1664 in North Italy, and educated for the Church. In his youth he laboured
as a gardener, but thanks to the protection of the Duc de Vendome, whose
secretary he became, and afterwards of the Duc de Parma, he rose to high
position. The latter sent him as his minister to Madrid, where he gained
the affection of Philip V. He rose by cunning and intrigue to the position
of Prime Minister, became a cardinal, was all-powerful in Spain after the
year 1715, and endeavoured to restore it to its ancient splendour. In
pursuance of this object he invaded Sardinia and Sicily, and indeed
entertained the idea of stirring up a general war in Europe. The alliance
of France and England, however, rendered his schemes abortive, and led to
his dismissal and exile in 1720. He wandered about a long time under false
names, but on the accession of Pope Innocent XIII he was restored to all
the rights and honours of a cardinal. He died in 1752, and was buried at
Piacenza.
ALBERT, Prince, Albert Francis Augustus Charles Emmanuel, Prince of
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Prince Consort of England, second son of Ernest I,
Duke of Saxe-Coburg, was born at the Rosenau, a castle near Coburg, on 26th
Aug., 1819. In 1837 he entered the University of Bonn, where he devoted
himself to the studies of political and natural science, history,
philosophy, &c., as well as to those of music and painting. On leaving the
university he made a tour through the chief cities of Italy with Baron
Stockmar. On 10th Feb., 1840, he married his cousin, Queen Victoria of
England. Leopold I, King of the Belgians and uncle of Queen Victoria, was
greatly instrumental in bringing about the marriage. An allowance of
L30,000 a year was settled upon the prince, who was naturalized by Act of
Parliament, received the title of Royal Highness by patent, was made a
field-marshal, a Knight of the Garter, of the Bath, &c. Other honours were
subsequently bestowed upon him, the chief of which was the title of Prince
Consort (1857). His foreign birth at first caused him to be regarded with
some suspicion, but his unfailing tact and genuine ability were not long in
gaining their due recognition. He always carefully abstained from party
politics, but his knowledge of the politics of his adopted country, both
domestic and foreign, was profound and accurate, and must often have been
of service to the queen and her advisers. He always took a deep and active
interest in the welfare of the people in general. His services to the cause
of science and art were very important; he presided over the commission
appointed in 1841 to consider the best means of rebuilding the Houses of
Parliament, and the great exhibition of 1851 owed much of its success to
his activity, knowledge, and judgment. The amendment of the Articles of War
in 1844 which ultimately put an end to duelling was due to his suggestion.
Cambridge University conferred upon him the degree of LL.D., and in 1847 he
was elected Chancellor. He presided and delivered the inaugural address at
the meeting of the British Association at Aberdeen in 1859. He died of
typhoid fever on 14th Dec., 1861, after a short illness. A collection of
his speeches and addresses was published in 1862. A biography of the prince
by Sir Theodore Martin was published in 5 volumes, London, 1875-80.
ALBERT, first Duke of Prussia, and last grand-master of the Teutonic Order,
was born in 1490; died in 1568. In 1511 he was chosen by the Teutonic
knights grand-master of their order. Being nephew of Sigismund, King of
Poland, the knights hoped by his means to be freed from the feudal
superiority of Poland, and placed under the protection of the empire. This
superiority, however, Sigismund refused to surrender, and war broke out
between uncle and nephew. He subsequently became reconciled to his uncle,
and obtained his investiture as hereditary Duke of Prussia under the Polish
Crown, the territorial rights of the Teutonic Order being thus set aside.
The latter years of his reign were spent in organizing the government and
promoting the prosperity of his duchy; he founded schools and churches,
established a ducal library, and opened the University of Koenigsberg in
1543.
AL'BERT I, Duke of Austria, and afterwards Emperor of Germany, son of
Rudolph of Hapsburg, was born in 1248. On the death of his father in 1292
he claimed the Empire, but his arrogant conduct drove the electors to
choose Adolphus of Nassau emperor. Adolphus, after a reign of six years,
having lost the regard of all the princes of the Empire, Albert was elected
to succeed him. A battle ensued near Goellheim, in which Adolphus was slain
by his adversary, who was elected and crowned. Pope Boniface VIII, however,
refused to acknowledge him as emperor, and ordered the electoral princes to
renounce their allegiance to him. On the other hand, Albert formed an
alliance with Philip le Bel of France, and offered so determined and
successful a resistance to the papal authority that Boniface was induced to
withdraw his opposition, on condition that Albert would break with his
French ally. During the subsequent years of his reign the Emperor was
engaged in unsuccessful wars with Holland, Hungary, Bohemia, and other
States. His measures still further to strengthen his authority over the
Swiss Forest Cantons of Unterwalden, Schwyz, and Uri drove the inhabitants
into open revolt in Jan. 1308. While on his way to crush the Swiss he was
assassinated, at Windisch in May, 1308, by his nephew John, Duke of Suabia,
called afterwards the Parricide, whose inheritance he had seized upon.
ALBERT I, King of the Belgians, born on 8th April, 1875, at Brussels. He is
the son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders (died 17th Nov., 1905), and
of Princess Marie of Hohenzollern (born 17th Nov., 1845). After the death
of his cousin, the Duke of Brabant, and of his father in 1905, Prince
Albert became heir apparent. In 1906 he became member of the Belgian Senate
and in 1907 was appointed by his uncle, Leopold II, Lieutenant-General. On
2nd Oct., 1900, he married Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Duke Charles
Theodor of Bavaria; there are three children. He ascended the Belgian
throne in Nov., 1909, after the death of his uncle Leopold II.
ALBERT EDWARD, or simply EDWARD, one of the equatorial lakes of Africa,
otherwise known as _Muta Nzige_ (q.v.).
ALBERT HALL, an amphitheatre in the Italian Renaissance style in
Kensington, London, built during 1867-71 for concerts and assemblies. It
can seat 9000 people, and its organ, which has nearly 9000 pipes, is one of
the largest in the world.
ALBERT MEMORIAL, the monument erected in Kensington Gardens, London, in
memory of Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. It is the work of Sir
Gilbert Scott, and its style is Victorian Gothic.
ALBERT NYAN'ZA, a lake of Africa, one of the headwaters of the Nile, lying
(approximately) between lat. 2deg 30' and 1deg 10' N., and with its
north-east extremity in about lon. 28deg E.; general direction from
north-east to south-west, surface about 2500 feet above sea-level. It is
surrounded by precipitous cliffs, and bounded on the west and south-west by
great ranges of mountains. It abounds with fish, and its shores are
infested with crocodiles and hippopotami. It receives the Victoria Nile
from the Victoria Nyanza, and the White Nile issues from its northern
extremity.
ALBERT-BAPAUME. Along the great trunk road from Albert to Bapaume and on
either side of it, fierce fighting took place during the Somme offensive of
1916, marked by the stages La Boiselle, Pozieres and Le Sars. When, in
Feb., 1917, the Germans began the great retreat, the fortified village of
Pys on the left of the road was seized at a rush. On the 26th the village
of Warlencourt fell, and two days later Thilley village 1-1/2 miles from
Bapaume, was taken. The British troops, avoiding direct assaults, gradually
encircled the town, forcing the Germans to withdraw. It was entered on 17th
March.
ALBERTA, a province of Canada, established on 1st Sept., 1905, and
comprising the former territory of Alberta and the part of the former
territory of Athabasca lying west of the meridian 110deg, and having the
new province of Saskatchewan on the east, British Columbia on the west, the
United States on the south, and Mackenzie territory on the north; area,
255,285 sq. miles. A large part of the area on the west is occupied by the
Rocky Mountains, which are shared in common with Alberta and British
Columbia, and consist mostly of a series of more or less parallel ridges.
One or two of the loftier summits are in the province, others on the
boundary. There is much valuable timber in this district. The general slope
of the surface is from west to east and north-east. The province is
intersected by numerous rivers and streams that have their sources in the
Rockies, some of them, such as the Peace River and the Athabasca, sending
their waters to the Arctic Ocean, while the others, such as the North and
South Saskatchewan and their tributaries, belong to the Hudson Bay basin.
In the extreme south are one or two small tributaries of the Missouri.
There are a number of lakes, the largest being the Lesser Slave Lake and
Lake Athabasca (partly in this province). Notwithstanding the number of the
streams, there are districts, especially in the south, where agriculture
cannot be successfully carried on without irrigation. Farther to the north
there are areas highly suitable for agriculture, and timber is also
abundant. Cattle ranching is successfully carried on in the south, but
tillage, with and even without irrigation, is also carried on, fine crops
of wheat being grown. The most valuable mineral is coal, which is found at
various places, but is chiefly mined in the south at Lethbridge, and
farther north in the Banff district. Here there are hot springs and grand
scenery, and a large tract of land has been set apart as a national park.
Near Edmonton, the capital, coal is found on the bank of the North
Saskatchewan, and is readily worked. Iron, petroleum, and other minerals
are found. The climate is very warm in summer, and in winter less severe
and prolonged than might be supposed. The warm _chinook_ winds from the
Pacific often blow in winter, and speedily melt the snow. The province is
crossed in the south by the Canadian Pacific Railway, running by way of
Calgary and Banff, and crossing the Rockies. From Calgary one branch runs
north to Edmonton, another runs south to McLeod, where other lines make a
connection with the States railroads and British Columbia. Edmonton, being
also on the Canadian Northern and the Grand Trunk Pacific, is bound to
become a great centre of trade and provincial development. It and Calgary
are the chief towns. The population in 1911 was returned at 374,663, the
latest estimate being nearly 500,000.
ALBERTITE, an asphaltic hydrocarbon compound, a soft black material,
obtained in Canada.
ALBER'TUS MAGNUS, or ALBERT THE GREAT, Count of Bollstaedt, a distinguished
German scholar of the thirteenth century, born in 1193, or 1205, studied at
Padua, became a monk of the Dominican order, teaching in the schools of
Hildesheim, Ratisbon, and Cologne, where Thomas Aquinas became his pupil.
In 1245 he went to Paris and publicly expounded the doctrines of Aristotle,
notwithstanding the prohibition of the Church. He is called Doctor
Universalis, for he was one of the most proficient scholars of his day,
second only to Roger Bacon in his knowledge of nature. He became rector of
the school of Cologne in 1249; in 1254 he was made provincial of his order
in Germany; and in 1260 he received from Pope Alexander IV the appointment
of Bishop of Ratisbon. In 1263 he retired to his convent at Cologne, where
he composed many works, especially commentaries on Aristotle. He died in
1280. Owing to his profound knowledge he did not escape the imputation of
using magical arts and trafficking with the Evil One.
AL'BI. See _Alby_.
ALBIGENSES (al-bi-jen's[=e]z), a neo-Manichaean sect which spread widely in
the south of France and elsewhere about the twelfth century, and which
differed in doctrine and practice from the Roman Catholic Church, by which
they were subjected to severe persecution. They are said to have been so
named from Albi, on the banks of the Tarn, a tributary of the Garonne,
where, and about Toulouse, Narbonne, &c., they were numerous. They were
also known as Catharists (q.v.) and their doctrines were similar to those
of several other religious sects such as the Gnostics, Manichaeans, and
Bogomils. Among the principal doctrines of the Albigenses was the belief in
the existence of two principles, good and evil, the creators of the
spiritual and material worlds. Since all matter is under the control of the
evil principle, maintained the Albigenses, all flesh is evil. The
extinction of bodily life, therefore, the deliverance of the soul from the
prison-house of the body, should be the aim of man. Suicide by means of
starvation was consequently highly meritorious. It is admitted even by
Catholic writers (see _Catholic Encyclopaedia_, vol. i, p. 268) that the
Albigenses were principally antisacerdotal and opposed to the Roman Church
on account of the scandalous life led by the Catholic clergy. A crusade was
begun against them, and Count Raymond VI of Toulouse for tolerating them,
in 1209, the army of the cross being called together by Pope Innocent III.
The war was carried on with a cruelty which reflected deep disgrace upon
the Catholic Church. Beziers, the capital of Raymond's nephew Roger, was
taken by storm, and 20,000 of the inhabitants, without distinction of
creed, were put to the sword. Simon de Montfort, the military leader of the
crusade, was equally severe towards other places in the territory of
Raymond and his allies. After the death of Raymond VI, in 1222, his son,
Raymond VII, was obliged, notwithstanding his readiness to do penance, to
defend his inheritance against the papal legates and Louis VIII of France.
When hundreds of thousands had fallen on both sides, a peace was made in
1229, by which Raymond was obliged to cede Narbonne with other territories
to Louis IX, and make his son-in-law, a brother of Louis, his heir. The
heretics were now delivered up to the proselytizing zeal of the Dominicans,
and to the courts of the Inquisition, by which means it was brought about
that the Albigenses disappeared after the middle of the thirteenth century.
Cf. C. Schmidt, _Histoire et doctrine de la Secte des Cathares ou
Albigeois_ (2 vols.)
ALBINOS (al-b[=i]'n[=o]z), the name given to those persons from whose skin,
hair, and eyes, in consequence of some defect in their organization, the
dark colouring matter is absent. The skin of albinos, therefore, whether
they belong to the white, Indian, or negro races, is of a uniform pale
milky colour, their hair is white, while the iris of their eyes is pale
rose colour, and the pupil intensely red, the absence of the dark pigment
allowing the multitude of blood-vessels in these parts of the eye to be
seen. For the same reason their eyes are not well suited to endure the
bright light of day, and they see best in shade or by moonlight. The
peculiarity of _albinism_ or _leucopathy_ is hereditary and not confined to
the human race, having been observed also in horses, rabbits, rats, mice,
&c., birds (white crows or blackbirds are not particularly uncommon), and
fishes. Albinos are not of necessity lacking in mental vigour or capacity.
Cf. Karl Pearson, _A Monograph on Albinism in Man_.
AL'BION (Celtic _Albainn_), the earliest name by which the island of Great
Britain was known, employed already by writers of the sixth century B.C.,
who speak not of Britannia but of the land of the Albiones, and in poetry
still used for Great Britain. It is connected with Lat. _albus_, white, on
account, perhaps, of the chalk cliffs of Dover. The same word as _Albany_,
_Albyn_.
AL'BITE, or SODA-FELSPAR, a mineral, a kind of felspar, usually of a white
colour, to which property it owes its name (Lat. _albus_, white), but
occasionally bluish, greyish, greenish, or reddish white.
ALBIZZIA (al-bit'si-a), a genus of leguminous trees and shrubs, allied to
the genus Acacia, with doubly-pinnate leaves and white, yellow, or red
flowers often in globular heads, and broad, straight, flat pods. They
number over fifty species, and inhabit tropical and subtropical Asia,
Africa, and Australia. _A. lophanta_, a native of south-western Australia,
has a bark that contains tannin. _A. Lebbek_, a native of Asia and Africa,
yields valuable timber, and in Egypt is much cultivated as a shade tree.
_A. Julibrissin_, a tree with rose-red flowers, is found in Asia and
Africa, and has been introduced into Southern Europe.
AL'BOIN, King of the Lombards, succeeded his father Audoin in 561, and
reigned in Noricum and Pannonia. Narses, the general of Justinian, sought
his alliance, and received his aid, in the war against Totila, King of the
Ostrogoths. Alboin afterwards (in 568) undertook the conquest of Italy,
where Narses, who had subjected this country to Justinian, offended by an
ungrateful Court, sought an avenger in Alboin, and offered him his
co-operation. After a victorious career in Italy he was slain at Verona, in
573 or 574, by an assassin, instigated by his wife Rosamond, whose hatred
he had incurred by sending her, in one of his fits of intoxication, a cup
wrought from the skull of her father, and forcing her to drink from it.
ALBORAK, in Mohammedan mythology, the animal said to have been brought by
the angel Gabriel to carry Mohammed to the seventh heaven. It had the face
of a man, the body of a horse, the wings of an eagle, and spoke with a
human voice.
ALBRECHT ([.a]l'bre_h_t), the German form of _Albert_ (q.v.).
ALBRECHTSBERGER ([.a]l'bre_h_ts-ber-g[.e]r), Johann Georg, a German
composer and writer on music; a teacher of Beethoven, Moscheles, &c. Born
1736, died 1809.
ALBRET, Jeanne d' (zh[.a]n d[.a]l-br[=a]), Queen of Navarre, wife of
Antoine de Bourbon and mother of Henri IV of France, a zealous supporter of
the reformed religion, which she established in her kingdom; born 1528,
died (probably poisoned) 1572, shortly before the massacre of St.
Bartholomew.
ALBUERA ([.a]l-b[u:]-[=a]'r[.a]), a village of Spain, in Estremadura, 12
miles S.S.E. of Badajoz. A battle was fought here, 16th May, 1811, between
the army of Marshal Beresford (30,000) and that of Marshal Soult (25,000),
when the latter was obliged to retreat to Seville, leaving Badajoz to fall
into the hands of the allies.
ALBU'GO, an affection of the eye, consisting of a white opacity in the
cornea; called also _leucoma_.
AL'BUM, in ancient Rome a board painted white, on which edicts and public
notices were inscribed in black. It is now a name generally given to a
blank book for the reception of pieces of poetry, autographs, engravings,
photographs, &c. In law it is applied to rent paid in silver (white money).
ALBU'MEN, or ALBUMIN (Lat., from _albus_, white), a substance, or rather
group of substances, so named from the Latin for the white of an egg, which
is one of its most abundant known forms. It may be taken as the type of the
protein compounds or the nitrogenous class of food-stuffs. One variety
enters largely into the composition of the animal fluids and solids, is
coagulable by heat at and above 160deg, and is composed of carbon,
hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, with a little sulphur. It abounds in the
serum of the blood, the vitreous and crystalline humours of the eye, the
fluid of dropsy, the substance called coagulable lymph, in nutritive
matters, the juice of flesh, &c. The blood contains about 7 per cent of
albumen. Another variety, called vegetable albumen, exists in most
vegetable juices and many seeds, and has nearly the same composition and
properties as egg albumen. When albumen coagulates in any fluid it readily
encloses any substances that may be suspended in the fluid. Hence it is
used to clarify syrupy liquors. In cookery, white of eggs is employed for
clarifying, but in large operations, like sugar-refining, the serum of
blood is used. From its being coagulable by various salts, and especially
by corrosive sublimate, with which it forms an insoluble compound, white of
egg is a convenient antidote in cases of poisoning by that substance. With
lime it forms a cement to mend broken ware.
In botany the name albumen is given to the farinaceous matter which
surrounds the embryo, the term in this case having no reference to chemical
composition. It constitutes the meat of the coco-nut, the flour or meal of
cereals, the roasted part of coffee, &c.
ALBUMINU'RIA, a condition in which the urine contains albumen, evidencing a
diseased state of the kidneys.
ALBUNOL ([.a]l-b[u:]-nyol'), a seaport of Southern Spain, province Granada,
on the Mediterranean. Pop. 7451.
ALBUQUERQUE ([.a]l-b[u:]-kerk'[=a]), Affonso de, surnamed 'the Great', an
eminent Portuguese admiral, born 1453, died in 1515. Portugal having
subjected to its power a large part of the western coast of Africa, and
begun to extend its sway in the East Indies, Albuquerque was appointed
viceroy of the Portuguese acquisitions in this quarter, and arrived in 1503
with a fleet on the coast of Malabar. His career here was extremely
successful, he having extended the Portuguese power over Malabar, Ceylon,
the Sunda Islands, and the Peninsula of Malacca, and made the Portuguese
name respected by all the nations and princes of India. Notwithstanding his
services and his virtues, he was unjustly superseded in his commands by his
personal enemy Lopez Soarez, and so severely did he feel the ingratitude of
his sovereign, King Emanuel, that he died a few days after receiving the
intelligence. His famous letter to the king was discovered and published in
1542 by J. M. de Fonseca. The first volume of his letters was published in
1884 by the Royal Academy of Lisbon.
[Illustration: Alburnum
_a a_, Alburnum or sapwood. _b b_, Heart-wood. _c_, Pith. _d_, Bark]
ALBUR'NUM, the soft white substance which, in trees, is found between the
liber or inner bark and the wood, and, in progress of time acquiring
solidity, becomes itself the wood. A new layer of wood, or rather of
alburnum, is added annually to the tree in every part just under the bark.
ALBURY (al'ber-i), a rising town of New South Wales on the borders of
Victoria, on the right bank of the Murray, 190 miles north-east of
Melbourne, in a good agricultural and wine-producing district. Pop. 6750.
ALBY, or ALBI ([.a]l'b[=e]), an old town of southern France, department of
Tarn, 42 miles north-east of Toulouse, on the Tarn, in an extensive plain.
It has a cathedral, a Gothic structure, begun in 1282. It manufactures
linens, cottons, leather, &c. Alby is said to have given the Albigenses
their name. Pop. 18,262.
ALCAE'US, one of the greatest Grecian lyric poets, was born at Mitylene, in
Lesbos, and flourished there at the close of the seventh and beginning of
the sixth centuries B.C.; but of his life little is known. A strong manly
enthusiasm for freedom and justice pervades his lyrics, of which only a few
fragments are left. He wrote in the Aeolic dialect, and was the inventor of
a metre that bears his name (Alcaics), which Horace has employed in many of
his odes.
ALCALA' DE GUADAIRA (gw[.a]-d[=i]'r[.a]; 'the castle of Guadaira'), a town
of southern Spain, on the Guadaira, 7 miles east of Seville, chiefly
celebrated for its manufacture of bread, with which it supplies a large
part of the population of Seville. Pop. 8930.
ALCALA' DE HENARES (en-[:a]'res), a beautiful city of Spain, 16 miles
E.N.E. of Madrid, 1 mile from the Henares. It has an imposing appearance
when seen from some distance, but on nearer inspection is found to be in a
state of decay. There was formerly a university here, at one time attended
by 10,000 students; but in 1836 it was removed with its library to Madrid.
Cervantes was born here. Pop. 11,728.
ALCALA' LA REAL (r[=a]-[.a]l'), a town of Spain, 18 miles south-east of
Jaen, with a fine abbey and some trade. It was captured in 1340 by Alphonso
XI of Leon, from whence it derives the epithet Real ('Royal'). Pop. 15,901.