not only on Oriental languages and on the exegesis of the Old
and New Testaments, but also on political history. His health was
shattered in 1825, but he continued his lectures until attacked by fever
on the 14th of June 1827. He died on the 27th of that month. Eichhorn
has been called "the founder of modern Old Testament criticism." He
first properly recognized its scope and problems, and began many of its
most important discussions. "My greatest trouble," he says in the
preface to the second edition of his _Einleitung_, "I had to bestow on a
hitherto unworked field--on the investigation of the inner nature of the
Old Testament with the help of the Higher Criticism (not a new name to
any humanist)." His investigations led him to the conclusion that "most
of the writings of the Hebrews have passed through several hands." He
took for granted that all the so-called supernatural facts relating to
the Old and New Testaments were explicable on natural principles. He
sought to judge them from the standpoint of the ancient world, and to
account for them by the superstitious beliefs which were then generally
in vogue. He did not perceive in the biblical books any religious ideas
of much importance for modern times; they interested him merely
historically and for the light they cast upon antiquity. He regarded
many books of the Old Testament as spurious, questioned the genuineness
of _2 Peter_ and _Jude_, denied the Pauline authorship of _Timothy_ and
_Titus_, and suggested that the canonical gospels were based upon
various translations and editions of a primary Aramaic gospel. He did
not appreciate as sufficiently as David Strauss and the Tubingen critics
the difficulties which a natural theory has to surmount, nor did he
support his conclusions by such elaborate discussions as they deemed
necessary.
His principal works were--_Geschichte des Ostindischen Handels vor
Mohammed_ (Gotha, 1775); _Allgemeine Bibliothek der biblischen
Literatur_ (10 vols., Leipzig, 1787-1801); _Einleitung in das Alte
Testament_ (3 vols., Leipzig, 1780-1783); _Einleitung in das Neue
Testament_ (1804-1812); _Einleitung in die apokryphischen Bucher des
Alten Testaments_ (Gott., 1795); _Commentarius in apocalypsin Joannis_
(2 vols., Gott., 1791); _Die Hebr. Propheten_ (3 vols., Gott.,
1816-1819); _Allgemeine Geschichte der Cultur und Literatur des neuern
Europa_ (2 vols., Gott., 1796-1799); _Literargeschichte_ (1st vol.,
Gott., 1799, 2nd ed. 1813, 2nd vol. 1814); _Geschichte der Literatur
von ihrem Anfange bis auf die neuesten Zeiten_ (5 vols., Gott.,
1805-1812); _Ubersicht der Franzosischen Revolution_ (2 vols., Gott.,
1797); _Weltgeschichte_ (3rd ed., 5 vols., Gott., 1819-1820);
_Geschichte der drei letzten Jahrhunderte_ (3rd ed., 6 vols., Hanover,
1817-1818); _Urgeschichte des erlauchten Hauses der Welfen_ (Hanover,
1817).
See R.W. Mackay, _The Tubingen School and its Antecedents_ (1863), pp.
103 ff.; Otto Pfleiderer, _Development of Theology_ (1890), p. 209;
T.K. Cheyne, _Founders of Old Testament Criticism_ (1893), pp. 13 ff.
EICHHORN, KARL FRIEDRICH (1781-1854), German jurist, son of the
preceding, was born at Jena on the 20th of November 1781. He entered the
university of Gottingen in 1797. In 1805 he obtained the professorship
of law at Frankfort-on-Oder, holding it till 1811, when he accepted the
same chair at Berlin. On the call to arms in 1813 he became a captain of
horse, and received at the end of the war the decoration of the Iron
Cross. In 1817 he was offered the chair of law at Gottingen, and,
preferring it to the Berlin professorship, taught there with great
success till ill-health compelled him to resign in 1828. His successor
in the Berlin chair having died in 1832, he again entered on its duties,
but resigned two years afterwards. In 1832 he also received an
appointment in the ministry of foreign affairs, which, with his labours
on many state committees and his legal researches and writings, occupied
him till his death at Cologne on the 4th of July 1854. Eichhorn is
regarded as one of the principal authorities on German constitutional
law. His chief work is _Deutsche Staats- und Rechtsgeschichte_
(Gottingen, 1808-1823, 5th ed. 1843-1844). In company with Savigny and
J.F.L. Goschen he founded the _Zeitschrift fur geschichtliche
Rechtswissenschaft_. He was the author besides of _Einleitung in das
deutsche Privatrecht mit Einschluss des Lehnrechts_ (Gott., 1823) and
the _Grundsatze des Kirchenrechts der Katholischen und der Evangelischen
Religionspartei in Deutschland_, 2 Bde. (ib., 1831-1833).
See Schulte, _Karl Friedrich Eichhorn, sein Leben und Wirken_ (1884).
EICHSTATT, a town and episcopal see of Germany, in the kingdom of
Bavaria, in the deep and romantic valley of the Altmuhl, 35 m. S. of
Nuremberg, on the railway to Ingolstadt and Munich. Pop. (1905) 7701.
The town, with its numerous spires and remains of medieval
fortifications, is very picturesque. It has an Evangelical and seven
Roman Catholic churches, among the latter the cathedral of St Wilibald
(first bishop of Eichstatt),--with the tomb of the saint and numerous
pictures and relics,--the church of St Walpurgis, sister of Wilibald,
whose remains rest in the choir, and the Capuchin church, a copy of the
Holy Sepulchre. Of its secular buildings the most noticeable are the
town hall and the Leuchtenberg palace, once the residence of the prince
bishops and later of the dukes of Leuchtenberg (now occupied by the
court of justice of the district), with beautiful grounds. The
Wilibaldsburg, built on a neighbouring hill in the 14th century by
Bishop Bertold of Hohenzollern, was long the residence of the prince
bishops of Eichstatt, and now contains an historical museum. There are
an episcopal lyceum, a clerical seminary, a classical and a modern
school, and numerous religious houses. The industries of the town
include bootmaking, brewing and the production of lithographic stones.
Eichstatt (Lat. _Aureatum_ or _Rubilocus_) was originally a Roman
station which, after the foundation of the bishopric by Boniface in 745,
developed into a considerable town, which was surrounded with walls in
908. The bishops of Eichstatt were princes of the Empire, subject to the
spiritual jurisdiction of the archbishops of Mainz, and ruled over
considerable territories in the Circle of Franconia. In 1802 the see was
secularized and incorporated in Bavaria. In 1817 it was given, with the
duchy of Leuchtenberg, as a mediatized domain under the Bavarian crown,
by the king of Bavaria to his son-in-law Eugene de Beauharnais,
ex-viceroy of Italy, henceforth styled duke of Leuchtenberg. In 1855 it
reverted to the Bavarian crown.
EICHWALD, KARL EDUARD VON (1795-1876), Russian geologist and physician,
was born at Mitau in Courland on the 4th of July 1795. He became doctor
of medicine and professor of zoology in Kazan in 1823; four years later
professor of zoology and comparative anatomy at Vilna; in 1838 professor
of zoology, mineralogy and medicine at St Petersburg; and finally
professor of palaeontology in the institute of mines in that city. He
travelled much in the Russian empire, and was a keen observer of its
natural history and geology. He died at St Petersburg on the 10th of
November 1876. His published works include _Reise auf dem Caspischen
Meere und in den Caucasus_, 2 vols. (Stuttgart and Tubingen, 1834-1838);
_Die Urwelt Russlands_ (St Petersburg, 1840-1845); _Lethaea Rossica, ou
paleontologie de la Russie_, 3 vols. (Stuttgart, 1852-1868), with
Atlases.
EIDER, a river of Prussia, in the province of Schleswig-Holstein. It
rises to the south of Kiel, in Lake Redder, flows first north, then west
(with wide-sweeping curves), and after a course of 117 m. enters the
North Sea at Tonning. It is navigable up to Rendsburg, and is embanked
through the marshes across which it runs in its lower course. Since the
reign of Charlemagne, the Eider (originally _Agyr Dor_--Neptune's gate)
was known as _Romani terminus imperii_ and was recognized as the
boundary of the Empire in 1027 by the emperor Conrad II., the founder of
the Salian dynasty. In the controversy arising out of the
Schleswig-Holstein Question, which culminated in the war of Austria and
Prussia against Denmark in 1864, the Eider gave its name to the "Eider
Danes," the _intransigeant_ Danish party which maintained that Schleswig
(Sonderjylland, South Jutland) was by nature and historical tradition an
integral part of Denmark. The Eider Canal (_Eider-Kanal_), which was
constructed between 1777 and 1784, leaves the Eider at the point where
the river turns to the west and enters the Bay of Kiel at Holtenau. It
was hampered by six sluices, but was used annually by some 4000 vessels,
and until its conversion in 1887-1895 into the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal
afforded the only direct connexion between the North Sea and the Baltic.
EIDER (Icelandic, _Aedur_), a large marine duck, the _Somateria
mollissima_ of ornithologists, famous for its down, which, from its
extreme lightness and elasticity, is in great request for filling
bed-coverlets. This bird generally frequents low rocky islets near the
coast, and in Iceland and Norway has long been afforded every
encouragement and protection, a fine being inflicted for killing it
during the breeding-season, or even for firing a gun near its haunts,
while artificial nesting-places are in many localities contrived for its
further accommodation. From the care thus taken of it in those countries
it has become exceedingly tame at its chief resorts, which are strictly
regarded as property, and the taking of eggs or down from them, except
by authorized persons, is severely punished by law. In appearance the
eider is somewhat clumsy, though it flies fast and dives admirably. The
female is of a dark reddish-brown colour barred with brownish-black. The
adult male in spring is conspicuous by his pied plumage of velvet-black
beneath, and white above: a patch of shining sea-green on his head is
only seen on close inspection. This plumage he is considered not to
acquire until his third year, being when young almost exactly like the
female, and it is certain that the birds which have not attained their
full dress remain in flocks by themselves without going to the
breeding-stations. The nest is generally in some convenient corner among
large stones, hollowed in the soil, and furnished with a few bits of dry
grass, seaweed or heather. By the time that the full number of eggs
(which rarely if ever exceeds five) is laid the down is added. Generally
the eggs and down are taken at intervals of a few days by the owners of
the "eider-fold," and the birds are thus kept depositing both during the
whole season; but some experience is needed to ensure the greatest
profit from each commodity. Every duck is ultimately allowed to hatch an
egg or two to keep up the stock, and the down of the last nest is
gathered after the birds have left the spot. The story of the drake's
furnishing down, after the duck's supply is exhausted is a fiction. He
never goes near the nest. The eggs have a strong flavour, but are much
relished by both Icelanders and Norwegians. In the Old World the eider
breeds in suitable localities from Spitsbergen to the Farne Islands off
the coast of Northumberland--where it is known as St Cuthbert's duck.
Its food consists of marine animals (molluscs and crustaceans), and
hence the young are not easily reared in captivity. The eider of the New
World differs somewhat, and has been described as a distinct species
(_S. dresseri_). Though much diminished in numbers by persecution, it is
still abundant on the coast of Newfoundland and thence northward. In
Greenland also eiders are very plentiful, and it is supposed that
three-fourths of the supply of down sent to Copenhagen comes from that
country. The limits of the eider's northern range are not known, but the
Arctic expedition of 1875 did not meet with it after leaving the Danish
settlements, and its place was taken by an allied species, the king-duck
(_S. spectabilis_), a very beautiful bird which sometimes appears on the
British coast. The female greatly resembles that of the eider, but the
male has a black chevron on his chin and a bright orange prominence on
his forehead, which last seems to have given the species its English
name. On the west coast of North America the eider is represented by a
species (_S. v-nigrum_) with a like chevron, but otherwise resembling
the Atlantic bird. In the same waters two other fine species are also
found (_S. fischeri_ and _S. stelleri_), one of which (the latter) also
inhabits the Arctic coast of Russia and East Finmark and has twice
reached England. The Labrador duck (_S. labradoria_), now extinct, also
belongs to this group. (A. N.)
EIFEL, a district of Germany, in the Prussian Rhine Province, between
the Rhine, the Moselle and the frontier of the grand duchy of Luxemburg.
It is a hilly region, most elevated in the eastern part (Hohe Eifel),
where there are several points from 2000 up to 2410 ft. above sea-level.
In the west is the Schneifels or Schnee-Eifel; and the southern part,
where the most picturesque scenery and chief geological interest is
found, is called the Vorder Eifel.
The Eifel is an ancient massif of folded Devonian rocks upon the margins
of which, near Hillesheim and towards Bitburg and Trier, rest
unconformably the nearly undisturbed sandstones, marls and limestones of
the Trias. On the southern border, at Wittlich, the terrestrial deposits
of the Permian Rothliegende are also met with. The slates and sandstones
of the Lower Devonian form by far the greater part of the region; but
folded amongst these, in a series of troughs running from south-west to
north-east lie the fossiliferous limestones of the Middle Devonian, and
occasionally, as for example near Budesheim, a few small patches of the
Upper Devonian. Upon the ancient floor of folded Devonian strata stand
numerous small volcanic cones, many of which, though long extinct, are
still very perfect in form. The precise age of the eruptions is
uncertain. The only sign of any remaining volcanic activity is the
emission in many places of carbon dioxide and of heated waters. There is
no historic or legendary record of any eruption, but nevertheless the
eruptions must have continued to a very recent geological period. The
lavas of Papenkaule are clearly posterior to the excavation of the
valley of the Kyll, and an outflow of basalt has forced the Uess to seek
a new course. The volcanic rocks occur both as tuffs and as lava-flows.
They are chiefly leucite and nepheline rocks, such as leucitite,
leucitophyre and nephelinite, but basalt and trachyte also occur. The
leucite lavas of Niedermendig contain hauyne in abundance. The most
extensive and continuous area of volcanic rocks is that surrounding the
Laacher See and extending eastwards to Neuwied and Coblenz and even
beyond the Rhine.
The numerous so-called crater-lakes or _maare_ of the Eifel present
several features of interest. They do not, as a rule, lie in true
craters at the summit of volcanic cones, but rather in hollows which
have been formed by explosions. The most remarkable group is that of
Daun, where the three depressions of Gemund, Weinfeld and Schalkenmehren
have been hollowed out in the Lower Devonian strata. The first of these
shows no sign of either lavas or scoriae, but volcanic rocks occur on
the margins of the other two. The two largest lakes in the Eifel region,
however, are the Laacher See in the hills west of Andernach on the
Rhine, and the Pulvermaar S.E. of the Daun group, with its shores of
peculiar volcanic sand, which also appears in its waters as a black
powder (_pulver_).
EIFFEL TOWER. Erected for the exposition of 1889, the Eiffel Tower, in
the Champ de Mars, Paris, is by far the highest artificial structure in
the world, and its height of 300 metres (984 ft.) surpasses that of the
obelisk at Washington by 429 ft., and that of St Paul's cathedral by 580
ft. Its framework is composed essentially of four uprights, which rise
from the corners of a square measuring 100 metres on the side; thus the
area it covers at its base is nearly 2-1/2 acres. These uprights are
supported on huge piers of masonry and concrete, the foundations for
which were carried down, by the aid of iron caissons and compressed air,
to a depth of about 15 metres on the side next the Seine, and about 9
metres on the other side. At first they curve upwards at an angle of 54
deg.; then they gradually become straighter, until they unite in a
single shaft rather more than half-way up. The first platform, at a
height of 57 metres, has an area of 5860 sq. yds., and is reached either
by staircases or lifts. The next, accessible by lifts only, is 115
metres up, and has an area of 32 sq. yds; while the third, at 276,
supports a pavilion capable of holding 800 persons. Nearly 25 metres
higher up still is the lantern, with a gallery 5 metres in diameter. The
work of building this structure, which is mainly composed of iron
lattice-work, was begun on the 28th of January 1887, and the full height
was reached on the 13th of March 1889. Besides being one of the sights
of Paris, to which visitors resort in order to enjoy the extensive view
that can be had from its higher galleries on a clear day, the tower is
used to some extent for scientific and semi-scientific purposes; thus
meteorological observations are carried on. The engineer under whose
direction the tower was constructed was Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born
at Dijon on the 15th of December 1832), who had already had a wide
experience in the construction of large metal bridges, and who designed
the huge sluices for the Panama Canal, when it was under the French
company.
EILDON HILLS, a group of three conical hills, of volcanic origin, in
Roxburghshire, Scotland, 1 m. S. by E. of Melrose, about equidistant
from Melrose and St Boswells stations on the North British railway. They
were once known as Eldune--the _Eldunum_ of Simeon of Durham (fl.
1130)--probably derived from the Gaelic _aill_, "rock," and _dun_,
"hill"; but the name is also said to be a corruption of the Cymric
_moeldun_, "bald hill." The northern peak is 1327 ft. high, the central
1385 ft. and the southern 1216 ft. Whether or not the Roman station of
_Trimontium_ was situated here is matter of controversy. According to
General William Roy (1726-1790) Trimontium--so called, according to this
theory, from the triple Eildon heights--was Old Melrose; other
authorities incline to place the station on the northern shore of the
Solway Firth. The Eildons have been the subject of much legendary lore.
Michael Scot (1175-1234), acting as a confederate of the Evil One (so
the fable runs) cleft Eildon Hill, then a single cone, into the three
existing peaks. Another legend states that Arthur and his knights sleep
in a vault beneath the Eildons. A third legend centres in Thomas of
Erceldoune. The Eildon Tree Stone, a large moss-covered boulder, lying
on the high road as it bends towards the west within 2 m. of Melrose,
marks the spot where the Fairy Queen led him into her realms in the
heart of the hills. Other places associated with this legend may still
be identified. Huntly Banks, where "true Thomas" lay and watched the
queen's approach, is half a mile west of the Eildon Tree Stone, and on
the west side of the hills is Bogle Burn, a streamlet that feeds the
Tweed and probably derives its name from his ghostly visitor. Here, too,
is Rhymer's glen, although the name was invented by Sir Walter Scott,
who added the dell to his Abbotsford estate. Bowden, to the south of the
hills, was the birthplace of the poets Thomas Aird (1802-1876) and James
Thomson, and its parish church contains the burial-place of the dukes of
Roxburghe. Eildon Hall is a seat of the duke of Buccleuch.
EILENBURG, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Saxony, on an
island formed by the Mulde, 31 m. E. from Halle, at the junction of the
railways Halle-Cottbus and Leipzig-Eilenburg. Pop. (1905) 15,145. There
are three churches, two Evangelical and one Roman Catholic. The
industries of the town include the manufacture of chemicals, cloth,
quilting, calico, cigars and agricultural implements, bleaching, dyeing,
basket-making, carriage-building and trade in cattle. In the
neighbourhood is the iron foundry of Erwinhof. Opposite the town, on the
steep left bank of the Mulde, is the castle from which it derives its
name, the original seat of the noble family of Eulenburg. This castle
(Ilburg) is mentioned in records of the reigns of Henry the Fowler as an
important outpost against the Sorbs and Wends. The town itself,
originally called Mildenau, is of great antiquity. It is first mentioned
as a town in 981, when it belonged to the house of Wettin and was the
chief town of the East Mark. In 1386 it was incorporated in the
margraviate of Meissen. In 1815 it passed to Prussia.
See Gundermann, _Chronik der Stadt Eilenburg_ (Eilenburg, 1879).
EINBECK, or EIMBECK, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of
Hanover, on the Ilm, 50 m. by rail S. of Hanover. Pop. (1905) 8709. It
is an old-fashioned town with many quaint wooden houses, notable among
them the "Northeimhaus," a beautiful specimen of medieval architecture.
There are several churches, among them the Alexanderkirche, containing
the tombs of the princes of Grubenhagen, and a synagogue. The schools
include a _Realgymnasium_ (i.e. predominantly for "modern" subjects),
technical schools for the advanced study of machine-making, for weaving
and for the textile industries, a preparatory training-college and a
police school. The industries include brewing, weaving and the
manufacture of cloth, carpets, tobacco, sugar, leather-grease, toys and
roofing-felt.
Einbeck grew up originally round the monastery of St Alexander (founded
1080), famous for its relic of the True Blood. It is first recorded as a
town in 1274, and in the 14th century was the seat of the princes of
Grubenhagen, a branch of the ducal house of Brunswick. The town
subsequently joined the Hanseatic League. In the 15th century it became
famous for its beer ("Eimbecker," whence the familiar "Bock"). In 1540
the Reformation was introduced by Duke Philip of Brunswick-Saltzderhelden
(d. 1551), with the death of whose son Philip II. (1596) the Grubenhagen
line became extinct. In 1626, during the Thirty Years' War, Einbeck was
taken by Pappenheim and in October 1641 by Piccolomini. In 1643 it was
evacuated by the Imperialists. In 1761 its walls were razed by the
French.
See H.L. Harland, _Gesch. der Stadt Einbeck_, 2 Bde. (Einbeck,
1854-1859; abridgment, ib. 1881).
EINDHOVEN, a town in the province of North Brabant, Holland, and a
railway junction 8 m. by rail W. by S. of Helmond. Pop. (1900) 4730.
Like Tilburg and Helmond it has developed in modern times into a
flourishing industrial centre, having linen, woollen, cotton, tobacco
and cigar, matches, &c., factories and several breweries.
EINHARD (c. 770-840), the friend and biographer of Charlemagne; he is
also called Einhartus, Ainhardus or Heinhardus, in some of the early
manuscripts. About the 10th century the name was altered into Agenardus,
and then to Eginhardus, or Eginhartus, but, although these variations
were largely used in the English and French languages, the form
Einhardus, or Einhartus, is unquestionably the right one.
According to the statement of Walafrid Strabo, Einhard was born in the
district which is watered by the river Main, and his birth has been
fixed at about 770. His parents were of noble birth, and were probably
named Einhart and Engilfrit; and their son was educated in the monastery
of Fulda, where he was certainly residing in 788 and in 791. Owing to
his intelligence and ability he was transferred, not later than 796,
from Fulda to the palace of Charlemagne by abbot Baugulf; and he soon
became very intimate with the king and his family, and undertook various
important duties, one writer calling him _domesticus palatii regalis_.
He was a member of the group of scholars who gathered around Charlemagne
and was entrusted with the charge of the public buildings, receiving,
according to a fashion then prevalent, the scriptural name of Bezaleel
(Exodus xxxi. 2 and xxxv. 30-35) owing to his artistic skill. It has
been supposed that he was responsible for the erection of the basilica
at Aix-la-Chapelle, where he resided with the emperor, and the other
buildings mentioned in chapter xvii. of his _Vita Karoli Magni_, but
there is no express statement to this effect. In 806 Charlemagne sent
him to Rome to obtain the signature of Pope Leo III. to a will which he
had made concerning the division of his empire; and it was possibly
owing to Einhard's influence that in 813, after the death of his two
elder sons, the emperor made his remaining son, Louis, a partner with
himself in the imperial dignity. When Louis became sole emperor in 814
he retained his father's minister in his former position; then in 817
made him tutor to his son, Lothair, afterwards the emperor Lothair I.;
and showed him many other marks of favour. Einhard married Emma, or
Imma, a sister of Bernharius, bishop of Worms, and a tradition of the
12th century represented this lady as a daughter of Charlemagne, and
invented a romantic story with regard to the courtship which deserves to
be noticed as it frequently appears in literature. Einhard is said to
have visited the emperor's daughter regularly and secretly, and on one
occasion a fall of snow made it impossible for him to walk away without
leaving footprints, which would lead to his detection. This risk,
however, was obviated by the foresight of Emma, who carried her lover
across the courtyard of the palace; a scene which was witnessed by
Charlemagne, who next morning narrated the occurrence to his
counsellors, and asked for their advice. Very severe punishments were
suggested for the clandestine lover, but the emperor rewarded the
devotion of the pair by consenting to their marriage. This story is, of
course, improbable, and is further discredited by the fact that Einhard
does not mention Emma among the number of Charlemagne's children.
Moreover, a similar story has been told of a daughter of the emperor
Henry III. It is uncertain whether Einhard had any children. He
addressed a letter to a person named Vussin, whom he calls _fili_ and
_mi nate_, but, as Vussin is not mentioned in documents in which his
interests as Einhard's son would have been concerned, it is possible
that he was only a young man in whom he took a special interest. In
January 815 the emperor Louis I. bestowed on Einhard and his wife the
domains of Michelstadt and Mulinheim in the Odenwald, and in the charter
conveying these lands he is called simply Einhardus, but, in a document
dated the 2nd of June of the same year, he is referred to as abbot.
After this time he is mentioned as head of several monasteries: St
Peter, Mount Blandin and St Bavon at Ghent, St Servais at Maastricht, St
Cloud near Paris, and Fontenelle near Rouen, and he also had charge of
the church of St John the Baptist at Pavia.
During the quarrels which took place between Louis I. and his sons, in
consequence of the emperor's second marriage, Einhard's efforts were
directed to making peace, but after a time he grew tired of the troubles
and intrigues of court life. In 818 he had given his estate at
Michelstadt to the abbey of Lorsch, but he retained Mulinheim, where
about 827 he founded an abbey and erected a church, to which he
transported some relics of St Peter and St Marcellinus, which he had
procured from Rome. To Mulinheim, which was afterwards called
Seligenstadt, he finally retired in 830. His wife, who had been his
constant helper, and whom he had not put away on becoming an abbot, died
in 836, and after receiving a visit from the emperor, Einhard died on
the 14th of March 840. He was buried at Seligenstadt, and his epitaph
was written by Hrabanus Maurus. Einhard was a man of very short
stature, a feature on which Alcuin wrote an epigram. Consequently he was
called _Nardulus_, a diminutive form of Einhardus, and his great
industry and activity caused him to be likened to an ant. He was also a
man of learning and culture. Reaping the benefits of the revival of
learning brought about by Charlemagne, he was on intimate terms with
Alcuin, was well versed in Latin literature, and knew some Greek. His
most famous work is his _Vita Karoli Magni_, to which a prologue was
added by Walafrid Strabo. Written in imitation of the _De vitis
Caesarum_ of Suetonius, this is the best contemporary account of the
life of Charlemagne, and could only have been written by one who was
very intimate with the emperor and his court. It is, moreover, a work of
some artistic merit, although not free from inaccuracies. It was written
before 821, and having been very popular during the middle ages, was
first printed at Cologne in 1521. G.H. Pertz collated more than sixty
manuscripts for his edition of 1829, and others have since come to
light. Other works by Einhard are: _Epistolae_, which are of
considerable importance for the history of the times; _Historia
translationis beatorum Christi martyrum Marcellini et Petri_, which
gives a curious account of how the bones of these martyrs were stolen
and conveyed to Seligenstadt, and what miracles they wrought; and _De
adoranda cruce_, a treatise which has only recently come to light, and
which has been published by E. Dummler in the _Neues Archiv der
Gesellschaft fur altere deutsche Geschichtskunde_, Band xi. (Hanover,
1886). It has been asserted that Einhard was the author of some of the
Frankish annals, and especially of part of the annals of Lorsch
(_Annales Laurissenses majores_), and part of the annals of Fulda
(_Annales Fuldenses_). Much discussion has taken place on this question,
and several of the most eminent of German historians, Ranke among them,
have taken part therein, but no certain decision has been reached.
The literature on Einhard is very extensive, as nearly all those who
deal with Charlemagne, early German and early French literature, treat
of him. Editions of his works are by A. Teulet, _Einhardi omnia quae
extant opera_ (Paris, 1840-1843), with a French translation; P. Jaffe,
in the _Bibliotheca rerum Germanicarum_, Band iv. (Berlin, 1867); G.H.
Pertz in the _Monumenta Germaniae historica_, Bande i. and ii.
(Hanover, 1826-1829), and J.P. Migne in the _Patrologia Latina_, tomes
97 and 104 (Paris, 1866). The _Vita Karoli Magni_, edited by G.H.
Pertz and G. Waitz, has been published separately (Hanover, 1880).
Among the various translations of the _Vita_ may be mentioned an
English one by W. Glaister (London, 1877) and a German one by O. Abel
(Leipzig, 1893). For a complete bibliography of Einhard, see A.
Potthast, _Bibliotheca historica_, pp. 394-397 (Berlin, 1896), and W.
Wattenbach, _Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen_, Band i. (Berlin, 1904).
(A. W. H.*)
EINHORN, DAVID (1809-1879), leader of the Jewish reform movement in the
United States of America, was born in Bavaria. He was a supporter of the
principles of Abraham Geiger (q.v.), and while still in Germany
advocated the introduction of prayers in the vernacular, the exclusion
of nationalistic hopes from the synagogue service, and other ritual
modifications. In 1855 he migrated to America, where he became the
acknowledged leader of reform, and laid the foundation of the regime
under which the mass of American Jews (excepting the newly arrived
Russians) now worship. In 1858 he published his revised prayer book,
which has formed the model for all subsequent revisions. In 1861 he
strongly supported the anti-slavery party, and was forced to leave
Baltimore where he then ministered. He continued his work first in
Philadelphia and later in New York. (I. A.)
EINSIEDELN, the most populous town in the Swiss canton of Schwyz. It is
built on the right bank of the Alpbach (an affluent of the Sihl), at a
height of 2908 ft. above the sea-level on a rather bare moorland, and by
rail is 25 m. S.E. of Zurich, or by a round-about railway route about 38
m. north of Schwyz, with which it communicates directly over the Hacken
Pass (4649 ft.) or the Holzegg Pass (4616 ft.). In 1900 the population
was 8496, all (save 75) Romanists and all (save 111) German-speaking.
The town is entirely dependent on the great Benedictine abbey that rises
slightly above it to the east. Close to its present site Meinrad, a
hermit, was murdered in 861 by two robbers, whose crime was made known
by Meinrad's two pet ravens. Early in the 10th century Benno, a hermit,
rebuilt the holy man's cell, but the abbey proper was not founded till
about 934, the church having been consecrated (it is said by Christ
Himself) in 948. In 1274 the dignity of a prince of the Holy Roman
Empire was confirmed by the emperor to the reigning abbot. Originally
under the protection of the counts of Rapperswil (to which town on the
lake of Zurich the old pilgrims' way still leads over the Etzel Pass,
3146 ft., with its chapel and inn), this position passed by marriage
with their heiress in 1295 to the Laufenburg or cadet line of the
Habsburgs, but from 1386 was permanently occupied by Schwyz. A black
wooden image of the Virgin and the fame of St Meinrad caused the throngs
of pilgrims to resort to Einsiedeln in the middle ages, and even now it
is much frequented, particularly about the 14th of September. The
existing buildings date from the 18th century only, while the treasury
and the library still contain many precious objects, despite the sack by
the French in 1798. There are now about 100 fully professed monks, who
direct several educational institutions. The Black Virgin has a special
chapel in the stately church. Zwingli was the parish priest of
Einsiedeln 1516-1518 (before he became a Protestant), while near the
town Paracelsus (1493-1541), the celebrated philosopher, was born.
See Father O. Ringholz, _Geschichte d. furstl. Benediktinerstiftes
Einsiedeln_, vol. i. (to 1526), (Einsiedeln, 1904). (W. A. B. C.)
EISENACH, a town of Germany, second capital of the grand-duchy of
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, lies at the north-west foot of the Thuringian
forest, at the confluence of the Nesse and Horsel, 32 m. by rail W. from
Erfurt. Pop. (1905) 35,123. The town mainly consists of a long street,
running from east to west. Off this are the market square, containing
the grand-ducal palace, built in 1742, where the duchess Helene of
Orleans long resided, the town-hall, and the late Gothic St
Georgenkirche; and the square on which stands the Nikolaikirche, a fine
Romanesque building, built about 1150 and restored in 1887. Noteworthy
are also the Klemda, a small castle dating from 1260; the Lutherhaus, in
which the reformer stayed with the Cotta family in 1498; the house in
which Sebastian Bach was born, and that (now a museum) in which Fritz
Reuter lived (1863-1874). There are monuments to the two former in the
town, while the resting-place of the latter in the cemetery is marked by
a less pretentious memorial. Eisenach has a school of forestry, a school
of design, a classical school (_Gymnasium_) and modern school
(_Realgymnasium_), a deaf and dumb school, a teachers' seminary, a
theatre and a Wagner museum. The most important industries of the town
are worsted-spinning, carriage and wagon building, and the making of
colours and pottery. Among others are the manufacture of cigars, cement
pipes, iron-ware and machines, alabaster ware, shoes, leather, &c.,
cabinet-making, brewing, granite quarrying and working, tile-making, and
saw- and corn-milling.
The natural beauty of its surroundings and the extensive forests of the
district have of late years attracted many summer residents.
Magnificently situated on a precipitous hill, 600 ft. above the town to
the south, is the historic Wartburg (q.v.), the ancient castle of the
landgraves of Thuringia, famous as the scene of the contest of
Minnesingers immortalized in Wagner's Tannhauser, and as the place where
Luther, on his return from the diet of Worms in 1521, was kept in hiding
and made his translation of the Bible. On a high rock adjacent to the
Wartburg are the ruins of the castle of Madelstein.
Eisenach (_Isenacum_) was founded in 1070 by Louis II. the Springer,
landgrave of Thuringia, and its history during the middle ages was
closely bound up with that of the Wartburg, the seat of the landgraves.
The Klemda, mentioned above, was built by Sophia (d. 1284), daughter of
the landgrave Louis IV., and wife of Duke Henry II. of Brabant, to
defend the town against Henry III., margrave of Meissen, during the
succession contest that followed the extinction of the male line of the
Thuringian landgraves in 1247. The principality of Eisenach fell to the
Saxon house of Wettin in 1440, and in the partition of 1485 formed part
of the territories given to the Ernestine line. It was a separate Saxon
duchy from 1596 to 1638, from 1640 to 1644, and again from 1662 to
1741, when it finally fell to Saxe-Weimar. The town of Eisenach, by
reason of its associations, has been a favourite centre for the
religious propaganda of Evangelical Germany, and since 1852 it has been
the scene of the annual conference of the German Evangelical Church,
known as the Eisenach conference.
See Trinius, _Eisenach und Umgebung_ (Minden, 1900); and H.A. Daniel,
_Deutschland_ (Leipzig, 1895), and further references in U. Chevalier,
"Repertoire des sources," &c., _Topo-bibliogr._ (Montbeliard,
1894-1899), s.v.
EISENBERG (_Isenberg_), a town of Germany, in the duchy of
Saxe-Altenburg, on a plateau between the rivers Saale and Elster, 20 m.
S.W. from Zeitz, and connected with the railway Leipzig-Gera by a branch
to Crossen. Pop. (1905) 8824. It possesses an old castle, several
churches and monuments to Duke Christian of Saxe-Eisenberg (d. 1707),
Bismarck, and the philosopher Karl Christian Friedrich Krause (q.v.).
Its principal industries are weaving, and the manufacture of machines,
ovens, furniture, pianos, porcelain and sausages.
See Back, _Chronik der Sladt und des Amtes Eisenberg_ (Eisenb., 1843).
EISENERZ ("Iron ore"), a market-place and old mining town in Styria,
Austria, 68 m. N.W. of Graz by rail. Pop. (1900) 6494. It is situated in
a deep valley, dominated on the east by the Pfaffenstein (6140 ft.), on
the west by the Kaiserschild (6830 ft.), and on the south by the Erzberg
(5030 ft.). It has an interesting example of a medieval fortified
church, a Gothic edifice founded by Rudolph of Habsburg in the 13th
century and rebuilt in the 16th. The Erzberg or Ore Mountain furnishes
such rich ore that it is quarried in the open air like stone, in the
summer months. There is documentary evidence of the mines having been
worked as far back as the 12th century. They afford employment to two or
three thousand hands in summer and about half as many in winter, and
yield some 800,000 tons of iron per annum. Eisenerz is connected with
the mines by the Erzberg railway, a bold piece of engineering work, 14
m. long, constructed on the Abt's rack-and-pinion system. It passes
through some beautiful scenery, and descends to Vordernberg (pop. 3111),
an important centre of the iron trade situated on the south side of the
Erzberg. Eisenerz possesses, in addition, twenty-five furnaces, which
produce iron, and particularly steel, of exceptional excellence. A few
miles to the N.W. of Eisenerz lies the castle of Leopoldstein, and near
it the beautiful Leopoldsteiner Lake. This lake, with its dark-green
water, situated at an altitude of 2028 ft., and surrounded on all sides
by high peaks, is not big, but is very deep, having a depth of 520 ft.
EISLEBEN (Lat. _Islebia_), a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of
Saxony, 24 m. W. by N. from Halle, on the railway to Nordhausen and
Cassel. Pop. (1905) 23,898. It is divided into an old and a new town
(Altstadt and Neustadt). Among its principal buildings are the church of
St Andrew (Andreaskirche), which contains numerous monuments of the counts
of Mansfeld; the church of St Peter and St Paul (Peter-Paulkirche),
containing the font in which Luther was baptized; the royal gymnasium
(classical school), founded by Luther shortly before his death in 1546;
and the hospital. Eisleben is celebrated as the place where Luther was
born and died. The house in which he was born was burned in 1689, but was
rebuilt in 1693 as a free school for orphans. This school fell into decay
under the regime of the kingdom of Westphalia, but was restored in 1817 by
King Frederick William III. of Prussia, who, in 1819, transferred it to a
new building behind the old house. The house in which Luther died was
restored towards the end of the 19th century, and his death chamber is
still preserved. A bronze statue of Luther by Rudolf Siemering (1835-1905)
was unveiled in 1883. Eisleben has long been the centre of an important
mining district (Luther was a miner's son), the principal products being
silver and copper. It possesses smelting works and a school of mining.
The earliest record of Eisleben is dated 974. In 1045, at which time it
belonged to the counts of Mansfeld, it received the right to hold
markets, coin money, and levy tolls. From 1531 to 1710 it was the seat
of the cadet line of the counts of Mansfeld-Eisleben. After the
extinction of the main line of the counts of Mansfeld, Eisleben fell to
Saxony, and, in the partition of Saxony by the congress of Vienna in
1815, was assigned to Prussia.
See G. Grossler, _Urkundliche Gesch. Eislebens bis zum Ende des 12.
Jahrhunderts_ (Halle, 1875); _Chronicon Islebiense; Eisleben
Stadtchronik aus den Jahren_ 1520-1738, edited from the original, with
notes by Grossler and Sommer (Eisleben, 1882).
EISTEDDFOD (plural Eisteddfodau), the national bardic congress of Wales,
the objects of which are to encourage bardism and music and the general
literature of the Welsh, to maintain the Welsh language and customs of
the country, and to foster and cultivate a patriotic spirit amongst the
people. This institution, so peculiar to Wales, is of very ancient
origin.[1] The term _Eisteddfod_, however, which means "a session" or
"sitting," was probably not applied to bardic congresses before the 12th
century.
The Eisteddfod in its present character appears to have originated in
the time of Owain ap Maxen Wledig, who at the close of the 4th century
was elected to the chief sovereignty of the Britons on the departure of
the Romans. It was at this time, or soon afterwards, that the laws and
usages of the Gorsedd were codified and remodelled, and its motto of "Y
gwir yn erbyn y byd" (The truth against the world) given to it. "Chairs"
(with which the Eisteddfod as a national institution is now inseparably
connected) were also established, or rather perhaps resuscitated, about
the same time. The chair was a kind of convention where disciples were
trained, and bardic matters discussed preparatory to the great Gorsedd,
each chair having a distinctive motto. There are now existing four
chairs in Wales,--namely, the "royal" chair of Powys, whose motto is "A
laddo a leddir" (He that slayeth shall be slain); that of Gwent and
Glamorgan, whose motto is "Duw a phob daioni" (God and all goodness);
that of Dyfed, whose motto is "Calon wrth galon" (Heart with heart); and
that of Gwynedd, or North Wales, whose motto is "Iesu," or "O Iesu! na'd
gamwaith" (Jesus, or Oh Jesus! suffer not iniquity).
The first Eisteddfod of which any account seems to have descended to us
was one held on the banks of the Conway in the 6th century, under the
auspices of Maelgwn Gwynedd, prince of North Wales. Maelgwn on this
occasion, in order to prove the superiority of vocal song over
instrumental music, is recorded to have offered a reward to such bards
and minstrels as should swim over the Conway. There were several
competitors, but on their arrival on the opposite shore the harpers
found themselves unable to play owing to the injury their harps had
sustained from the water, while the bards were in as good tune as ever.
King Cadwaladr also presided at an Eisteddfod about the middle of the
7th century.
Griffith ap Cynan, prince of North Wales, who had been born in Ireland,
brought with him from that country many Irish musicians, who greatly
improved the music of Wales. During his long reign of 56 years he
offered great encouragement to bards, harpers and minstrels, and framed
a code of laws for their better regulation. He held an Eisteddfod about
the beginning of the 12th century at Caerwys in Flintshire, "to which
there repaired all the musicians of Wales, and some also from England
and Scotland." For many years afterwards the Eisteddfod appears to have
been held triennially, and to have enforced the rigid observance of the
enactments of Griffith ap Cynan. The places at which it was generally
held were Aberffraw, formerly the royal seat of the princes of North
Wales; Dynevor, the royal castle of the princes of South Wales; and
Mathrafal, the royal palace of the princes of Powys: and in later times
Caerwys in Flintshire received that honourable distinction, it having
been the princely residence of Llewelyn the Last. Some of these
Eisteddfodau were conducted in a style of great magnificence, under the
patronage of the native princes. At Christmas 1107 Cadwgan, the son of
Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, prince of Powys, held an Eisteddfod in Cardigan
Castle, to which he invited the bards, harpers and minstrels, "the best
to be found in all Wales"; and "he gave them chairs and subjects of
emulation according to the custom of the feasts of King Arthur." In 1176
Rhys ab Gruffydd, prince of South Wales, held an Eisteddfod in the same
castle on a scale of still greater magnificence, it having been
proclaimed, we are told, a year before it took place, "over Wales,
England, Scotland, Ireland and many other countries."
On the annexation of Wales to England, Edward I. deemed it politic to
sanction the bardic Eisteddfod by his famous statute of Rhuddlan. In the
reign of Edward III. Ifor Hael, a South Wales chieftain, held one at his
mansion. Another was held in 1451, with the permission of the king, by
Griffith ab Nicholas at Carmarthen, in princely style, where Dafydd ab
Edmund, an eminent poet, signalized himself by his wonderful powers of
versification in the Welsh metres, and whence "he carried home on his
shoulders the silver chair" which he had fairly won. Several
Eisteddfodau, were held, one at least by royal mandate, in the reign of
Henry VII. In 1523 one was held at Caerwys before the chamberlain of
North Wales and others, by virtue of a commission issued by Henry VIII.
In the course of time, through relaxation of bardic discipline, the
profession was assumed by unqualified persons, to the great detriment of
the regular bards. Accordingly in 1567 Queen Elizabeth issued a
commission for holding an Eisteddfod at Caerwys in the following year,
which was duly held, when degrees were conferred on 55 candidates,
including 20 harpers. From the terms of the royal proclamation we find
that it was then customary to bestow "a silver harp" on the chief of the
faculty of musicians, as it had been usual to reward the chief bard with
"a silver chair." This was the last Eisteddfod appointed by royal
commission, but several others of some importance were held during the
16th and 17th centuries, under the patronage of the earl of Pembroke,
Sir Richard Neville, and other influential persons. Amongst these the
last of any particular note was one held in Bewper Castle, Glamorgan, by
Sir Richard Basset in 1681.
During the succeeding 130 years Welsh nationality was at its lowest ebb,
and no general Eisteddfod on a large scale appears to have been held
until 1819, though several small ones were held under the auspices of
the Gwyneddigion Society, established in 1771,--the most important being
those at Corwen (1789), St Asaph (1790) and Caerwys (1798).
At the close of the Napoleonic wars, however, there was a general
revival of Welsh nationality, and numerous Welsh literary societies were
established throughout Wales, and in the principal English towns. A
large Eisteddfod was held under distinguished patronage at Carmarthen in
1819, and from that time to the present they have been held (together
with numerous local Eisteddfodau), almost without intermission,
annually. The Eisteddfod at Llangollen in 1858 is memorable for its
archaic character, and the attempts then made to revive the ancient
ceremonies, and restore the ancient vestments of druids, bards and
ovates.
To constitute a provincial Eisteddfod it is necessary that it should be
proclaimed by a graduated bard of a Gorsedd a year and a day before it
takes place. A local one may be held without such a proclamation. A
provincial Eisteddfod generally lasts three, sometimes four days. A
president and a conductor are appointed for each day. The proceedings
commence with a Gorsedd meeting, opened with sound of trumpet and other
ceremonies, at which candidates come forward and receive bardic degrees
after satisfying the presiding bard as to their fitness. At the
subsequent meetings the president gives a brief address; the bards
follow with poetical addresses; adjudications are made, and prizes and
medals with suitable devices are given to the successful competitors for
poetical, musical and prose compositions, for the best choral and solo
singing, and singing with the harp or "Pennillion singing"[2] as it is
called, for the best playing on the harp or stringed or wind
instruments, as well as occasionally for the best specimens of
handicraft and art. In the evening of each day a concert is given,
generally attended by very large numbers. The great day of the
Eisteddfod is the "chair" day--usually the third or last day--the grand
event of the Eisteddfod being the adjudication on the chair subject, and
the chairing and investiture of the fortunate winner. This is the
highest object of a Welsh bard's ambition. The ceremony is an imposing
one, and is performed with sound of trumpet. (See also the articles
BARD, CELT: _Celtic Literature_, and WALES.) (R. W.*)