[1] The Finnish mark, _markka_, of 100 _penni_, equals about 9-1/2 d.
FINLAY, GEORGE (1799-1875), British historian, was born of Scottish
parents at Faversham, Kent, on the 21st of December 1799. He studied for
the law in Glasgow, and about 1821 went to Gottingen. He had already
begun to feel a deep interest in the Greek struggle for independence,
and in 1823 he resolved to visit the country. In November he arrived in
Cephalonia, where he was kindly received by Lord Byron. Shortly
afterwards he landed at Pyrgos, and during the next fourteen months he
improved his knowledge of the language, history and antiquities of the
country. Though he formed an unfavourable opinion of the Greek leaders,
both civil and military, he by no means lost his enthusiasm for their
cause. A severe attack of fever, however, combined with other
circumstances, induced him to spend the winter of 1824-1825 and the
spring of 1825 in Rome, Naples and Sicily. He then returned to Scotland,
and, after spending a summer at Castle Toward, Argyllshire, went to
Edinburgh, where he passed his examination in civil law at the
university, with a view to being called to the Scottish bar. His
enthusiasm, however, carried him back to Greece, where he resided almost
uninterruptedly till his death. He took part in the unsuccessful
operations of Lord Cochrane and Sir Richard Church for the relief of
Athens in 1827. When independence had been secured in 1829 he bought a
landed estate in Attica, but all his efforts for the introduction of a
better system of agriculture ended in failure, and he devoted himself to
the literary work which occupied the rest of his life. His first
publications were _The Hellenic Kingdom and the Greek Nation_ (1836);
_Essai sur les principes de banque appliques a l'etat actuel de la
Grece_ (Athens, 1836); and _Remarks on the Topography of Oropia and
Diacria, with a map_ (Athens, 1838). The first instalment of his great
historical work appeared in 1844 (2nd ed., 1857) under the title _Greece
under the Romans; a Historical View of the Condition of the Greek Nation
from the time of its Conquest by the Romans until the Extinction of the
Roman Empire in the East_. Meanwhile he had been qualifying himself
still further by travel as well as by reading; he undertook several
tours to various quarters of the Levant; and as the result of one of
them he published a volume _On the Site of the Holy Sepulchre; with a
plan of Jerusalem_ (1847). _The History of the Byzantine and Greek
Empires from 716-1453_ was completed in 1854. It was speedily followed
by the _History of Greece under the Ottoman and Venetian Domination_
(1856), and by the _History of the Greek Revolution_ (1861). In weak
health, and conscious of failing energy, he spent his last years in
revising his history. From 1864 to 1870 he was also correspondent of
_The Times_ newspaper, his letters to which attracted considerable
attention, and, appearing in the Greek newspapers, exercised a distinct
influence on Greek politics. He was a member of several learned
societies; and in 1854 he received from the university of Edinburgh the
honorary degree of LL.D. He died at Athens on the 26th of January 1875.
A new edition of his _History_, edited by the Rev. H.F. Tozer, was
issued by the Oxford Clarendon press in 1877. It includes a brief but
extremely interesting fragment of an autobiography of the author, almost
the only authority for his life.
As an historian, Finlay had the merit of entering upon a field of
research that had been neglected by English writers, Gibbon alone being
a partial exception. As a student, he was laborious; as a scholar he was
accurate; as a thinker, he was both acute and profound; and in all that
he wrote he was unswerving in his loyalty to the principles of
constitutional government and to the cause of liberty and justice.
FINN MAC COOL (in Irish FIND MAC CUMAILL), the central figure of the
later heroic cycle of Ireland, commonly called Ossianic or Fenian. In
Scotland Find usually goes by the name of Fingal. This appears to be due
to a misunderstanding of the title assumed by the Lord of the Isles, Ri
Fionnghall, i.e. king of the Norse. Find's father, Cumall mac Trenmoir,
was uncle to Conn Cetchathach, High King of Ireland, who died in A.D.
157. Cumall carried off Murna Munchaem, the daughter of a Druid named
Tadg mac Nuadat, and this led to the battle of Cnucha, in which Cumall
was slain by Goll mac Morna (A.D. 174). Find was born after his father's
death and was at first called Demni. He is leader of the _fiann_ or
_feinne_ (English "Fenians"), a kind of militia or standing army which
was drawn from all quarters of Ireland. His father had held the same
office before him, but after his death it passed to his enemy Goll mac
Morna, who retained it until Find came to man's estate. Find usually
resided at Almu (Allen) in Co. Kildare, where he was surrounded by some
of the contingents of the fiann, the rest being scattered throughout
Ireland to ward off enemies, particularly those coming from over the
sea. In times of invasion Find collected his forces, overcame the foe,
and pursued him to Scotland or Lochlann (Scandinavia) as the case might
be. When not engaged in war the fiann gave themselves up to the chase or
love-adventures. We are informed in great detail as to the conditions of
admission to this privileged band, which were at once singular and
exacting. The foremost heroes in Find's train were his son Ossian, his
grandson Oscar, Cailte mac Ronain, and Diarmait O'Duibne, whose
elopement with Find's destined bride Grainne, daughter of the High-King
Cormac mac Airt (A.D. 227-266), forms the subject of a celebrated story.
These, like Find, were all of the Ua Baisgne branch, with which was
allied the Ua Morna, with whom they were generally at variance. The
latter hailed from Connaught, chief among them being Goll and Conan. By
the annalists Find is represented as having met with death by treachery
either in 252 or 283. Under Coirpre Lifeochair, successor to Cormac mac
Airt, the power of the fiann became intolerable. The monarch accordingly
took up arms against them and utterly crushed them at the battle of
Gabra (A.D. 283). Very few survived the defeat, but the story makes
Ossian and Cailte live on until after the arrival of St Patrick in 432.
It is incredible that such a band as the fiann should have existed in
the 2nd and 3rd centuries. A number of sagas older in date than the
Ossianic stories have been preserved, which deal with events happening
in the reigns of Art son of Conn (166-196), Lugaid mac Con (196-227),
and Cormac mac Airt (227-266), but none of these in their oldest shape
contain any allusion whatsoever to Find and his warriors. In the history
of the Boroma, contained in the book of Leinster, Find is merely a
Leinster chieftain who assists Bressal the king of Leinster against
Coirpre Lifeochair. It can be shown that Find was originally a figure in
Leinster-Munster tradition previous to the Viking age, but we have no
documentary evidence concerning him at this time. He seems primarily to
have been regarded as a poet and magician. Later he appears to have been
transformed into a petty chief, and Zimmer even tried to show that his
personality was developed in Leinster and Munster local tradition out of
stories clustering round the figure of the Viking leader Ketill Hviti
(Caittil Find), who was slain in 857. By the year 1000 Find was
certainly connected in the minds of the people with the reign of Cormac
mac Airt, but the process is obscure. Recently John MacNeill has pointed
out that in the oldest genealogies Find is always connected with the Ui
Tairrsigh of Failge (Offaley, a district comprising the present county
of Kildare and parts of King's and Queen's counties). The Ui Tairrsigh
were undoubtedly of Firbolg origin, and MacNeill would account in this
manner for the slow acceptance of the stories by the conquering
Milesians. Whilst the Ulster epic was fashionable at court, the subject
races clung to the Fenian cycle. For the last 800 years Find has been
the national hero of the Gaelic-speaking populations of Ireland, the
Scottish Highlands and the Isle of Man. See also CELT (subsection _Irish
Literature_).
AUTHORITIES.--A. Nutt, _Ossian and the Ossianic Literature_ (London,
1899); H. Zimmer, "Keltische Beitrage iii.," _Zeitschrift fur
deutsches Altertum_ (1891), vol. xxxv. pp. 1-172; L.C. Stern, "Die
Ossianischen Heldenlieder," _Zeitschrift fur vergleichende
Litteraturgeschichte_ (1895; trans, by J.L. Robertson in _Transactions
of the Gaelic Society of Inverness_, 1897-1898, vol. xxii. pp.
257-325); J. MacNeill, _Duanaire Finn_ (London, 1908). (E. C. Q.)
FINNO-UGRIAN, or Finno-Ugric, the designation of a division of the
Ural-Altaic family of languages and their speakers. The first part is
the name given by their neighbours, though not used by themselves, to
the inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic. It is probably the
same word as the Fenni of Tacitus and [Greek: Phinnoi] of Ptolemy,
though it is not certain that those races were Finns in the modern
sense. It possibly means people of the fens or marshes, and corresponds
to the native word _Suomi_, which appears to be derived from _suo_, a
marsh. Finn and Finnish are used not only of the inhabitants of Finland
but also in a more extended sense of similar tribes found in Russia and
sometimes called Baltic Finns and Volga Finns. In this sense the
Esthonian tribes (Baltic), the Laps, the Cheremis and Mordvins (Volga),
and the Permian tribes are all Finns. The name is not, however, extended
to the Ostiaks, Voguls and Magyars, who, though allied, form a separate
subdivision called Ugrian, a name derived from Yura or Ugra, the country
on either side of the Ural Mountains, and first used by Castren in a
scientific sense.
The name Finno-Ugric is primarily linguistic and must not be pressed as
indicating a community of physical features and customs. But making
allowance for the change of language by some tribes, the Finno-Ugrians
form, with the striking exception of the Hungarians, a moderately
homogeneous whole. They are nomads, but, unlike the Turks, Mongols and
Manchus, have hardly ever shown themselves warlike and have no power of
political organization. Those of them who have not come under European
influence live under the simplest form of patriarchal government, and
states, kings or even great chiefs are almost unknown among them.
Their headquarters are in Russia. From the Baltic to south Siberia
extends a vast plain broken only by the Urals. Large parts of it are
still wooded, and the proportion of forest land and marsh was no doubt
much greater formerly. The Finno-Ugric tribes seem to shun the open
steppes but are widely spread in the wooded country, especially on the
banks of lakes and rivers. Their want of political influence renders
them obscure, but they form a considerable element in the population of
the northern, middle and eastern provinces of Russia, but are not found
much to the south of Moscow (except in the east) or in the west (except
in the Baltic provinces). The difference of temperament between the
Great Russians and the purer Slavs such as the Little Russians is partly
due to an infusion of Finnish blood.
Physically the Finno-Ugric races are as a rule solidly built and, though
there is considerable variation in height and the cephalic index, are
mostly of small or medium stature, somewhat squat, and brachy- or
mesocephalic. As a rule the skin is greyish or olive coloured, the eyes
grey or blue, the hair light, the beard scanty. Most of them seem
deficient in energy and liveliness, both mental and physical; they are
slow, heavy, conservative, somewhat suspicious and vindictive, inclined
to be taciturn and melancholy. On the other hand they are patient,
persevering, industrious, faithful and honest. When their natural
mistrust of strangers is overcome they are kindly and hospitable.
I. _Tribes and Nations._--The Ugrian subdivision, which seems to be in
many respects the more primitive, consists of three peoples standing on
very different levels of civilization, the Ostiaks and Voguls and the
Hungarians.
Ostiaks.
Voguls.
The _Ostiaks_ (Ostyaks or Ostjaks) are a tribe of nomadic fishermen and
hunters inhabiting at present the government of Tobolsk and the banks of
the Obi. They formerly extended into the government of Perm on the
European side of the Ural Mountains. The so-called Ostiaks of the
Yenisei appear to be a different race and not to belong to the
Finno-Ugrian group. The Ostiaks are still partially pagan and worship
the River Obi. Allied to them are the _Voguls_, a similar nomadic tribe
found on both sides of the Urals, and formerly extending at least as far
as the government of Vologda. The languages of the Ostiaks and Voguls
are allied, though not mere dialects of one another, and form a small
group separated from the languages of the Finns both Western and
Eastern. For further details of these and other tribes see under the
separate headings.
Magyars or Hungarians.
According to the legend, Nimrod had two sons, Hunyor and Magyor. They
married daughters of the prince of the Alans and became the ancestors of
the two kindred nations, Huns and Magyars or Hungarians. This story
corresponds with what can be ascertained scientifically about the origin
of these peoples. It is probable that the Huns and Magyars were allied
tribes of mixed descent comprising both Turkish and Finno-Ugrian
elements. The language is indisputably Finno-Ugrian, but the name
Hungarian seems to lead back to the form Un-ugur, and to suggest Turkish
connexions which are confirmed by the warlike habits of the Huns and
Magyars. The same name possibly occurs in the form Hiung-nu as far east
as the frontiers of China, but recent authorities are of opinion that
the tribes from whom the present Hungarians are descended were formed
originally in the Terek-Kuban country to the north of the Caucasus,
where a mixture of Turkish and Ugrian blood took place, a Ugrian
language but Turkish mode of life predominating. They were also
influenced by Iranians and the various tribes of the Caucasus. Both Huns
and Magyars moved westwards, but the Huns invaded Europe in the 5th
century and made no permanent settlement in spite of the devastation
they caused, whereas the Magyars remained for some centuries near the
banks of the Don. According to tradition they were compelled to leave a
country called Lebedia under the pressure of nomadic tribes, and moved
westward under the leadership of seven dukes. They conquered Hungary in
the years 884-895, and the first king of their new dominions was called
Arpad. For the chequered and often tragic history of the country see
HUNGARY. The Magyars were converted to Christianity in the 11th century
and adhered to the Roman not the Eastern Church. They have in all
probability entirely lost their ancient physique, but have retained
their language, and traces of their older life may be seen in their
fondness for horses and flocks.
Permians and Syryenians.
The following are the principal Finnish peoples. The _Permians_ and
_Syryenians_ may be treated as one tribe. The latter name is very
variously spelt as Syrjenian, Sirianian, Zyrjenian, Zirian, &c. They
both call themselves Komi and speak a mutually intelligible language,
allied to Votiak. The name Bjarmisch is sometimes applied to this
sub-group. Both Permians and Syryenians are found chiefly in the
governments of Perm, Vologda and Archangel, but there are a few
Syryenians on the Siberian side of the Urals. The Syryenian headquarters
are at the town of Ishma on the Pechora, whereas the name Permian is
more correctly restricted to the inhabitants of the right bank of the
upper Kama. Both probably extended much farther to the west in former
times. The Syryenians are said to be more intelligent and active than
most Finnish tribes and to make considerable journeys for trading
purposes. They are possibly a mixed race.
Votiaks.
The _Votiaks_ are a tribe of about a quarter of a million persons
dwelling chiefly in the south-eastern part of the government of Viatka.
Their language indicates that they have borrowed a good deal from the
Tatars and Chuvashes, and they seem to have little individuality, being
described as weak both mentally and physically. They call themselves
Ud-murt or Urt-murt. About the 16th century some of them migrated,
doubtless under the pressure of Russian advance, into the government of
Ufa and, the country being more fertile, are said to have improved in
physique.
Cheremissians.
The _Cheremissians_, or Tcheremissians or Cheremis, who call themselves
Mari, inhabit the banks of the Volga, chiefly in the neighbourhood of
Kazan. Those inhabiting the right bank of the Volga are physically
stronger and are known as Hill Cheremiss. The evidence of place names
makes it probable that their present position is the result of their
being driven northwards by the Mordvins and then southwards by the
Russians. There is some discrepancy between their language and their
physical characteristics. The former shows affinities to both Mordvinian
and the Permian group, but their crania are said to be mainly
dolichocephalic, and it has been suggested that they are connected with
the neolithic dolichocephalic population of Lake Ladoga. They are gentle
and honest, but neither active nor intelligent.
Mordvinians.
The _Mordvinians_, also called Mordva, Mordvins and Mordvs, are
scattered over the provinces near the middle Volga, especially Nizhniy
Novgorod, Kazan, Penza, Tambov, Simbirsk, Ufa and even Orenburg. Though
not continuous, their settlements are considerable both in extent and
population. They are the most important of the Eastern Finns, and their
traditions speak of a capital and of a king who fought with the Tatars.
They are mentioned as Mordens as early as the 6th century, but do not
now use the name, calling themselves after one of their two divisions,
Moksha or Erza. Their country is still covered with forest to a large
extent. Their language is on the one side allied to Cheremissian. On the
other it shows a nearer approach to Finnish (Suomi) than the other
Eastern languages of the family, but it has also constructions peculiar
to itself.
Lapps.
The _Lapps_ are found in Norway, Sweden and Finland. They call
themselves Sabme, but are called Finns by the Norwegians. They are the
shortest and most brachycephalic race in Europe. The majority are nomads
who live by pasturing reindeer, and are known as Mountain Lapps, but
others have become more or less settled and live by hunting or fishing.
From ancient times the Lapps have had a great reputation among the Finns
and other neighbouring nations for skill in sorcery.
Esthonians.
The _Esthonians_ are the peasantry of the Russian province Esthonia and
the neighbouring districts. They were serfs until 1817 when they were
liberated, but their condition remained unsatisfactory and led to a
serious rebellion in 1859. They are practically a branch of the Finns,
and are hardly separable from the other Finnish tribes inhabiting the
Baltic provinces. The name Est or Ehst, by which they are known to
foreigners, appears to be the same as the Aestii of Tacitus, and to have
properly belonged to quite a different tribe. They call themselves Ma
mes, or country people, and their land Rahwama or Wiroma (cf. Finnish,
Virolaiset, Esthonians.) Though not superior to other tribes in general
intelligence, they have become more civilized owing to their more
intimate connexion with the Russian and German population around them.
Livonians.
_Livs_, _Livlanders_ or _Livonians_ is the name given to the old
Finnish-speaking population of west Livland or Livonia and north
Kurland. We hear of them as a warlike and predatory pagan tribe in the
middle ages, and it is possible that they were a mixed Letto-Finnish
race from the beginning. In modern times they have become almost
completely absorbed by Letts, and their language is only spoken in a few
places on the coast of Kurland. It has indeed been disputed if it still
exists. It is known as Livish or Livonian and is allied to Esthonian.
Votes.
The _Votes_ (not to be confounded with the Votiaks), also called
southern Chudes and Vatjalaiset, apparently represent the original
inhabitants of Ingria, the district round St Petersburg, but have
decreased before the advance of the Russians and also of Karelians from
the north. They are heard of in the 11th century, but now occupy only
about thirty parishes in north-west Ingria.
Vepsas.
The _Vepsas_ or _Vepses_, also called Northern Chudes, are another tribe
allied to the Esthonians, but are more numerous than the Votes. They are
found in the district of Tikhvinsk and other parts of the government of
Old Novgorod, and apparently extended farther east into the government
of Vologda in former times. Linguistically both the Votes and Vepsas are
closely related to the Esthonians.
Finns.
The _Finns_ proper or Suomi, as they call themselves, are the most
important and civilized division of the group. They inhabit at present
the grand duchy of Finland and the adjacent governments, especially
Olonetz, Tver and St Petersburg. Formerly a tribe of them called
Kainulaiset was also found in Sweden, whence the Swedes call the Finns
Qven. At present there are two principal subdivisions of Finns, the
Tavastlanders or Hamalaiset, who occupy the southern and western parts
of the grand duchy, and the Karelians or Karjalaiset found in the east
and north, as far as Lake Onega and towards the White Sea.
The former, and generally speaking, all the inhabitants of the grand
duchy have undergone a strong Swedish influence. There is a considerable
admixture of Swedish blood; the language is full of Swedish words;
Christianity is universal; and the upper classes and townspeople are
mainly Swedish in their habits and speech, though of late a persistent
attempt has been made to Russify the country. The Finns have much the
same mental and moral characteristics as the other allied tribes, but
have reached a far higher intellectual and literary stage. Several
collections of their popular and mythological poetry have been made, the
most celebrated of which is the _Kalewala_, compiled by Lonnrot about
1835, and there is a copious modern literature. The study of the
national languages and antiquities is prosecuted in Helsingfors and
other towns with much energy: several learned societies have been formed
and considerable results published, partly in Finnish. It is clear that
this scientific activity, though animated by a patriotic Finnish spirit,
owes much to Swedish training in the past. Besides the literary language
there are several dialects, the most important of which is that of
Savolaks.
Karelians.
The _Karelians_ are not usually regarded as separate from the Finns,
though they are a distinct tribe as much as the Vepsas and Votes. Living
farther east they have come less under Swedish and more under Russian
influence than the inhabitants of West Finland; but, since many of the
districts which they inhabit are out of the way and neglected, this
influence has not been strong, so that they have adopted less of
European civilization, and in places preserved their own customs more
than the Westerners. They are of a slighter and better proportioned
build than the Finns, more enterprising, lively and friendly, but less
persevering and tenacious. They number about 260,000, of whom about
63,000 live in Olonetz and 195,000 in Tver and Novgorod, but in the
southern districts are less distinguished from the Russian population.
They belong to the Russian Church, whereas the Finns of the grand duchy
are Protestants. There also appear to be authentic traces of a Karelian
population in Kaluga, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Vologda and Tambov. It was
among them that the _Kalewala_ was collected, chiefly in East Finland
and Olonetz.
Samoyedes.
There is some difference of opinion as to whether the _Samoyedes_ should
be included among the Finno-Ugrian tribes or be given the rank of a
separate division equivalent to Finno-Ugrian and Turkish. The linguistic
question is discussed below. The Samoyedes are a nomad tribe who wander
with their reindeer over the treeless plains which border on the White
and Kara seas on either side of the Urals. In culture and habits they
resemble the Finno-Ugrian tribes, and there seems to be no adequate
reason for separating them.
Other inclusions.
Various other peoples have been referred to the Finno-Ugrian group, but
some doubt must remain as to the propriety of the classification, either
because they are now extinct, or because they are suspected of having
changed their language.
The original Bulgarians, who had their home on the Volga before they
invaded the country which now bears their name, were probably a tribe
similar to the Magyars, though all record of their language is lost. It
has been disputed whether the Khazars, who in the middle ages occupied
parts of south Russia and the shores of the Caspian, were Finno-Ugrians
or Turks, and there is the same doubt about the Avars and Pechenegs,
which without linguistic evidence remains insoluble. Nor is the
difference ethnographically important. The formation of hordes of
warlike bodies, half tribes, half armies, composed of different races,
was a characteristic of Central Asia, and it was probably often a matter
of chance what language was adopted as the common speech.
At the present day the Bashkirs, Meshchers and Tepters, who speak Tatar
languages, are thought to be Finnish in origin, as are also the
Chuvashes, whose language is Tatar strongly modified by Finnish
influence. The little known Soyots of the head-waters of the Yenisei are
also said to be Finno-Ugrians.
The name Chude appears to be properly applied to the Vepsas and Votes
but is extended by popular usage in Russia to all Finno-Ugrian tribes,
and to all extinct tribes of whatever race who have left tombs,
monuments or relics of mining operations in European Russia or Siberia.
Some Russian archaeologists use it specifically of the Permian group.
But its extension is so vague that it is better to discard it as a
scientific term.
II. _Languages._--The Finno-Ugric languages are generally considered as
a division of the Ural-Altaic group, which consists of four families:
Turkish, Mongol, Manchu and Finno-Ugric, including Samoyede unless it is
reckoned separately as a fifth. The chief character of the group is that
agglutination, or the addition of suffixes, is the only method of
word-formation, prefixes and significant change of vowels being unknown,
as is also gender. This suggests an affinity with many other languages,
such as the ancient Accadian or Sumerian, and Japanese. A connexion
between the Finno-Ugric and Dravidian languages has also been suggested.
On the other hand, the more highly developed agglutinative languages,
such as Finnish, approach the inflected Aryan type, so that the Aryan
languages may have been developed from an ancestor not unlike the
Ural-Altaic group.
The Finno-Ugrian languages are distinguished from the other divisions of
the Ural-Altaic group both in grammar and vocabulary. Compared with
Mongol and Manchu they have a much greater wealth of forms, both in
declension and conjugation; the suffixes form one word with the root and
are not wholly or partially detachable postpositions; the pronominal
element is freely represented in the suffixes added to both verbs and
nouns. These features are also found in the Turkish languages, but
Finno-Ugrian has a much greater variety of cases denoting position or
motion, and the union of the case termination with the noun is more
complete; in some languages the object can be incorporated in the verb,
which does not occur in Turkish, but the negative is rarely
(Cheremissian) thus incorporated after the Turkish fashion (e.g.
_yazmak_, "to write"; _yazmamak_, "not to write"), and in some languages
takes pronominal suffixes (Finnish _en tule_, _et tule_, _eivat tule_,
"I, you, they do not come"). Vowel-harmony is completely observed in
Finnish and Magyar, but in the other languages is imperfectly developed,
or has been lost under Russian influence. Relative pronouns and
particles exist and are fully developed in some languages. The tendency
to form compounds, which is not characteristic of Turkish, is very
marked in Finnish and Hungarian, and is said also to be found in
Samoyede, Cheremissian and Syryenian. The original order in the sentence
seems to be that the governing word follows the word governed, but there
are many exceptions to this, particularly in Hungarian where the
arrangement is very free.
In vocabulary the pronouns agree fairly well with those of Turkish,
Mongol and Manchu, but there is little resemblance between the numbers.
Many of the languages contain numerous Tatar and Turkish loan-words, but
with this exception the resemblance of vocabulary is not striking and
indicates an ancient separation. But the similarity in the process of
word-building and of the elements used, even if they have not the same
sense, as well as analogies in the general construction of sentences and
in some details (e.g. the use of the infinitive or verbal substantive),
seem to justify the hypothesis of an original relationship with the
Turkish languages, which in their turn have connexions with the other
groups.
Samoyede is classed by some as a separate group and by some among the
Finno-Ugrian languages, but it at any rate displays a far closer
resemblance to them in both grammar and vocabulary than do any of the
Turkish languages. The numerals are different, but the personal and
interrogative pronouns and many common words (e.g. _joha_, "river,"
Finn. _joki_; _sava_, "good," Finn, _hywa_; _kole_, "fish," Finn,
_kala_) show a considerable resemblance. The inflection of nouns is
very like that found in Finno-Ugrian but that of the verb differs, verb
and noun being imperfectly differentiated. In detail, however, the
verbal suffixes show analogies to those of Finno-Ugrian. Vowel-harmony
and weakening of consonants occur as in Finnish.
Excluding Samoyede, the Finno-Ugrian languages may be divided into two
sections: (1) Ugrian, comprising Ostiak, Vogul and Magyar; and (2)
Finnish. The Permian languages (Syryenian, Permian and Votiak) form a
distinct group within this latter section, and the remainder may be
divided into the Volga group (Cheremissian and Mordvinian) and the West
Finnish (Lappish, Esthonian and Finnish proper).
The Ugrian languages appear to have separated from the Finnish branch
before the systems of declension or conjugation were developed. Their
case suffixes seem to be later formations, though we find, _t_, _tl_ or
_k_ for the plural and traces of _l_ as a local suffix. Ostiak and
Vogul, like Samoyede, have a dual. Moods and tenses are less numerous
but the number of verbal forms is increased by those in which the
pronominal object is incorporated. Hungarian has naturally advanced
enormously beyond the stage reached by Ostiak and Vogul, and shows marks
of strong European influence, but also retains primitive features.
Vowel-harmony is observed (_varok_, "I await," but _verek_, "I strike").
The verb has two sets of terminations, according as it is transitive or
intransitive, and the pronominal object is sometimes incorporated. Alone
among Finno-Ugrian languages it has developed an article, and the
adjective is inflected when used as a predicate though not as an
attribute (_Jo emberek_, "good men," but _Az emberek jok_, "the men are
good"). There is great freedom in the order of words and, as in Finnish,
a tendency to form long compounds.
The Finnish languages are not divided from the Ugrian by any striking
differences, but show greater resemblances to one another in details.
None of them have a dual and only Mordvinian an objective conjugation.
The case system is elaborate and generally comprises twelve or fifteen
forms. The negative conjugation is peculiar; there are negative
adjectives ending in _tem_ or _tom_ and abessive cases (e.g. Finnish
_syytta_, without a cause, _tiedotta_, without knowledge).
Permian, Syryenian and Votiak exhibit this common development less fully
than the more western languages. They are less completely inflected than
the Finnish languages and more thoroughly agglutinative in the strict
sense. In vocabulary, e.g. the numerals, they show resemblances to the
Ugrian division. Syryenian has older literary remains than any
Finno-Ugrian language except Hungarian. In the latter part of the 14th
century Russian missionaries composed in it various manuals and
translations, using a special alphabet for the purpose.
Unlike the Finnish and Esthonian branch, the languages of the Volga
Finns (Mordvinian and Cheremissian) have been influenced by Russian and
Tatar rather than by Scandinavian, and hence show apparent differences.
But Mordvinian has points of detailed resemblance to Finnish which seem
to point to a comparatively late separation, e.g. the use of _kemen_ for
ten, _-nza_ as the possessive suffix of the third personal pronoun, the
regular formation of the imperfect with _i_, the infinitive with _ma_,
and the participle with _f_ (Finnish _va_). On the other hand it has
many peculiarities. It retains an objective conjugation like the Ugrian
languages, and has developed two forms of declension, the definite and
indefinite.
Cheremissian has affinities to both the Permian languages and
Mordvinian. It resembles Syryenian in its case terminations and also in
marking the plural by interposing a distinct syllable (Syry. _yas_,
Cher. _vlya_) between the singular and the case suffixes. Most of the
numerals are like Syryenian but _kandekhsye_, _indekhsye_, for eight and
nine, recall Finnish forms (_kahdeksan_, _yhdeksan_), as do also the
pronouns.
The connexion between the various West Finnish languages is more obvious
than between those already discussed. Lappish (or Lapponic) forms a link
between them and Mordvinian. Its pronouns are remarkably like the
Mordvinian equivalents, but the general system of declension and
conjugation, both positive and negative, is much as in Finnish.
Superficially, however, the resemblance is somewhat obscured by the
difference in phonetics, for Lappish has an extraordinary fondness for
diphthongs and also an unusually ample provision of consonants.
The affinity of Esthonian (together with Votish, Vepsish and Livish) to
Finnish is obvious not only to the philologist but to the casual
learner. In a few cases it shows older forms than Finnish, but on the
whole is less primitive and has assumed under foreign influence the
features of a European language even more thoroughly. The vowel-harmony
is found only in the Dorpat dialect and there imperfectly, the
pronominal affixes are not used, and the negative has become an
unvarying particle, though in Vepsish and Votish it takes suffixes as in
Finnish. On the other hand, the laws for the change of consonants, the
general system of phonetics, the declension, the pronouns and the
positive conjugation of the verb all closely resemble Finnish. Esthonian
has two chief dialects, those of Reval and Dorpat, and a certain amount
of literary culture, the best-known work being the national epic or
_Kalewi-poeg_.
Finnish proper is divided into two chief dialects, the Karelian or
Eastern, and the Tavastland or Western. The spoken language of the
Karelians is corrupt and mixed with Russian, but the _Kalewala_ and
their other old songs are written in a pure Finnish dialect, which has
come to be accepted as the ordinary language of poetry throughout modern
Finland, just as the Homeric dialect was used by the Greeks for epic
poetry. It is more archaic than the Tavastland dialect and preserves
many old forms which have been lost elsewhere, but its utterance is
softer and it sometimes rejects consonants which are retained in
ordinary speech, e.g. _saa'a, kosen_ for _saada, kosken_.
The affinity of Finnish to the more eastern languages of the group is
clear, but it has been profoundly influenced by Scandinavian and in its
present form consists of non-Aryan material recast in an Aryan and
European mould. Not only are some of the simplest words borrowed from
Scandinavian, but the grammar has been radically modified. Un-Aryan
peculiarities have been rejected, though perhaps less than in Esthonian.
The various forms of nouns and verbs are not merely roots with a string
of obvious suffixes attached, but the termination forms a whole with the
root as in Greek and Latin inflections; the adjective is declined and
compared and agrees with its substantive; compound tenses are formed
with the aid of the auxiliary verb, and there is a full supply of
relative pronouns and particles.
Finnish and Hungarian together with Turkish are interesting examples of
non-Aryan languages trying to participate, by both translation and
imitation, in the literary life of Europe, but it may be doubted if the
experiment is successful. The sense of effort is felt less in Hungarian
than in the other languages; though they are admirable instruments for
terse conversation or popular poetry, there appears to be some
deep-seated difference in the force of the verb and the structure of
phrases which renders them clumsy and complicated when they attempt to
express sentences of the type common in European literature.
III. _Civilization and Religion._--The Finno-Ugric tribes have not been
equally progressive; some, such as the Finns and Magyars, have adopted,
at least in towns, the ordinary civilization of Europe; others are
agriculturists; others still nomadic. The wilder tribes, such as the
Ostiaks, Voguls and Lapps, mostly consist of one section which is
nomadic and another which is settling down. The following notes apply to
traces of ancient conditions which survive sporadically but are nowhere
universal. Few except the Hungarians have shown themselves warlike,
though we read of conflicts with the Russians in the middle ages as they
advanced among this older population. But most Finno-Ugrians are astute
and persevering hunters, and the Ostiaks still shoot game with a bow.
The tribes are divided into numerous small clans which are exogamous.
Marriage by capture is said to survive among the Cheremiss, who are
still polygamous in some districts, but purchase of the bride is the
more general form. Women are treated as servants and often excluded
from pagan religious ceremonies. The most primitive form of house
consists of poles inclined towards one another and covered with skins or
sods, so as to form a circular screen round a fire; winter houses are
partly underground. Long snow-shoes are used in winter and boats are
largely employed in summer. The Finns in particular are very good
seamen. The Ostiaks and Samoyedes still cast tin ornaments in wooden
moulds. The variation of the higher numerals in the different languages,
which are sometimes obvious loan words, shows that the original system
did not extend beyond seven, and the aptitude for calculating and
trading is not great. Several thousands of the Ostiaks, Voguls and
Cheremiss are still unbaptized, and much paganism lingers among the
nominal Christians, and in poetry such as the _Kalewala_. The deities
are chiefly nature spirits and the importance of the several gods varies
as the tribes are hunters, fishermen, &c. Sun or sky worship is found
among the Samoyedes and _Jumala_, the Finnish word for god, seems
originally to mean sky. The Ostiaks worship a water-spirit of the river
Obi and also a thunder-god. We hear of a forest-god among the Finns,
Lapps and Cheremiss. There are also clan gods worshipped by each clan
with special ceremonies. Traces of ancestor-worship are also found. The
Samoyedes and Ostiaks are said to sacrifice to ghosts, and the Ostiaks
to make images of the more important dead, which are tended and
honoured, as if alive, for some years. Images are found in the tombs and
barrows of most tribes, and the Samoyedes, Ostiaks and Voguls still use
idols, generally of wood. Animal sacrifices are offered, and the lips of
the idol sometimes smeared with blood. Quaint combinations of
Christianity and paganism occur; thus the Cheremiss are said to
sacrifice to the Virgin Mary. The idea that disease is due to possession
by an evil spirit, and can be both caused and cured by spells, seems to
prevail among all tribes, and in general extraordinary power is supposed
to reside in incantations and magical formulae. This belief is
conspicuous in the _Kalewala_, and almost every tribe has its own
collection of prayers, healing charms and spells to be used on the most
varied occasions. A knowledge of these formulae is possessed by wizards
(Finnish noita) corresponding to the Shamans of the Altaic peoples. They
are exorcists and also mediums who can ascertain the will of the gods; a
magic drum plays a great part in their invocations, and their office is
generally hereditary. The non-Buddhist elements of Chinese and Japanese
religion present the same features as are found among the
Finno-Ugrians--nature-worship, ancestor-worship and exorcism--but in a
much more elaborate and developed form.
IV. _History._--Most of the Finno-Ugrian tribes have no history or
written records, and little in the way of traditions of their past. In
their later period the Hungarians and Finns enter to some extent the
course of ordinary European history. For the earlier period we have no
positive information, but the labours of investigators, especially in
Finland, have collected a great number of archaeological and
philological data from which an account of the ancient wanderings of
these tribes may be constructed. Barrows containing skulls and ornaments
may mark the advance of a special form of culture, and language may be
of assistance; if we find, for instance, a language with loan words of
an archaic type, we may conclude that it was in contact with the other
language from which it borrowed at the time when such forms were
current. But clearly all such deductions contain a large element of
theory, and the following sketch is given with all reserve.
The Finno-Ugrian tribes originally lived together east of the Urals and
spoke a common language. It is not certain if they were all of the same
physical type, for the association of different races speaking one
language is common in central Asia. They were hunters and fishermen, not
agriculturists. At an unknown period the Finns, still undivided, moved
into Europe and perhaps settled on the Volga and Oka. They had perhaps
arrived there before 1500 B.C., learned some rudiments of agriculture,
and developed their system of numbers up to ten. They were still in the
neolithic stage. About 600 B.C. they came in contact with an Iranian
people, from whom they learned the use of metals, and borrowed numerals
for a hundred (Finnish _sata_, Ostiak _sat_, Magyar _szaz_; cf. Zend
_sata_) and a thousand (Magyar _ezer_; cf. _hazanra_ and _hazar_).
Magyar and some other languages also borrowed a word for ten (_tiz_, cf.
_das_). This Iranian race may perhaps have been the Scythians, who are
believed by many authorities to have been Iranians and to be represented
by the Osetians of the Caucasus. There was probably a trade route up the
Volga in the 4th century B.C. About that time the Western Finns must
have broken away from the Mordvinians and wandered north-westwards. At a
period not much later than the Christian era, they must have come in
contact with Letto-Lithuanian peoples in the Baltic provinces, and also
with Scandinavians. Whether they came in contact with the latter first
in the Baltic provinces or in Finland itself is disputed, as there may
have been Scandinavians in the Baltic provinces. But the distribution of
tombs and barrows seems to indicate that they entered Finland not from
the east through Karelia but from the Baltic provinces by sea to
Satakunta and the south-east coast, whence they extended eastwards. From
both Lithuanians and Scandinavians they borrowed an enormous quantity of
culture-words and probably the ideas and materials they indicate. Thus
the Finnish words for gold, king and everything concerned with
government are of Scandinavian origin. Their migration to Finland was
probably complete about A.D. 800. Meanwhile the Slav tribes known later
as Russians were coming up from the south and pressed the Finns
northwards, overwhelming but not annihilating them in the country
between St Petersburg and Moscow. The same movement tended to drive the
Eastern Finns and Ugrians backwards towards the east. The Finns know the
Russians by the name of _Venaja_, or Wends, and as this name is not used
by Slavs themselves but by Scandinavians and Teutons, it seems clear
that they arrived among the Finns as greater strangers than the
Scandinavians and known by a foreign name. Christianity was perhaps
first preached to the Finns as early as A.D. 1000, but there was a long
political and religious struggle with the Swedes. At the end of the 13th
century Finland was definitely converted and annexed to Sweden,
remaining a dependency of that country until 1809, when it was ceded to
Russia.
The Ugrians and Eastern Finns took no part in the westward movement and
did not fall under western influences but came into contact with Tatar
tribes and were more or less Tatarized. In some cases this took the form
of the adoption of a Tatar language, in others (Mordvin, Cheremis and
Votiak) a large number of Tatar words were borrowed. We also know that
there were considerable settlements of these tribes, perhaps amounting
to states, on the Volga and in south-eastern Russia. Such was Great
Bulgaria, which continued until destroyed by the Mongols in 1238. The
pressure of tribes farther east acting on these settlements dislodged
sections of them from time to time and created the series of invasions
which devastated the East Roman empire from the 5th century onwards. But
we do not know what were the languages spoken by the Huns, Bulgarians,
Pechenegs and Avars, so that we cannot say whether they were Turks,
Finns or Ugrians, nor does it follow that a horde speaking a Ugrian
language were necessarily Ugrians by race. An inspection of the
performances of the various tribes, as far as we can distinguish them,
suggests that the Turks or Tatars were the warlike element. The names
Hun and Hungarian may possibly be the same as Hiung-nu, but we cannot
assume that this tribe passed across Asia unchanged in language and
physique. The Hungarians entered on their present phase at the end of
the 9th century of this era, when they crossed the Carpathians and
conquered the old Pannonia and Dacia. For half a century or so before
this invasion they are said to have inhabited Atelkuzu, probably a
district between the Dnieper and the Danube. The isolated groups of
Hungarians now found in Transylvania and called Szeklers are considered
the purest descendants of the invading Magyars. Those who settled in the
plains of Hungary probably mingled there with remnants of Huns, Avars
and earlier invaders, and also with subsequent invaders, such as
Pechenegs and Kumans.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Among the older writers may be mentioned Strahlenberg
(_Das nord- und ostliche Theil von Europa und Asia_, 1730), Johann
Gottlieb Georgi (_Description de toutes les nations de l'empire de la
Russie_, French tr., St Petersburg, 1777); but especially the various
works of Matthias A. Castren (1852-1853) and W. Schott (1858). Modern
scientific knowledge of the Finno-Ugrians and their languages was
founded by these two authors. Among newer works some of the most
important separate publications are: J.R. Aspelin, _Antiquites du nord
finno-ougrien_ (1877-1884); J. Abercromby, _Pre- and Proto-historic
Finns_ (1898); and A. Hackmann, _Die altere Eisenzeit in Finnland_
(1905).
The recent literature on the origin, customs, antiquities and
languages of these races is voluminous, but is contained chiefly not
in separate books but in special learned periodicals. Of these there
are several: _Journal de la Societe Finno-ougrienne_ (Helsingfors)
(_Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Aikakauskirja_); _Finnisch-Ugrische
Forschungen_ (Helsingfors and Leipzig); _Mitteilungen der
archaologischen, historischen und ethnographischen Gesellschaft der
Kais. Universitat zu Kasan; Keleti Szemle or Revue orientale pour les
etudes ouralo-altaiques_ (Budapest). In all of these will be found
numerous valuable articles by such authors as Ahlqvist, Halevy,
Heikel, Krohn, Muncacsi, Paasonen, Setala, Smurnow, Thomsen and
Vambery.
The titles of grammars and dictionaries will be found under the
headings of the different languages. For general linguistic questions
may be consulted the works of Castren, Schott and Otto Donner, also
such parts of the following as treat of Finno-Ugric languages: Byrne,
_Principles of the Structure of Language_, vol. i. (1892); Friedrich
Muller, _Grundriss der Sprachwissenschaft II._, Band ii., Abth. 1882;
Steinthal and Misleli, _Abriss der Sprachwissenschaft_ (1893).
(C. El.)
FINSBURY, a central metropolitan borough of London, England, bounded N.
by Islington, E. by Shoreditch, S. by the city of London and W. by
Holborn and St Pancras. Pop. (1901) 101,463. The principal thoroughfares
are Pentonville Road, from King's Cross east to the Angel, Islington,
continuing E. and S. in City Road and S. again to the City in Moorgate
Street; Clerkenwell Road and Old Street, crossing the centre from W. to
E., King's Cross Road running S.E. into Farringdon Road, and so to the
City; St John Street and Road and Goswell Road (the residence of
Dickens' Pickwick) running S. from the Angel towards the City; and
Rosebery Avenue running S.W. from St John Street into Holborn. The
commercial character of the City extends into the southern part of the
borough; the residential houses are mostly those of artisans. Local
industries include working in precious metals, watch-making, printing
and paper-making.
An early form of the name is Vynesbury, but the derivation is not known.
The place was supposed by some to take name from an extensive fen, a
part of which, commonly known as Moorfields (cf. Moorgate Street), was
drained in the 16th century and subsequently laid out as public grounds.
It was a frequent resort of Pepys, who mentions its houses of
entertainment and the wrestling and other pastimes carried on, also that
it furnished a refuge for many of those whose houses were destroyed in
the fire of London in 1666. Bookstalls and other booths were numerous at
a somewhat later date. The borough includes the parish of Clerkenwell
(q.v.), a locality of considerable historic interest, including the
former priory of St John, Clerkenwell, of which the gateway and other
traces remain. Among several other sites and buildings of historical
interest the Charterhouse (q.v.) west of Aldersgate Street, stands
first, originally a Carthusian monastery, subsequently a hospital and a
school out of which grew the famous public school at Godalming. Bunhill
Fields, City Road, was used by the Dissenters as a burial-place from the
middle of the 17th century until 1832. Among eminent persons interred
here are John Bunyan, Daniel Defoe, Susanna, mother of John and Charles
Wesley, and George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends. A
neighbouring chapel is intimately associated with the Wesleys, and the
house of John Wesley is opened as a museum bearing his name. Many
victims of the plague were buried in a pit neighbouring to these fields,
near the junction of Goswell Road and Old Street. To the south of the
fields lies the Artillery Ground, the training ground of the Honourable
Artillery Company, so occupied since 1641, with barracks and armoury.
Sadler's Wells theatre, Rosebery Avenue, dating as a place of
entertainment from 1683, preserves the name of a fashionable medicinal
spring, music room and theatre, the last most notable in its connexion
with the names of Joseph Grimaldi the clown and Samuel Phelps. Other
institutions are the technical college, Leonard Street, and St Mark's,
St Luke's and the Royal chest hospitals. At Mount Pleasant is the
parcels department of the general post office, and at Clerkenwell Green
the sessions house for the county of London (north side of the Thames).
Adjacent to Rosebery Avenue are reservoirs of the New River Head. The
municipal borough coincides with the east and central divisions of the
parliamentary borough of Finsbury, each returning one member. The
borough council consists of a mayor, 9 aldermen and 54 councillors.
Area, 589.1 acres.
FINSTERWALDE, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Prussia, on the
Schackebach, a tributary of the Little Elster, 28 m. W.S.W. of Cottbus
by rail. Pop. (1905) 10,726. The town has a Gothic church (1581), a
chateau, schools, cloth and cigar factories, iron-foundries, flour and
saw mills and factories for machine building. The town, which is first
mentioned in 1288, came into the possession of electoral Saxony in 1635
and of Prussia in 1815.
FIORENZO DI LORENZO (c. 1440-1522), Italian painter, of the Umbrian
school, lived and worked at Perugia, where most of his authentic works
are still preserved in the Pinacoteca. There is probably no other
Italian master of importance of whose life and work so little is known.
In fact the whole edifice that modern scientific criticism has built
around his name is based on a single signed and dated picture (1487) in
the Pinacoteca of Perugia--a niche with lunette, two wings and
predella--and on the documentary evidence that he was decemvir of that
city in 1472, in which year he entered into a contract to paint an
altarpiece for Santa Maria Nuova--the pentatych of the "Madonna and
Saints" now in the Pinacoteca. Of his birth and death and pupilage
nothing is known, and Vasari does not even mention Fiorenzo's name,
though he probably refers to him when he says that Cristofano,
Perugino's father, sent his son to be the shop drudge of a painter in
Perugia, "who was not particularly distinguished in his calling, but
held the art in great veneration and highly honoured the men who
excelled therein." Certain it is that the early works both of Perugino
and of Pinturicchio show certain mannerisms which point towards
Fiorenzo's influence, if not to his direct teaching. The list of some
fifty pictures which modern critics have ascribed to Fiorenzo includes
works of such widely varied character that one can hardly be surprised
to find great divergence of opinion as regards the masters under whom
Fiorenzo is supposed to have studied. Pisanello, Verrocchio, Benozzo
Gozzoli, Antonio Pollaiuolo, Benedetto Bonfigli, Mantegna, Squarcione,
Filippo Lippi, Signorelli and Ghirlandajo have all been credited with
this distinguished pupil, who was the most typical Umbrian painter that
stands between the primitives and Perugino; but the probability is that
he studied under Bonfigli and was indirectly influenced by Gozzoli.
Fiorenzo's authentic works are remarkable for their sense of space and
for the expression of that peculiar clear, soft atmosphere which is so
marked a feature in the work of Perugino. But Fiorenzo has an intensity
of feeling and a power of expressing character which are far removed
from the somewhat affected grace of Perugino. Of the forty-five pictures
bearing Fiorenzo's name in the Pinacoteca of Perugia, the eight charming
St Bernardino panels are so different from his well-authenticated works,
so Florentine in conception and movement, that the Perugian's authorship
is very questionable. On the other hand the beautiful "Nativity," the
"Adoration of the Magi," and the "Adoration of the Shepherds" in the
same gallery, may be accepted as the work of his hand, as also the
fresco of SS. Romano and Rocco at the church of S. Francesco at Deruta.
The London National Gallery, the Berlin and the Frankfort museums
contain each a "Madonna and Child" ascribed to the master, but the
attribution is in each case open to doubt.
See Jean Carlyle Graham, _The Problem of Fiorenzo di Lorenzo_
(Perugia, 1903); Edward Hutton, _The Cities of Umbria_ (London).
(P. G. K.)
FIORENZUOLA D'ARDA, a town of Emilia, Italy, in the province of
Piacenza, from which it is 14 m. S.E. by rail, 270 ft. above sea-level.
Pop. (1901) 7792. It is traversed by the Via Aemilia, and has a
picturesque piazza with an old tower in the centre. The Palazzo Grossi
also is a fine building. Alseno lies 4 m. to the S.E., and near it is
the Cistercian abbey of Chiaravalle della Colomba, with a fine Gothic
church and a large and beautiful cloister (in brick and Verona marble),
of the 12th-14th century.
FIORILLO, JOHANN DOMINICUS (1748-1821), German painter and historian of
art, was born at Hamburg on the 13th of October 1748. He received his
first instructions in art at an academy of painting at Bayreuth; and in
1761, to continue his studies, he went first to Rome, and next to
Bologna, where he distinguished himself sufficiently to attain in 1769
admission to the academy. Returning soon after to Germany, he obtained
the appointment of historical painter to the court of Brunswick. In 1781
he removed to Gottingen, occupied himself as a drawing-master, and was
named in 1784 keeper of the collection of prints at the university
library. He was appointed professor extraordinary in the philosophical
faculty in 1799, and ordinary professor in 1813. During this period he
had made himself known as a writer by the publication of his _Geschichte
der zeichnenden Kunste_, in 5 vols. (1798-1808). This was followed in
1815 to 1820 by the _Geschichte der zeichnenden Kunste in Deutschland
und den vereinigten Niederlanden_, in 4 vols. These works, though not
attaining to any high mark of literary excellence, are esteemed for the
information collected in them, especially on the subject of art in the
later middle ages. Fiorillo practised his art almost till his death, but
has left no memorable masterpiece. The most noticeable of his painting
is perhaps the "Surrender of Briseis." He died at Gottingen on the 10th
of September 1821.
FIR, the Scandinavian name originally given to the Scotch pine (_Pinus
sylvestris_), but at present not infrequently employed as a general term
for the whole of the true conifers (_Abielineae_); in a more exact
sense, it has been transferred to the "spruce" and "silver firs," the
genera _Picea_ and _Abies_ of most modern botanists.
The firs are distinguished from the pines and larches by having their
needle-like leaves placed singly on the shoots, instead of growing in
clusters from a sheath on a dwarf branch. Their cones are composed of
thin, rounded, closely imbricated scales, each with a more or less
conspicuous bract springing from the base. The trees have usually a
straight trunk, and a tendency to a conical or pyramidal growth,
throwing out each year a more or less regular whorl of branches from the
foot of the leading shoot, while the buds of the lateral boughs extend
horizontally.
In the spruce firs (_Picea_), the cones are pendent when mature and
their scales persistent; the leaves are arranged all round the shoots,
though the lower ones are sometimes directed laterally. In the genus
_Abies_, the silver firs, the cones are erect, and their scales drop off
when the seed ripens; the leaves spread in distinct rows on each side of
the shoot.
The most important of the firs, in an economic sense, is the Norway
spruce (_Picea excelsa_), so well known in British plantations, though
rarely attaining there the gigantic height and grandeur of form it often
displays in its native woods. Under favourable conditions of growth it
is a lofty tree, with a nearly straight, tapering trunk, throwing out in
somewhat irregular whorls its widespreading branches, densely clothed
with dark, clear green foliage. The boughs and their side-branches, as
they increase in length, have a tendency to droop, the lower tier, even
in large trees, often sweeping the ground--a habit that, with the jagged
sprays, and broad, shadowy, wave-like foliage-masses, gives a peculiarly
graceful and picturesque aspect to the Norway spruce. The slender,
sharp, slightly curved leaves are scattered thickly around the shoots;
the upper one pressed towards the stem, and the lower directed sideways,
so as to give a somewhat flattened appearance to the individual sprays.
The elongated cylindrical cones grow chiefly at the ends of the upper
branches; they are purplish at first, but become afterwards green, and
eventually light brown; their scales are slightly toothed at the
extremity; they ripen in the autumn, but seldom discharge their seeds
until the following spring.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Norway Spruce (_Picea excelsa_). Male Flowers.
A, branch bearing male cones, reduced; B, single male cone, enlarged; C,
single stamen, enlarged.]
The tree is very widely distributed, growing abundantly on most of the
mountain ranges of northern and central Europe; while in Asia it occurs
at least as far east as the Lena, and in latitude extends from the
Altaic ranges to beyond the Arctic circle. On the Swiss Alps it is one
of the most prevalent and striking of the forest trees, its dark
evergreen foliage often standing out in strong contrast to the snowy
ridges and glaciers beyond. In the lower districts of Sweden it is the
predominant tree in most of the great forests that spread over so large
a portion of that country. In Norway it constitutes a considerable part
of the dense woods of the southern dales, flourishing, according to
Franz Christian Schubeler, on the mountain slopes up to an altitude of
from 2800 to 3100 ft., and clothing the shores of some of the fjords to
the water's edge; in the higher regions it is generally mingled with the
pine. Less abundant on the western side of the fjelds, it again forms
woods in Nordland, extending in the neighbourhood of the coast nearly to
the 67th parallel; but it is, in that arctic climate, rarely met with at
a greater elevation than 800 ft. above the sea, though in Swedish
Lapland it is found on the slope of the Sulitelma as high as 1200 ft.,
its upper limit being everywhere lower than that of the pine. In all the
Scandinavian countries it is known as the _Gran_ or _Grann_. Great
tracts of low country along the southern shores of the Baltic and in
northern Russia are covered with forests of spruce. It everywhere shows
a preference for a moist but well-drained soil, and never attains its
full stature or luxuriance of growth upon arid ground, whether on plain
or mountain--a peculiarity that should be remembered by the planter. In
a favourable soil and open situation it becomes the tallest and one of
the stateliest of European trees, rising sometimes to a height of from
150 to 170 ft., the trunk attaining a diameter of from 5 to 6 ft. at the
base. But when it grows in dense woods, where the lower branches decay
and drop off early, only a small head of foliage remaining at the
tapering summit, its stem, though frequently of great height, is rarely
more than 1-1/2 or 2 ft. in thickness. Its growth is rapid, the straight
leading shoot, in the vigorous period of the tree, often extending 2-1/2
or even 3 ft. in a single season. In its native habitats it is said to
endure for several centuries; but in those countries from which the
commercial supply of its timber is chiefly drawn, it attains perfection
in from 70 to 90 years, according to soil and situation.
[Illustration: PLATE I.
SILVER FIR (_Abies pectinata_).
A, Cone and foliage.
SPRUCE FIR (_Picea excelsa_).
B, Cone and foliage.
HEMLOCK SPRUCE (_Tsuga canadensis_)
C, Cone, seed and foliage.
DOUGLAS FIR (_Pseudo-tsuga Douglasii_).
D, Cone, seed and foliage.
_Photos by Henry Irving_.]
[Illustration: PLATE II.
CYPRESS (_Cupressus sempervirens_).
A, Cone and branchlets.
JUNIPER (_Juniperus communis_).
B, Fruit and foliage.
ARAUCARIA (_A. imbricata_, Chile pine or monkey-puzzle).
C, Seed-bearing cone and a single scale with seed.
YEW (_Taxus baccata_).
D, Seed and foliage.