[1] See "Conventions entre quelques seigneurs Corses et l'office de
St Georges (1453)," in _Bulletin soc. scientif. Corse_ (1881-1882),
pp. 286, 305, 413, 501, 549 and (1883) 147; also the report of the
deputies sent by the bank to Pope Nicholas V. in 1453, ib. p. 141.
[2] Hammer-Purgstall, _Gesch. des Osmanischen Reichs_ (Pest, 1840),
ii. 288.
[3] Father Cancellotti, who visited every part of the island,
estimated the number of murders committed in 20 years at 28,000
(quoted in the article on Corsica in _La Grande Encyclopedie_).
CORSICANA, a city and the county-seat of Navarro county, Texas, U.S.A.,
situated in the N.E. part of the state, about 55 m. S. of Dallas. Pop.
(1890) 6285; (1900) 9313, of whom 2399 were of negro descent; (1910
census) 9749. It is served by the Houston & Texas Central, the St Louis
South Western, and the Trinity & Brazos Valley railways. It is the
centre of a large and productive wheat- and cotton-growing region, which
has also numerous oil wells (with a total production in 1907 of 226,311
barrels). The city has two oil refineries, a large cotton gin and a
cotton compress, and among its manufactures are cotton-seed oil,
cotton-cloth, flour and ice. The total value of the factory product in
1905 was $1,796,805, being an increase of 50.3% since 1900. Natural gas
is extensively used for fuel and for lighting. Corsicana is the seat of
the Texas state orphan home and of an Odd Fellows widows' and orphans'
home, and has a Carnegie library. Corsicana was named in honour of the
wife of a Mexican, Navarro, who owned a large tract of land in the
county and from whom the county was named. The first permanent
settlement here was made in 1848, and Corsicana was incorporated as a
village in 1850 and chartered as a city in 1871.
CORSINI, the name of a Florentine princely family, of which the founder
is said to be Neri Corsini, who flourished about the year 1170. Like
other Florentine nobles the Corsini had at first no titles, but in more
recent times they received many from foreign potentates and from the
later grand dukes of Tuscany. The emperor Charles IV. created the head
of the house a count palatine in 1371; the marquisate of Sismano was
conferred on them in 1620, those of Casigliano and Civitella in 1629,
of Lajatico and Orciatico in 1644, of Giovagallo and Tresana in 1652; in
1730 Lorenzo Corsini was elected pope as Clement XII., and conferred the
rank of Roman princes and the duchy of Casigliano on his family, and in
1732 they were created grandees of Spain. They own two palaces in
Florence, one of which on the Lung' Arno Corsini contains the finest
private picture gallery in the city, and many villas and estates in
various parts of Italy.
See L. Passerini, _Genealogia e storia della famiglia Corsini_
(Florence, 1858); A. von Reumont, _Geschichte der Stadt Rom_ (Berlin,
1868); _Almanach de Gotha_. (L. V.*)
CORSON, HIRAM (1828- ), American scholar, was born on the 6th of
November 1828, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He held a position in the
library of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. (1849-1856), was
a lecturer on English literature in Philadelphia (1859-1865), and was
professor of English at Girard College, Philadelphia (1865-1866), and in
St John's College, Annapolis, Maryland (1866-1870). In 1870-1871 he was
professor of rhetoric and oratory at Cornell University, where he was
professor of Anglo-Saxon and English literature (1872-1886), of English
literature and rhetoric (1886-1890), and from 1890 to 1903 (when he
became professor emeritus) of English literature, a chair formed for
him. He edited Chaucer's _Legende of Goode Women_ (1863) and _Selections
from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales_ (1896), and wrote a _Hand-Book of
Anglo-Saxon and Early English_ (1871), and, among other text-books, _An
Elocutionary Manual_ (1864), _A Primer of English Verse_ (1892), and
_Introductions_ to the study of Browning (1886, 1889), of Shakespeare
(1889) and of Milton (1899). The volume on Shakespeare and the _Jottings
on the Text of Macbeth_ (1874) contain some excellent Shakespearian
criticism. He also published _The University of the Future_ (1875), _The
Aims of Literary Study_ (1895), and _The Voice and Spiritual Education_
(1896). He translated the _Satires of Juvenal_ (1868) and edited a
translation by his wife, Caroline Rollin (d. 1901), of Pierre Janet's
_Mental State of Hystericals_ (1901).
CORSSEN, WILHELM PAUL (1820-1875), German philologist, was born at
Bremen on the 20th of January 1820, and received his school education in
the Prussian town of Schwedt, to which his father, a merchant, had
removed. After spending some time at the Joachimsthal Gymnasium in
Berlin, where his interest in philological pursuits was awakened by the
rector, Meinike, he proceeded to the university, and there came
especially under the influence of Bockh and Lachmann. His first
important appearance in literature was as the author of _Origines poesis
romanae_, by which he had obtained the prize offered by the
"philosophical" or "arts" faculty of the university. In 1846 he was
called from Stettin, where he had for nearly two years held a post in
the gymnasium, to occupy the position of lecturer in the royal academy
at Pforta (commonly called Schulpforta), and there he continued to
labour for the next twenty years. In 1854 he won a prize offered by the
Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences for the best work on the
pronunciation and accent of Latin, a treatise which at once took rank,
on its publication under the title of _Uber Aussprache, Vocalismus, und
Betonung der lateinischen Sprache_ (1858-1859), as one of the most
erudite and masterly works in its department. This was followed in 1863
by his _Kritische Beitrage zur lat. Formenlehre_, which were
supplemented in 1866 by _Kritische Nachtrage zur lat. Formenlehre_. In
the discussion of the pronunciation of Latin he was naturally led to
consider the various old Italian dialects, and the results of his
investigations appeared in miscellaneous communications to Kuhn's
_Zeitschrift fur vergleichende Schriftforschung_. Ill-health obliged him
to give up his professorship at Pforta, and return to Berlin, in 1866;
but it produced almost no diminution of his literary activity. In 1867
he published an elaborate archaeological study entitled the _Alterthumer
und Kunstdenkmale des Cistercienserklosters St Marien und der
Landesschule Pforta_, in which he gathers together all that can be
discovered about the history of the Pforta academy, the German "Eton,"
and in 1868-1869 he brought out a new edition of his work on Latin
pronunciation. From a very early period he had been attracted to the
special study of Etruscan remains, and had at various times given
occasional expression to his opinions on individual points; but it was
not till 1870 that he had the opportunity of visiting Italy and
completing his equipment for a formal treatment of the whole subject by
personal inspection of the monuments. In 1874 appeared the first volume
of _Uber die Sprache der Etrusker_, in which with great ingenuity and
erudition he endeavoured to prove that the Etruscan language was cognate
with that of the Romans. Before the second volume (published
posthumously under the editorship of Kuhn) had received the last touches
of his hand, he was cut off in 1875 by a comparatively early death.
CORT, CORNELIS (1536-1578), Dutch engraver, was born at Horn in Holland,
and studied engraving under Hieronymus Cockx of Antwerp. About 1565 he
went to Venice, where Titian employed him to execute the well-known
copperplates of St Jerome in the Desert, the Magdalen, Prometheus, Diana
and Actaeon, and Diana and Calisto. From Italy he wandered back to the
Netherlands, but he returned to Venice soon after 1567, proceeding
thence to Bologna and Rome, where he produced engravings from all the
great masters of the time. At Rome he founded the well-known school in
which, as Bartsch tells us, the simple line of Marcantonio was modified
by a brilliant touch of the burin, afterwards imitated and perfected by
Agostino Caracci in Italy and Nicolas de Bruyn in the Netherlands.
Before visiting Italy, Cort had been content to copy Michael Coxcie, F.
Floris, Heemskerk, G. Mostaert, Bartholomaus Spranger and Stradan. In
Italy he gave circulation to the works of Raphael, Titian, Polidoro da
Caravaggio, Baroccio, Giulio Clovio, Muziano and the Zuccari. His
connexion with Cockx and Titian is pleasantly illustrated in a letter
addressed to the latter by Dominick Lampson of Liege in 1567. Cort is
said to have engraved upwards of one hundred and fifty-one plates. In
Italy he was known as Cornelio Fiammingo.
CORTE, a town of central Corsica, 52 m. N.E. of Ajaccio by the railway
between that town and Bastia. Pop. (1906) 4839. The upper town is
situated on a precipitous rock overhanging the confluence of the
Tavignano and Restonica, the rest of the town lying below it on both
banks of the rivers. On the summit of the rock stands a citadel built by
Vincentello d'Istria (see CORSICA). Other interesting buildings are the
house in which Pasquale Paoli lived while Corte was the seat of his
government (1755 to 1769), and the house of another patriot, Giampietro
Gaffori, whose wife defended it from the Genoese in 1750. There are
statues of Paoli, of General Gaffori, and of General Arrighi di
Casanova, duke of Padua (d. 1853). Corte is capital of an arrondissement
of the island, has a subprefecture, a tribunal of first instance and a
communal college, and manufactures alimentary paste. There are marble
quarries in the vicinity, and the town has trade in wine and timber. In
the 18th century Corte was the centre of the resistance to the Genoese,
and it was the seat of a university erected by Paoli.
CORTE-REAL, JERONYMO (1533-1588), Portuguese epic poet, came of a noble
Portuguese stock. Of the same family were Gaspar Corte-Real, who in 1500
and 1501 sailed to Labrador and the Arctic seas; and his brothers Miguel
and Vasco. Their voyages opened the way for important Portuguese
fisheries on the Newfoundland coast (see Henry Harrisse, _Les Corte-Real
et leurs voyages au Nouveau-Monde_, and _Gasper Corte-Real: la date
exacte de sa derniere expedition au Nouveau-Monde_, Paris, 1883). In his
youth Jeronymo fought in Africa and Asia according to the custom of
noblemen in that age. There is a tradition that he was present at the
affair of Tangier on the 18th of May 1553, when D. Pedro de Menezes met
his death. Returning home, it is supposed about 1570, he spent the rest
of his days in retirement. In 1578 he placed his sword at the disposal
of King Sebastian for the fatal expedition to Africa, but the monarch
dispensed him from the journey (it is said) on account of his age, and
in 1586 we find him acting as _provedor_ of the _Misericordia_ of Evora.
He married D. Luiza da Silva, but left no legitimate issue. Corte-Real
was painter as well as soldier and poet, and one of his pictures is
still preserved in the church of S. Antao at Evora. His poetical works
are believed to have been composed in his old age at the mansion on his
estate near Evora, known as "Valle de Palma." _O Segundo cerco de Diu_,
an epic in 21 cantos, deals with the historic siege of that Indian
island-fortress of the Portuguese. First printed in 1574, it had a
second edition in 1783, while a Spanish version appeared at Alcala in
1597. _Austriada_, an epic in 15 cantos celebrating the victory of Don
John of Austria over the Turks at Lepanto, was written in Spanish and
published in 1578. King Philip II. accepted the dedication in flattering
terms and visited the poet when he came to Portugal. _Naufragio de
Sepulveda_, an epic in 17 cantos, describes the tragic shipwreck on the
South African coast and the death of D. Manoel de Sepulveda with his
beautiful wife and young children, a disaster which drew some feeling
stanzas from Camoens (_Lusiads_, v. 46). The poem was published four
years after the death of Corte-Real by his heirs, and had two later
editions, while a Spanish version appeared in Madrid in 1624 and a
French in Paris in 1844. _Auto dos quatro novissimos do homem_ is a
short poem printed in 1768. Except the _Naufragio de Sepulveda_, which
is highly considered in Portugal, Corte-Real's poetry has hardly stood
the test of time, and critics of later generations have refused to
ratify the estimate formed by contemporaries, who considered him the
equal, if not the superior, of Camoens. His lengthy epics suffer from a
want of sustained inspiration, and are marred by an abuse of epithet,
though they contain episodes of considerable merit, vigorous and
well-coloured descriptive passages, and exhibit a pure diction.
See _Subsidios para a biographia do poeta Jeronymo Corte-Real_ (Evora,
1899); also Ernesto do Canto's Memoir on the family in Nos. 23 and 24
of the _Archivo dos Azores_, and Dr Sousa Viterbo's _Trabalhos
nauticos dos Portuguezes_, ii. 153 et seq. (E. PR.)
CORTES, HERNAN or HERNANDO (1485-1547), Spanish soldier, the conqueror
of Mexico, was born at Medellin, a small town of Estremadura, in 1485.
He belonged to a noble family of decayed fortune, and, being destined
for the law, was sent, at fourteen years of age, to the university of
Salamanca; but study was distasteful to him, and he returned home in
1501, resolved to enter upon a life of adventure. He arranged to
accompany Ovando, who had been appointed to the command of San Domingo,
but was prevented from joining the expedition by an accident that
happened to him in a love adventure. He next sought military service
under the celebrated Gonsalvo de Cordoba, but a serious illness
frustrated his purpose. At last, in 1504, he set out, according to his
first plan, for San Domingo, where he was kindly received by Ovando. He
was then only nineteen, and remarkable for a graceful physiognomy and
amiable manners, as well as for skill and address in all military
exercises. He remained in San Domingo, where Ovando had successively
conferred upon him several lucrative and honourable employments, until
1511, when he accompanied Diego Velazquez in his expedition to the
island of Cuba. Here he became alcalde of Santiago, and displayed great
ability on several trying occasions.
An opportunity was soon afforded him of showing his powers as a military
leader. Juan Grijalva, lieutenant of Velazquez, had just discovered
Mexico, but had not attempted to effect a settlement. This displeased
the governor of Cuba, who superseded Grijalva, and entrusted the
conquest of the newly discovered country to Cortes. The latter hastened
his preparations, and, on the 18th of November 1518, he set out from
Santiago, with 10 vessels, 600 or 700 Spaniards, 18 horsemen and some
pieces of cannon. Scarcely had he set sail, however, when Velazquez
recalled the commission which he had granted to Cortes, and even ordered
him to be put under arrest; but the attachment of the troops, by whom he
was greatly beloved, enabled him to persevere in spite of the governor;
and on the 4th of March 1519 he landed on the coast of Mexico. Advancing
along the gulf, sometimes taking measures to conciliate the natives, and
sometimes spreading terror by his arms, he took possession of the town
of Tobasco. The noise of the artillery, the appearance of the floating
fortresses which had transported the Spaniards over the ocean, and the
horses on which they fought, all new objects to the natives, inspired
them with astonishment mingled with terror and admiration; they regarded
the Spaniards as gods, and sent them ambassadors with presents. Cortes
here learned that the native sovereign was called Montezuma; that he
reigned over an extensive empire, which had lasted for three centuries;
that thirty vassals, called caciques, obeyed him; and that his riches
were immense and his power absolute. No more was necessary to inflame
the ambition of the invader, who did not hesitate to undertake the
conquest of this great empire, which could only be effected by combining
stratagem and address with force and courage. He laid the foundation of
the town of Vera Cruz, caused himself to be elected captain-general of
the new colony, and burned his vessels to cut off the possibility of
retreat and show his soldiers that they must either conquer or perish.
He then penetrated into the interior of the country, drew to his camp
several caciques hostile to Montezuma, and induced these native princes
to facilitate his progress. The republic of Tlaxcala, which was hostile
to Montezuma, opposed him; but he routed its army, which had resisted
all the forces of the Mexican empire, dictated peace on moderate terms
and converted the people into powerful auxiliaries. His farther advance
was in vain attempted to be checked by an ambuscade laid by the
inhabitants of Cholula, on whom he took signal vengeance.
Surmounting all other obstacles he arrived, with 6000 natives and a
handful of Spaniards, in sight of the immense lake on which was built
the city of Mexico, the capital of the empire. Montezuma received him
with great pomp, and his subjects, believing Cortes to be a descendant
of the sun, prostrated themselves before him. The first care of Cortes
was to fortify himself in one of the beautiful palaces of the prince,
and he was planning how to possess himself of the riches of so opulent
an empire, when intelligence reached him that a general of the emperor,
who had received secret orders, had just attacked the garrison of Vera
Cruz and killed several of his soldiers. The head of one of the
Spaniards was sent to the capital. This event undeceived the Mexicans,
who had hitherto believed the Spaniards to be immortal, and necessarily
altered the whole policy of Cortes. Struck with the greatness of the
danger, surrounded by enemies, and having only a handful of soldiers, he
conceived and instantly executed a most daring project. Having repaired
with his officers to the palace of the emperor, he announced to
Montezuma that he must either accompany him or perish. Being thus master
of the person of the monarch, he next demanded that the Mexican general
and his officers who had attacked the Spaniards should be delivered into
his hands; and when this had been done he caused these unfortunate men,
who had only obeyed the orders of their sovereign, to be burned alive
before the gates of the imperial palace. During this cruel execution
Cortes entered the apartment of Montezuma, and caused him to be loaded
with irons, in order to force him to acknowledge himself a vassal of
Charles V. The unhappy prince yielded, and was restored to a semblance
of liberty on presenting the fierce conqueror with 600,000 marks of pure
gold, and a prodigious quantity of precious stones. Scarcely had he
reaped the fruits of his audacity, however, when he was informed of the
landing of a Spanish army, under Narvaez, which had been sent by
Velazquez to compel him to renounce his command. In this emergency
Cortes acted with his usual decision and courage. Leaving 200 men at
Mexico, under the orders of his lieutenant (Alvarado), he marched
against Narvaez, whom he defeated and made prisoner, and he then
enlisted under his standard the Spanish soldiers who had been sent to
attack him. On his return to the capital, however, he found that the
Mexicans had revolted against the emperor and the Spaniards, and that
dangers thickened around him. Montezuma perished in attempting to
address his revolted subjects; the latter, having chosen a new emperor,
attacked the headquarters of Cortes with the utmost fury, and, in spite
of the advantage of firearms, forced the Spaniards to retire, as the
only means of escaping destruction. Their rear-guard, however, was cut
in pieces, and they suffered severely during the retreat, which was
continued during six days. Elated with their success, the Mexicans
offered battle in the plain of Otumba. This was what Cortes desired, and
it proved their destruction. Cortes gave the signal for battle, and, on
the 7th of July 1520, gained a victory which decided the fate of Mexico.
Immediately afterwards he proceeded to Tlaxcala, assembled an auxiliary
army of natives, subjected the neighbouring provinces, and then marched
a second time against Mexico, which, after a gallant defence of several
months, was retaken on the 13th of August 1521.
These successes were entirely owing to the genius, valour and profound
but unscrupulous policy of Cortes; and the account of them which he
transmitted to Spain excited the admiration of his countrymen. The
extent of his conquests, and the ability he had displayed, effaced the
censure which he had incurred by the irregularity of his operations; and
public opinion having declared in his favour, Charles V., disregarding
the pretensions of Velazquez, appointed him governor and captain-general
of Mexico, at the same time conferring on him the valley of Oaxaca,
which was erected (1529) into a marquisate, with a considerable revenue.
But although his power was thus confirmed by royal authority, and
although he exerted himself to consolidate Spanish domination throughout
all Mexico, the means he employed were such that the natives, reduced to
despair, took arms against the Spaniards. This revolt, however, was
speedily subdued, and the Mexicans were everywhere forced to yield to
the ascendancy of European discipline and valour. Guatemotzin, who had
been recognized as emperor, and a great number of caciques, accused of
having conspired against the conquerors, were publicly executed, with
circumstances of great cruelty, by order of Cortes. Meanwhile the court
of Madrid, dreading the ambition and popularity of the victorious chief,
sent commissioners to watch his conduct and thwart his proceedings; and
whilst he was completing the conquest of New Spain his goods were seized
by the fiscal of the Council of the Indies, and his retainers imprisoned
and put into irons. Indignant at the ingratitude of his sovereign,
Cortes returned in person to Spain to appeal to the justice of the
emperor, and appeared there with great splendour. The emperor received
him with every mark of distinction, and decorated him with the order of
St Iago. Cortes returned to Mexico with new titles but diminished
authority, a viceroy having been entrusted with the administration of
civil affairs, whilst the military department, with permission to push
his conquests, was all that remained to Cortes. This division of powers
became a source of continual dissension, and caused the failure of the
last enterprises in which he engaged. Nevertheless, in 1536, he
discovered the peninsula of Lower California, and surveyed a part of the
gulf which separates it from Mexico.
At length, tired of struggling with adversaries unworthy of him, whom
the court took care to multiply, he returned to Europe, hoping to
confound his enemies. But Charles V. received him coldly. Cortes
dissembled, redoubled the assiduity of his attendance on the emperor,
accompanied him in the disastrous expedition to Algiers in 1541, served
as a volunteer, and had a horse killed under him. This was his last
appearance in the field, and if his advice had been followed the Spanish
arms would have been saved from disgrace, and Europe delivered nearly
three centuries earlier from the scourge of organized piracy. Soon
afterwards he fell into neglect, and could scarcely obtain an audience.
The story goes that, having forced his way through the crowd which
surrounded the emperor's carriage, and mounted on the door-step,
Charles, astonished at an act of such audacity, demanded to know who he
was. "I am a man," replied the conqueror of Mexico proudly, "who has
given you more provinces than your ancestors left you cities." So
haughty a declaration of important services ill-requited could scarcely
fail to offend a monarch on whom fortune had lavished her choicest
favours. Cortes, overwhelmed with disgust, withdrew from court, passed
the remainder of his days in solitude, and died, near Seville, on the
2nd of December 1547.
The only writings of Cortes are five letters on the subject of his
conquests, which he addressed to Charles V. The best edition of them
is that of Don Francisco Antonio Lorenzana, archbishop of Mexico,
entitled _Historia de Nueva-Espana escrita par su esclarecido
conquistador, Hernan Cortes, aumentada con otros documientos y notas_
(Mexico, 1770, 4to), a work the noble simplicity of which attests the
truth of the recital it contains. An English translation of the
letters, edited by Francis A. MacNutt, was published in 1908. The
conquests of Cortes have been described with pompous elegance by
Antonio de Solis in his _Historia de la conquista de Mejico_ (1684),
and with more truth and simplicity by Bernardo Diaz del Castillo in
his work under the same title (1632). See also Sir Arthur Helps's
_Life of Hernando Cortes_ (2 vols., London, 1871), F. A. MacNutt's
_Fernando Cortes_ ("Heroes of the Nations" Series, 1909), and the
bibliography to MEXICO.
CORTES, a Spanish term literally signifying the "courts," and applied to
the states, or assembly of the states, of the kingdom. (See SPAIN and
PORTUGAL.)
CORTI, LODOVICO, COUNT (1823-1888), Italian diplomatist, was born at
Gambarano on the 28th of October 1823. Early involved with Benedetto
Cairoli in anti-Austrian conspiracies, he was exiled to Turin, where he
entered the Piedmontese foreign office. After serving as artillery
officer through the campaign of 1848, he was in 1850 appointed secretary
of legation in London, whence he was promoted minister to various
capitals, and in 1875 ambassador to Constantinople. Called by Cairoli to
the direction of foreign affairs in 1878, he took part in the congress
of Berlin, but unwisely declined Lord Derby's offer for an Anglo-Italian
agreement in defence of common interests. At Berlin he sustained the
cause of Greek independence, but in all other respects remained
isolated, and excited the wrath of his countrymen by returning to Italy
with "clean hands." For a time he withdrew from public life, but in 1881
was again sent to Constantinople by Cairoli, where he presided over the
futile conference of ambassadors upon the Egyptian question. In 1886 he
was transferred to the London embassy, but was recalled by Crispi in the
following year through a misunderstanding. He died in Rome on the 9th of
April 1888.
CORTLAND, a city and the county-seat of Cortland county, New York,
U.S.A., in the central part of the state, on Tioughnioga river, at the
junction of its E. and W. branches. Pop. (1890) 8590; (1900) 9014, of
whom 682 were foreign born; (1905) 11,272;(1910) 11,504. It is served by
the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western and the Lehigh Valley railways. The
Franklin Hatch library and a state normal and training school (opened in
1869) are in Cortland. The city has important manufactories of wire, and
wire-cloth and netting (one of the largest in America), cabs, carriages
and waggons, iron and steel, wall-paper, dairy supplies, corundum
wheels, and clothing. The value of the city's factory products increased
from $3,063,828 in 1900 to $4,574,191 in 1905 or 49.3%. The town of
Cortlandville, which formed a part of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase,
was first settled in 1792, and until 1829 was a part of the town of
Homer; from which in the latter year it was separated, and made the
county-seat. In 1900 the village of Cortland in the town of
Cortlandville was chartered as a city.
See H. C. Goodwin, _Cortland County and the Border Wars of New York_
(New York, 1859).
CORTONA, a town and episcopal see of Italy, in the province of Arezzo,
18 m. S. by E. from the town of Arezzo by rail. The ancient and modern
names are identical. Pop. (1901) of town, 3579; commune, 29,296. The
highest point of Cortona, a medieval castle (Fortezza), is situated 2130
ft. above sea-level on a hill commanding a splendid view, and is
approached by a winding road. It is surrounded by its ancient Etruscan
walls, which for the greater part of the circuit are fairly well
preserved. They are constructed of parallelepipedal blocks of limestone,
finely jointed (though the jointing has often been spoilt by
weathering), and arranged in regular courses which vary in size in
different parts of the enceinte. Near the N.W. angle some of the blocks
are 7 to 8-1/2 ft. long and 2-1/2 ft. high, while on the W. side they
are a good deal smaller--sometimes only 1 ft. high (see F. Noack in
_Romische Mitteilungen_, 1897, 184). Within the town are two
subterranean vaulted buildings in good masonry, of uncertain nature,
some other remains under modern buildings, and a concrete ruin known as
the "Bagni di Bacco." The museum of the Accademia Etrusca, a learned
body founded by Ridolfino Venuti in 1726, is situated in the Palazzo
Pretorio; it contains some Etruscan objects, among which may be
specially noted a magnificent bronze lamp with 16 lights, of remarkably
fine workmanship, found in 1740, at the foot of the hill, two votive
hands and a few other bronzes, and a little gold jewellery. The library
has a good MS. of Dante. The cathedral, originally a Tuscan Romanesque
building of the 11th-12th centuries, is now a fine Renaissance basilica
restored in the 18th century, containing some paintings by Luca
Signorelli, a native of the place. Opposite is the baptistery, with
three fine pictures by Fra Angelico. S. Margherita, just below the
Fortezza, is an ugly modern building occupying the site of a Gothic
church of 1294, and containing a fine original rose window and reliefs
from the tomb of the saint by Angelo e Francesco di maestro Pietro
d'Assisi. Other works by Signorelli are to be seen elsewhere in the
town, especially in S. Domenico; Pietro Berettini (Pietro da Cortona,
1596-1669) is hardly represented here at all. Below the town is the
massive tomb chamber (originally subterranean, but now lacking the mound
of the earth which covered it) known as the Grotta di Pitagora (grotto
of Pythagoras). To the E. is the church of S. Maria del Calcinaio, a
fine early Renaissance building by Francesco di Giorgio Martini of
Siena, with fine stained glass windows.
The foundation of Cortona belongs to the legendary period of Italy. It
appears in history as one of the strongholds of the Etruscan power; but
in Roman times it is hardly mentioned. Dionysius's statement that it was
a colony (i. 26) is probably due to confusion.
See G. Dennis, _Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria_ (London, 1883), ii.
394 seq.; A. Della Cella, _Cortona Antica_ (Cortona, 1900).
(T. AS.)
CORUMBA, a town and river port of Brazil on the W. bank of the Paraguay
river, 1986 m. above Buenos Aires and 486 m. above the Paraguayan
frontier. Pop. (1890) 8414. Corumba is a fortified military post, has
the large Ladario naval arsenal, where small river boats are built and
repaired, and is the commercial entrepot of the state of Matto Grosso.
It is near the Bolivian frontier and is strongly garrisoned. Although
the climate is extremely hot, the neighbouring country has many large
cattle farms. Corumba is one of the most important places in the
interior of Brazil.
CORUNDUM, a mineral composed of native alumina (Al2O3). remarkable for
its hardness, and forming in its finer varieties a valuable gem-stone.
Specimens were sent from India to England in the 18th century, and were
described in 1798 by the Hon. C. Greville under the name of corundum--a
word which he believed to be the native name of the stone (Hindi,
_kurund_; Tamil, _kurundam_; Sanskrit, _kuruvinda_, "ruby"). The finely
coloured, transparent varieties include such gem-stones as the ruby and
sapphire, whilst the impure granular and massive forms are known as
emery. The term corundum is often restricted to the remaining kinds,
i.e. those crystallized and crystalline varieties which are not
sufficiently transparent and brilliant for ornamental purposes, and
which were known to the older mineralogists as "imperfect corundum."
Such varieties were termed by J. Black, in consequence of their
hardness, adamantine spar, but this name is now usually restricted to a
hair-brown corundum, remarkable for a pearly sheen on the basal plane.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
Corundum crystallizes in the hexagonal system. In fig. 1, which is a
form of ruby, the prism a is combined with a hexagonal pyramid n, a
rhombohedron R, and the basal pinacoid C. In fig. 2, which represents a
typical crystal of sapphire, the prism s is associated with the acute
pyramids b, r, and a rhombohedron a. Other crystals show a tabular
habit, consisting usually of the basal pinacoid with a rhombohedron, and
it is notable that this habit is said to be characteristic of corundum
which has consolidated from a fused magma. Corundum has no true
cleavage, but presents parting planes due to the structure of the
crystal, which have been studied by Prof. J. W. Judd.
Next to diamond, corundum is the hardest known mineral. Its hardness is
generally given as 9, but there are slight variations in different
stones, sapphire being rather harder than ruby, and ruby than common
corundum. The colours are very varied, and it is probable that iron is
responsible for many of the tints, though chromium is a possible agent
in certain cases. The transparent varieties are often distinguished as
"Oriental" stones. (See RUBY and SAPPHIRE.) Corundum is used largely for
watch-jewels, and for bearings in electrical apparatus.
The coloured corundums fit for gem-stones come chiefly from Ceylon,
Burma, Siam and Montana. Coarse dull corundum is found in many
localities, and usually has higher commercial value as an abrasive agent
than emery, which is less pure. The coarse corundum, however, is often
partially hydrated or otherwise altered, whereby its hardness is
diminished. In India, where the native lapidaries use corundum-sticks
and rubbers formed of the powdered mineral cemented with lac, it occurs
in the Salem district, Madras, in Mysore and in Rewa. Large deposits of
corundum exist in the United States, especially in N. Carolina and
Georgia, where they are associated with peridotites, often near contact
with gneiss. The mineral has been extensively worked, as at Corundum
Hill, Macon county, N.C., near which, in 1871, were discovered numerous
rubies, sapphires and pebbles of coarse corundum in the bed of a river.
Corundum occurs also at many localities in Montana, where the crystals
are often of gem quality. They are found mostly as loose crystals in
gravel, but are known also in igenous rocks like andesite and
lamprophyre. Prof. J. H. Pratt, who has studied the occurrence both in
Montana and in N. Carolina, considers that the alumina was dissolved in
a molten magma, from which it separated at an early period of
consolidation, as illustrated by the experiments of J. Morozewicz.
Corundum occurs also in Canada in an igneous rock, a nepheline-syenite,
associated with Laurentian gneiss. Important deposits were discovered by
the Geological Survey in 1896, in Hastings county, Ontario; and corundum
is now worked there and in Renfrew county. New South Wales, Queensland
and Victoria are other localities for corundum. The mineral is found
also in the Urals and the Ilmen Mountains, in the Alps (in dolomite), in
the basalts of the Rhine, and indeed as a subordinate rock-constituent
corundum seems to enjoy a wide distribution, being found even in the
British Isles.
See Joseph Hyde Pratt, "Corundum and its Occurrence and Distribution
in the United States," _Bulletin U.S. Geol. Surv._, No. 269 (1906); T.
H. Holland, _Economic Geology of India_ (2nd ed.), Part i. (1898).
(F. W. R.*)
CORUNNA, a maritime province in the extreme north-west of Spain; forming
part of Galicia, and bounded on the E. by Lugo, S. by Pontevedra, W. and
N. by the Atlantic Ocean. Pop. (1900) 653,556; area, 3051 sq. m. The
coast of Corunna is exposed to the full force of the Atlantic; it forms
one succession of fantastically shaped promontories, divided by bays and
estuaries which often extend for many miles inland, with reefs and small
islands in their midst. Though well lighted, this coast is very
dangerous to navigation, gales and fogs being frequent in winter and
spring. The most conspicuous headlands are Cape Ortegal and Cape de
Vares, the most northerly points of the Spanish seaboard, and Capes
Finisterre and Torinana in the extreme west. The principal bays are
those of Santa Marta, Ferrol and Corunna, on the north; Corcubion, Muros
y Noya and Arosa, on the west. Wild and rugged though this region
appears to travellers at sea, the mountains which overspread the
interior are covered with forests and pastures, and watered by an
abundance of small rivers and streams. The climate is mild and
singularly equable, but the rainfall is very heavy. All the fruits and
vegetables of northern Europe thrive in the sheltered valleys, and the
cultivation of cherries, strawberries, peas and onions, for export,
ranks among the most profitable local industries. Heavy crops of wheat,
rye, maize and sugar-beet are raised. The wines of Corunna are heady and
of inferior flavour. Cattle-breeding, once a flourishing industry, had
greatly declined by the beginning of the 20th century, owing to foreign
competition. All along the coast there are valuable fisheries of
sardines, lobsters, cod, hake and other fish. Copper, tin and gold are
procured in small quantities, and other minerals undoubtedly exist. The
exports consist chiefly of farm produce and fish; the imports, of coal
and textiles from England, petroleum from the United States, marble from
Italy, salt fish from Norway and Newfoundland, and hides. The principal
towns are Corunna, the capital and chief port (pop. 1900, 43,971);
Ferrol (25,281), another seaport; Santiago de Compostela (24,120),
famous as a place of pilgrimage; Carballo (13,032); Ortigueira (18,426)
and Ribeira (12,218). These are described under separate headings. Along
the coast there are numerous trading and fishing stations of minor
importance. Railway communication is very defective. From Corunna a line
passes south-eastward to Lugo and Madrid, and from Santiago another line
goes southward to Vigo and Oporto; but the centre and the north-west of
the province are, to a great extent, inaccessible except by road; and
many, even of the main highways, are ill-constructed and ill-kept. Very
few Spanish provinces have so high a birthrate, but the population
increases very slowly owing to emigration. For a description of the
peasantry, who are distinguished in may respects from those inhabiting
other parts of Spain, see GALICIA.
CORUNNA (Span. _La Coruna_; Fr. _La Corogne_; Eng. formerly often _The
Groyne_), the capital of the province described above; in 43 deg. 22' N.,
and 8 deg. 22' W.; on the bay of Corunna, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean.
Pop. (1900) 43,971. The principal railways of north-western Spain
converge on Corunna, and afford direct communication with Madrid and
Oporto. Corunna consists of an upper and a lower town, built
respectively on the eastern side of a small peninsula, and on the
isthmus connecting the peninsula with the mainland. The upper town is
the more ancient, and is still surrounded by walls and bastions, and
defended by a citadel; but it has been gradually outgrown by the lower,
which, though at first a mere fishing village, as its name of
_Pescaderia_ implies, is now comparatively well built, and has many
broad and handsome streets. There is little remarkable in the public
buildings, although the churches of Santiago and the Colegiata date
respectively from the 12th and 13th centuries, and there are several
convents, two hospitals, a palace for the captain-general of Galicia, a
theatre, a school of navigation, an arsenal and barracks. The harbour is
on the east. Though difficult to approach in stormy weather, it is
completely sheltered, and accommodates vessels drawing 22 ft. It is
defended by several forts, of which the most important are San Diego, on
the east, and San Antonio, on the west. These fortifications are of
little practical value on the landward side, as they are commanded by a
hill which overlooks the town. The so-called Tower of Hercules, on the
north, has been increased by modern additions to a height of nearly 400
ft., and is surmounted by a fine revolving light. Many foreign steamers
call here, for emigrants or mails, on their way to South America.
Upwards of 1200 merchant ships, mostly British, entered the port in
1905. The exports are chiefly agricultural produce, wine and fish; the
imports are coal, colonial products, and manufactured goods. Chief among
the industrial establishments is a state tobacco factory; the sardine
and herring fisheries also employ a large number of the inhabitants.
Corunna, possibly at first a Phoenician settlement, is usually
identified with the ancient _Ardobrica_, a seaport mentioned by the
1st-century historian, Pomponius Mela, as in the country of the
_Artabri_, from whom the name of _Portus Artabrorum_ was given to the
bay on which the city is situated. In the middle ages, and probably at
an earlier period, it was called _Caronium_; and this name is much more
probably the origin of the present designation than the Latin _Columna_
which is sometimes put forward. The harbour has always been of
considerable importance, but it is only in comparatively modern times
that it has made a figure in history. In 1588 it gave shelter to the
Invincible Armada; in 1598 the town was captured and burned by the
British under Drake and Norris. In 1747, and again in 1805, the bay was
the scene of a naval victory of the British over the French; and on the
16th of January 1809 a battle took place in the neighbourhood, which is
celebrated in British military annals (see PENINSULAR WAR). The French
under Marshal Soult attempted to prevent the embarcation of the English
under Sir John Moore, but were successfully repulsed in spite of their
superior numbers. Moore was mortally wounded and died shortly
afterwards. He was hastily buried in the ramparts near the sea; a
monument in the Jardin de San Carlos raised by the British government
commemorates his death. The town joined the revolutionary movement of
1820, but in 1823 it was forced to capitulate by French troops. In 1836
it was captured by the Carlists. Corunna suffered heavily when Spain was
deprived of Cuba and Porto Rico by the Spanish-American War of 1898, for
it had hitherto had a thriving trade with these colonies.
CORVEE, in feudal law, the term used to designate the unpaid labour due
from tenants, whether free or unfree, to their lord; hence any forced
labour, especially that exacted by the state, the word being applied
both to each particular service and to the system generally. Though the
corvee formed a characteristic feature of the feudal system, it was, as
an institution, much older than feudalism, and was already developed in
its main features under the Roman Empire. Thus, under the Roman system,
personal services (_operae_) were due from certain classes of the
population not only to the state but to private proprietors. Apart from
the obligations (_operae officiales_) imposed on freedmen as a condition
of their enfranchisement, which in the country usually took the form of
unpaid work on the landlord's domain, the semi-servile _coloni_ were
bound, besides paying rent in money or kind, to do a certain number of
days' unremunerated labour on that part of the estate reserved by the
landed proprietor. The state also exacted personal labour (_operae
publicae_), in lieu of taxes, from certain classes for such purposes as
the upkeep of roads, bridges and dykes; while the inhabitants of the
various regions were responsible for the maintenance of the posting
system (_cursus publicus_), for which horses, carts or labour would be
requisitioned.
Under the Frankish kings, who in their administration followed the Roman
tradition, this system was preserved. Thus for the repair of roads, or
other public works, within their jurisdiction the counts were empowered
to requisition the labour of the inhabitants of the _pagus_, while the
_missi_ and other public functionaries on their travels were entitled to
demand from the population _en route_ entertainment and the means of
transport for themselves and their belongings. It was, however, the
economic revolution which between the 6th and 10th centuries converted
the Gallo-Roman estates into the feudal model, and the political
conditions under which the officials of the Frankish empire developed
into hereditary feudal nobles, that evolved the system of the corvee as
it existed throughout the middle ages and, in some countries, survived
far into the 19th century. The Roman estate had been cultivated by free
farmers, by _coloni_, and by slave labour. Under Frankish rule the
farmers became _coloni_ or _hospites_, the slaves, serfs. The estate was
now habitually divided into the lord's domain (_terra indominicata_,
_dominicum_) and a series of allotments (_mansi_), parcels of land
distributed by lot to the cultivators of the domain, who held them,
partly by payment of rent in money or kind, partly by personal service
and labour on the domain, these obligations both as to their nature and
amount being very rigorously defined and permanently fixed in the case
of each _mansus_ and passing with the land to each new tenant. They
varied, of course, very greatly according to the size of the holding and
the needs of the particular estate, but they possessed certain common
characteristics which are everywhere found. Luchaire (_Manuel_, p. 346)
divides all corvees into two broad categories, (1) corvees properly so
called, (2) military services. The second of these, so far as the
obligation to serve in the host (_Hostis et equitatus_) is concerned,
was common to all classes of feudal society; though the obligation of
villeins to keep watch and ward (_gueta_, _warda_) and to labour at the
building or strengthening of fortifications (_muragium_, _munitio
castri_) are special corvees. We are, however, mainly concerned with the
first category, which may again be subdivided into two main groups, (1)
personal service of men and women (_manoperae_, _manuum operae_, Fr.
_manoeuvres_, manual labour), (2) carriage (_carroperae_, _carragia_,
_carrata_, &c., Fr. _charrois_), i.e. service rendered by means of
carts, barrows or draught animals. These again were divided into fixed
services (_operae rigae_) and exceptional services, demanded when the
others proved insufficient. To these latter was given in the 8th century
the name of _operae corrogatae_ (i.e. requisitioned works, from
_rogare_, to request). From this term (corrupted into _corvatae_,
_curvadae_, _corveiae_, &c.) is derived the word corvee, which was
gradually applied as a general term for all the various services.
As to the nature of these corvees it must be noted that in the middle
ages the feudal lords had replaced the centralized state for all
administrative purposes, and the services due to them by their tenants
and serfs, were partly in the nature of rent in the form of labour,
partly those which under the Roman and Frankish monarchs had been
exacted in lieu of taxes, and which the feudal lords continued to impose
as sovereigns of their domains. To the former class belonged the service
of personal labour in the fields, of repairing buildings, felling trees,
threshing corn, and the like, as well as the hauling of corn, wine or
wood; to the latter belonged that of labouring on the roads, of building
and repairing bridges, castles and churches, and of carrying letters and
despatches. Corvees were further distinguished as _real_, i.e. attached
to certain parcels of land, and _personal_, i.e. due from certain
persons.
In spite of the fact that the corvees were usually strictly defined by
local custom and by the contracts of tenancy, and that, in an age when
currency was rare, payment in personal labour was a convenience to the
poor, the system was open to obvious abuses. With the growth of communal
life in the towns the townsmen early managed to rid themselves of these
burdensome obligations either by purchase, or by exchanging the
obligation of personal work for that of supplying carts, draught animals
and the like. In the country, however, the system survived all but
intact; and, so far as it was modified, was modified for the worse.
Whatever safeguards the free cultivators may have possessed, the serfs
were almost everywhere--especially in the 10th and 11th
centuries--actually as well as nominally in this respect at the mercy of
their lords (_corveables a merci_), there being no limit to the amount
of money or work that could be demanded of them. The system was
oppressive even when the nobles to whom these services were paid gave
something in return, namely, protection to the cultivator, his family
and his land; they became intolerable when the development of the modern
state deprived the land-owners of their duties, but not of their rights.
In the case of France, in the 17th century the so-called _corvee royale_
was added to the burden of the peasants, i.e. the obligation to do
unpaid labour on the public roads, an obligation made general in 1738;
and this, together with the natural resentment of men at the fact that
the land which their ancestors had bought was still subject to
burdensome personal obligations in favour of people whom they rarely saw
and from whom they derived no benefit, was one of the most potent causes
of the Revolution. By the Constituent Assembly personal corvees were
abolished altogether, while owners of land were allowed the choice of
continuing real corvees or commuting them for money. The corvee as an
incident of land tenure has thus disappeared in France. The _corvee
royale_ of repairing the roads, however, abolished in 1789, was revived,
under the name of _prestation_, under the Consulate, by the law of 4
Thermidor an X., modified by subsequent legislation in 1824, 1836 and
1871. Under these laws the duty of keeping the roads in repair is still
vested in the local communities, and all able-bodied men are called upon
either to give three days' work or its equivalent in money to this
purpose. It is precisely the same system as that in force under the
Roman Empire, and if it differ from the corvee it is mainly in the fact
that the burden is equitably distributed, and that the work done is of
actual value to those who do it.
As regards other countries, the corvee was everywhere, sooner or later,
abolished with the serfdom of which it was the principal incident (see
SERFDOM). Though so early as 1772 Maria Theresa had endeavoured to
mitigate its hardships in her dominions (in Hungary unpaid labour was
only to be demanded of the serfs on 52 days in the year!) it survived
longest in the Austrian empire, being finally abolished by the
revolution of 1848. The duty of personal labour on the public roads is,
however, still maintained in other countries besides France. This was
formerly the case in England also, where the occupiers of each parish
who, by the common law, had access to the roads were responsible also
for their upkeep. An act of 1555 imposed four days of forced labour for
the repair of roads, and an act of Elizabeth (5 Eliz. c. 13) raised the
number of days to six, or the payment of a composition instead. The
system of turnpikes, dating from 1663, which gradually extended over the
whole of England, lessened the burden of this system of taxation, so far
as main roads were concerned, but the greater number of the local roads
were subject to repair by statutory labour until the Highways Act 1835,
by which highways were put under the direction of a parish surveyor, and
the necessary expenses met by a rate levied on the occupiers of land. In
Scotland, statutory labour on highways was created by an act of 1719,
and abolished in 1883.
In Egypt, the corvee has been employed from time immemorial, more
especially for the purpose of cleaning out the irrigation canals. In the
days when only one harvest a year was reaped, this forced labour was not
a very great burden, but the introduction of cotton and the sugar-cane
under Mehemet Ali changed the conditions. These latter are crops which
require watering at various seasons of the year, and very often the
fellah was called away for work in the canals at times when his own
crops required the utmost attention. Moreover, the inequality of the
corvee added to the evil. In some districts it was possible to purchase
exemption, and the more wealthy paid no more for the privilege than the
humblest fellah, consequently the corvee fell with undue hardship on the
poorer classes. Under the premiership of Riaz Pasha the corvee was
gradually abolished in Egypt between the years 1888 and 1891, and a
small rate on the land substituted to provide the labour necessary for
cleaning the canals. The corvee is now employed only to a limited extent
to guard the banks of the Nile during flood.
See Du Cange, _Glossarium inf. et med. Lat. s.v._ "Corvatae"; A
Luchaire, _Manuel des institutions francaises_ (Paris, 1892), pp.
346-349; _La Grande Encyclopedie, s.v._, with bibliography. For
further works see the bibliography to the article SERFDOM.
CORVEY, a place in the Prussian province of Westphalia, on the Weser, a
mile north of the town of Hoxter, with which it communicates by an
avenue of lime trees. During the middle ages it was famous for its great
Benedictine abbey, which was founded and endowed by the emperor Louis
the Pious about 820, and received its name from having been first
occupied by a body of monks coming from Corbie in Picardy. The bones of
St Vitus, the patron saint of Saxony, were removed thither according to
legend in 836, but apart from this attraction, Corvey became the centre
of Christianity in Saxony and a nursery of classical studies. The abbot
was a prince of the Empire, and Corvey was made a bishopric in 1783. In
1803 the abbey was secularized, in 1815 its lands were given to Prussia,
and in 1822 they were bestowed on Victor Amadeus, landgrave of
Hesse-Rotenburg, by whom they were bequeathed, in 1834, to Prince Victor
of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfurst, duke of Ratibor. The abbey, which is now
used as a residence, possesses a magnificent library of 150,000 volumes
especially rich in old illustrated works, though the ancient collection
due to the literary enthusiasm of the Benedictines is no longer extant.
Here in 1517 the manuscript of the five first books of the _Annals_ of
Tacitus was discovered. Here Widukind wrote his _Res gestae Saxonicae_.
Here, also, the librarian and poet Hoffmann von Fallersleben lived and
worked. The _Annales Corbejenses 648-1148_ of the monks can be read in
the _Monumenta Germaniae historica_, Band iii. The _Chronicon
Corbejense_, published by A. C. Wedekind in 1823, has been declared by
S. Hirsch and Waitz (_Kritische Prufung_, Berlin, 1839) to be a forgery.
See P. Wigand, _Geschichte der Abtei Korvey_ (Hoxter, 1819); and M.
Meyer, _Zur altern Geschichte Corveys und Hoxters_ (Paderborn, 1893).
CORVINUS, JANOS [JOHN] (1473-1504), illegitimate son of Matthias
Hunyadi, king of Hungary, and one Barbara, supposed to be the daughter
of a burgess of Breslau. He took his name from the raven (_corvus_) in
his father's escutcheon. Matthias originally intended him for the
Church, but on losing all hope of offspring from his consort Queen
Beatrice, determined, towards the end of his life, to make the youth his
successor on the throne. He loaded him with honours and riches, till he
was by far the wealthiest magnate in the land. He publicly declared him
his successor, created him a prince with vast apanages in Silesia, made
the commandants of all the fortresses in the kingdom take an oath of
allegiance to him, and tried to arrange a marriage for him with Bianca
Maria Sforza of Milan, a project which was frustrated by the intrigues
of Queen Beatrice. Matthias also intended to make the recognition of
Janos as prince royal of Hungary by the emperor Frederick a condition
precedent of relinquishing all or part of the conquered hereditary
domains of the house of Habsburg; but his sudden death left the matter
still pending, and the young prince suddenly found himself alone in the
midst of enemies. The inexperienced and irresolute youth speedily became
the victim of the most shameful chicanery. He was first induced formally
to resign his claims to the throne, on the understanding that he was to
be compensated with the crown of Bosnia. He was then persuaded to retire
southwards with the royal treasures which Matthias had confided to him,
whereupon an army immediately started in pursuit, scattered his forces,
and robbed him of everything. Meanwhile the diet had elected Vladislav
of Bohemia king (July 15, 1490), to whom Janos hastened to do homage, in
order to save something from the wreck of his fortunes. He was also
recognized as prince of Slavonia and duke of Troppau, but compelled to
relinquish both titles five years later. On the invasion of Hungary by
Maximilian, he shewed his loyalty to the crown by relinquishing into the
hands of Vladislav the three important fortresses of Pressburg, Komarom
and Tata, which had been entrusted to him by his father. But now,
encouraged by his complacency, the chief dignitaries, headed by the
palatine Stephen Zapolya, laid claim to nearly all his remaining estates
and involved him in a whole series of costly processes. This they could
do with perfect impunity, as they had poisoned the mind of the indolent
and suspicious king against their victim. In 1496 Corvinus married
Beatrice, the daughter of Bernard Frangepan. His prospects now improved,
and in 1498 he was created perpetual ban of Croatia and Slavonia. From
1499 to 1502 he successfully defended Bosnia against the Turks, and in
the following year aspired to the dignity of palatine, but was defeated
by a combination of Queen Beatrice and his other enemies. He died on the
12th of October 1504, leaving one son, Prince Christopher, who died on
the 17th of March 1505.
See Gyula Schonherr, _Janos Corvinus Hunyadi_ (Hung.) (Budapest,
1894). (R. N. B.)
CORVUS, MARCUS VALERIUS (c. 370-270 B.C.), Roman general of the early
republican period. According to the legend a raven settled on his helmet
during his combat with a gigantic Gaul, and distracted the enemy's
attention by flying in his face. He was twice dictator and six times
consul, and occupied the curule chair twenty-one times. In his various
campaigns he defeated successively the Gauls, the Volscians, the
Samnites, the Etruscans and the Marsians. His most important victory
(343) was over the Samnites at Mount Gaurus.
See Livy vii. 26-42, x. 2-11.
CORWEN ("the white choir"), a market town of Merionethshire, Wales, on
branches of the London & North Western and the Great Western railways;
10 m. from Llangollen, through the Glyn Dyfrdwy (Dee Vale). Pop. (1901)
2680. Telford's road, raised on the lower Berwyn range side and
overlooking the Dee, opens up the picturesqueness of Corwen,
historically interesting from the reminiscences of Wales's last struggle
for independence under Owen Glendower. In the old parish church was
traditionally Owen's pew; his knife, fork and dagger, are at the
neighbouring Rug (Rhug); his palace, 3 m. distant at Sychnant (dry
stream). Here is the church dedicated to St Julian, archbishop of St
David's (d. 1009), with "the college," an almshouse endowed by William
Eyton of Plas Warren, Shropshire. The old British fort, Caer Drewyn, one
of a chain of forts from Dyserth to Canwyd, is the supposed scene of
Glendower's retreat under Henry IV., and here Owen Cwynedd is said to
have prepared to repulse Henry II. To the N.E. are the Clwyd hills; to
the S. the Berwyn range, to the S.W. Arran Mawddy and Cadair (Cader)
Idris; to the W. the two Arenigs; to the N.W. Snowdon. Corwen is a
favourite station for artists and anglers. Besides the Dee, there are
several streamlets, such as the Trystion, which forms the Rhaiadr Cynwyd
(waterfall), the Ceudiog, and the Alwen.
CORWIN, THOMAS (1794-1865), American statesman and orator, was born in
Bourbon county, Kentucky, on the 29th of July 1794. In 1798 his father,
Matthias Corwin (1761-1829), removed to what later became Lebanon, Ohio,
where the son worked on a farm, read much, and in 1817 was admitted to
the bar. As an advocate he was at once successful, but after 1831 he
devoted his attention chiefly to politics, identifying himself first
with the Whig and after 1858 with the Republican party. He was a member
of the lower house of the Ohio legislature in 1821, 1822 and 1829, and
of the national House of Representatives from 1831 to 1840; was governor
of Ohio in 1840-1842; served in the United States Senate from 1845 to
1850; was secretary of the treasury in the cabinet of President Fillmore
in 1850-1853; was again a member of the national House of
Representatives from 1859 to 1861; and from 1861 to 1864 was minister of
the United States to Mexico--a position of peculiar difficulty at that
time. As a legislator he spoke seldom, but always with great ability,
his most famous speech being that of the 11th of February 1847 opposing
the Mexican War. In 1860 he was chairman of the House "Committee of
Thirty-three," consisting of one member from each state, and appointed
to consider the condition of the nation and, if possible, to devise some
scheme for reconciling the North and the South. He is remembered chiefly
as an orator. Many anecdotes have been told to illustrate his
kindliness, his inimitable humour, and his remarkable eloquence. He died
at Washington, D.C., on the 18th of December 1865.
See the _Life and Speeches of Thomas Corwin_ (Cincinnati, 1896),
edited by Josiah Morrow; and an excellent character sketch, _Thomas
Corwin_ (Cincinnati, 1881), by A. P. Russell.
CORY, WILLIAM JOHNSON (1823-1892), English schoolmaster and author, son
of Charles Johnson of Torrington, Devonshire, was born on the 9th of
January 1823. He was educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge. At
Cambridge he gained the chancellor's medal for an English poem on Plato
in 1843, and the Craven Scholarship in 1844. In 1845, after graduating
at the university, he was made an assistant master at Eton, where he
remained for some twenty-six years. He has been called "the most
brilliant Eton tutor of his day." He had a great influence on his
pupils, and he defended the Etonian system against the criticism of
Matthew James Higgins. In 1872, having inherited an estate at Halsdon
and assumed the name of Cory, he left Eton. He married late in life, and
after four years spent in Madeira he settled in 1882 at Hampstead. He
died on the 11th of June 1892. He proved his genuine lyrical power in
_Ionica_ (1858), which was republished with some additional poems in
1891. He also produced _Lucretilis_ (1871), a work on the writing of
Latin verses; _Iophon_ (1873), on Greek Iambics; and _Guide to Modern
History from 1815 to 1835_ (1882). Extracts from the _Letters and
Journals of William Cory_, which contains much paradoxical and
suggestive criticism, were edited by F.W. Cornish and published by
private subscription in 1897.
His elder brother, Charles Wellington Johnson Furse (1821-1900), who, on
the death of his father in 1854, took the name of Furse, was canon and
archdeacon of Westminster from 1894 till his death. The artist Charles
Wellington Furse, A.R.A. (1868-1904), was a son of Archdeacon Furse.
CORYATE, THOMAS (1577?-1617), English traveller and writer, was born at
Odcombe, Somersetshire, where his father, the Rev. George Coryate,
prebendary of York Cathedral, was rector. Educated at Westminster
school and at Oxford, he became a kind of court fool, eventually
entering the household of Prince Henry, the eldest son of James I. In
1611 he published a curious account of a prolonged walking tour
undertaken in 1608, under the title of _Coryate's Crudities hastily
gobbled up in Five Months Travels in France, Italy, &c_. At the command
of Prince Henry, verses in mock praise of the author, and intended
originally to persuade some bookseller to undertake the publication of
the _Crudities_, were added to the volume. These commendatory verses,
written in a number of languages, and some in a mixture of languages, by
Ben Jonson, Donne, Chapman, Drayton and others, were afterwards
published (1611) by themselves as the _Odcombian Banquet_. The book
contains a clear and interesting account of Coryate's travels, and,
being the first of its kind, was extremely popular. It is now very rare,
and the copy in the Chetham library is said to be the only perfect one.
In the same year was published a second volume of a similar kind,
_Coryats Crambe, or his Coleworte twice Sodden_. In 1612 he set out on
another journey, which also was mostly performed on foot. He visited
Greece, the Holy Land, Persia and India; from Agra and Ajmere he sent
home an account of his adventures. Some of his letters were published in
1616 under the title of _Letters from Asmere, the Court of the Great
Mogul, to several Persons of Quality in England_, and some fragments of
his writings were included in _Purchas his Pilgrimes_ in 1625. Coryate
was a curious and observant traveller; he gives accounts of inscriptions
he had copied, of the antiquities of the towns he passed through, and of
manners and customs, from the Italian pronunciation of Latin to the
new-fangled use of forks. He acquired a knowledge of Turkish, Persian
and Hindustani in the course of his travels, and on being presented by
the English ambassador, Sir Thomas Roe, to the Great Mogul, he delivered
a speech in Persian. His journeys were performed at small expense, for
he says that he spent only three pounds between Aleppo and Agra, and
often lived "competently" for a penny a day. Coryate died at Surat in
1617.
_Coryate's Crudities_, with his letters from India, was reprinted from
the edition of 1611 in 1776, and at the Glasgow University Press (2
vols., 1905). The _Odcombian Banquet_ was ridiculed by John Taylor,
the Water Poet, in his _Laugh and be Fat, or a Commentary on the
Odcombian Banket_ (1613) and two other satires.
CORYBANTES (Gr. [Greek: Korybantes]), in Greek mythology, half divine,
half demonic beings, bearing the same relation to the Asiatic Great
Mother of the Gods that the Curetes bear to Rhea. From their first
appearance in literature, they are already often identified or confused
with them, and are distinguished only by their Asiatic origin and by the
more pronouncedly orgiastic nature of their rites. Various accounts of
their origin are given: they were earth-born, sons of Cronus, sons of
Zeus and Calliope, sons of Rhea, of Ops, of the Great Mother and a
mystic father, of Apollo and Thalia, of Athena and Helios. Their names
and number were as indistinct even to the ancients as those of the
Curetes and Idaean Dactyli. Like the Curetes, Dactyli, Telchines and
Cabeiri (q.v.), however, they represent primitive gods of procreative
significance, who survived in the historic period as subordinate deities
associated with a form of the Great Mother goddess, their relation to
the Great Mother of the Gods, Cybele, being comparable with that of
Attis (q.v.). They may have been represented or impersonated by priests
in her rites as Attis was, but they were also, like him, not actual
priests in the first instance, but objects of worship in which a
frenzied dance, with accompaniment of flute music, the beating of
tambourines, the clashing of cymbals and castanets, wild cries and
self-infliction of wounds--the whole culminating in a state of ecstasy
and exhaustion--were the most prominent features. The dance of the
Corybantic priests, like that of the priests who represented the
Curetes, may have originated in a primitive faith in the power of noise
to avert evil. Its psychic effect, both upon the dancer and upon the
mystic about whom he danced during the initiation of the Cybele-Attis
mysteries, made it a widely known and popular feature of the cult.
In art the Corybantes appear, usually not more than two or three in
number, fully armed and executing their orgiastic dance in the presence
of the Great Mother, her lions and Attis. They sometimes appear with the
child Dionysus, between whose cult and that of the Mother there was a
close affinity. (G. SN.)
CORYDON, a town and the county-seat of Harrison county, Indiana, U.S.A.,
on Indian Creek, about 21 m. W. by S. of Louisville, Kentucky. Pop.
(1900) 1610; (1910) 1703. Corydon is served by the Louisville, New
Albany & Corydon railway, which connects at Corydon Junction, 8 m. N.,
with the Southern railway. There are sulphur springs here, and the town
is a summer and health resort. Wyandotte Cave is several miles W. of
Corydon. Corydon is in an agricultural region, and there are valuable
quarries in the neighbourhood; among the town's manufactures are
waggons, and building and lithographic stone. Corydon was settled about
1805, and was the capital of Indiana Territory from 1813 to 1816, and of
the state until 1824. The convention which framed the first state
constitution met here in June 1816. The original state house, an
unpretentious two-storey stone building, is still standing. Corydon was
captured by the Confederates during Gen. Morgan's raid on the 9th of
July 1863.
CORYPHAEUS (from Gr. [Greek: koruphe], the top of the head), in Attic
drama, the leader of the chorus. Hence the term (sometimes in an
Anglicized form "coryphe") is used for the chief or leader of any
company or movement. In 1856 in the university of Oxford there was
founded the office of Coryphaeus or Praecentor, whose duty it was to
lead the musical performances directed by the Choragus (q.v.). The
office ceased to exist in 1899.
COS, or STANKO (Ital. _Stanchio_, Turk. _Istan-keui_, by corruption from
[Greek: Eis tan Ko]), an island in that part of the Turkish archipelago
which was anciently known as the Myrtoan Sea, not far from the
south-western corner of Asia Minor, at the mouth of the Gulf of
Halicarnassus, or Bay of Budrum. Its total length is about 25 m. and its
circumference about 74. Its population is estimated at about 10,000, of
whom nearly all are Greeks.
A considerable chain of mountains, known to the ancients as Oromedon, or
Prion, extends along the southern coast with hardly a break except near
the island of Nisyros; so that the greatest versant and most important
streams turn towards the north. The whole island is little more than a
mass of limestone, and consequently unites great aridity in the drier
mountain regions with the richest fertility in the alluvial districts.
As the attention of the islanders is mainly directed to the culture of
their vineyards, which yield the famous sultana raisins, a considerable
proportion of the arable land is left untouched, though wheat, barley
and maize are sown in some quarters, and melons and sesamum seed appear
among the exports. The Cos lettuce is well known. Fruit, especially
grapes, is exported in large quantities to Egypt, mostly in local
sailing boats. The wild olive is abundant enough, but neglected; and
cotton, though it thrives well, is grown only in small quantities. As
the principal harbour, in spite of dredging operations, is fit only for
smaller vessels, the island is not of so much commercial importance as
it would otherwise be; but since 1868 it has been regularly visited by
steamers. The only town in the island is Cos, or Stanko, at the eastern
extremity, remarkable for its fortress, founded by the knights of
Rhodes, and for the gigantic plane-tree in the public square. The
fortress preserves in its walls a number of interesting architectural
fragments. The plane-tree has a circumference of about 30 ft., and its
huge and heavy branches have to be supported by pillars; of its age
there is no certain knowledge, but the popular tradition connects it
with Hippocrates. The town is supplied by an aqueduct, about 4 m. in
length, with water from a hot chalybeate spring, which is likewise named
after the great physician of the island. The villages of Pyli and
Kephalas are interesting, the former for the Greek tomb of a certain
Charmylos, and the latter for a castle of the knights of St John and the
numerous inscriptions that prove that it occupies the site of the chief
town of the ancient deme of Isthmos. The most interesting site on the
island is the precinct of Asclepius, which was excavated in 1900-1904 on
the slope of Mount Prion, about 2 m. from the town of Cos. It consists
of three terraces, the uppermost containing a temple, a cypress grove
and porticoes; the middle, which is the earliest portion, two or three
temples, an altar, and other buildings; and the lower a kind of sacred
agora enclosed by porticoes. The precinct had been enlarged and
reconstructed at various times. The earliest buildings on the middle
terrace probably date from the 6th century B.C. The temple on the upper
terrace, with the imposing flight of steps by which it is approached,
seems to belong to the 2nd century B.C. when the whole precinct was
enlarged and reconstructed. After a destructive earthquake, the whole
appears to have been rebuilt by Xenophon, the physician and poisoner of
the emperor Claudius. The final destruction was brought about by the
earthquake of A.D. 554. Among other things the precinct contains a
fountain of water with medicinal properties. It is doubtful whether this
water is brought from Burinna, the famous fountain of Hippocrates in the
mountain above.
_History._--Cos was a Dorian colony with a large contingent of settlers
from Epidaurus who took with them their Asclepius cult and made their
new home famous for its sanatoria. The other chief sources of the
island's wealth lay in its wines, and in later days, in its silk
manufacture. Its early history is obscure. During the Persian wars it
was ruled by tyrants, but as a rule it seems to have been under an
oligarchic government. In the 5th century it joined the Delian League,
and after the revolt of Rhodes served as the chief Athenian station in
the south-eastern Aegean (411-407). In 366 a democracy was instituted.
After helping, in the Social War (357-355), to weaken Athenian power it
fell for a few years to the Carian prince Maussollus. In the Hellenistic
age Cos attained the zenith of its prosperity. Its alliance was valued
by the kings of Egypt, who used it as an outpost for their navy to watch
the Aegean. As a seat ef learning it rose to be a kind of provincial
branch of the museum of Alexandria, and became a favourite resort for
the education of the princes of the Ptolemaic dynasty; among its most
famous sons were the physician Hippocrates, the painter Apelles, the
poets Philetas and, perhaps, Theocritus (q.v.). Following the lead of
its great neighbour, Rhodes, Cos generally displayed a friendly attitude
towards the Romans; in A.D. 53 it was made a free city. In A.D. 1315 it
was occupied by the Knights of St John; in 1523 it passed under Ottoman
sway. Except for occasional incursions by corsairs and some severe
earthquakes the island has rarely had its peace disturbed.
AUTHORITIES.--L. Ross, _Reisen nach Kos, &c._ (Halle, 1852), pp.
11-29, and _Reisen auf den griechischen Inseln_ (Stuttgart,
1840-1845), ii. 86 ff.; O. Rayet, _Memoire sur l'ile de Cos_ (Paris,
1876); M. Dubois, _De Co Insula_ (Paris and Nancy, 1884); W. Paton and
E. Hicks, _The Inscriptions of Cos_ (Oxford, 1891); B. V. Head,
_Historia Numorum_ (Oxford, 1887), pp. 535-537; _Archaol. Anzeiger_,
1905, i.; for coins see also NUMISMATICS: Greek, S "Calymna and Cos."
(E. GR.; M. O. B. C.)
COSA, an ancient city of Etruria, on the S.W. coast of Italy, close to
the Via Aurelia, 4-1/2 m. E.S.E. of the modern town of Orbetello.
Apparently it was not an independent Etruscan town, but was founded as a
colony by the Romans in the territory of the Volceientes, whom they had
recently conquered, in 273 B.C. The town was strongly fortified, and the
walls, about a mile in circuit, with three gates, and seventeen
projecting rectangular towers at intervals, are in places preserved to a
height of over 30 ft. on the outside, and 15 on the inside. The lower
part is built of polygonal, the upper of rectangular, blocks, and the
masonry is of equal fineness all through, so that a difference of date
cannot be assumed; such a change of technique is not without parallel in
Greece (F. Noack in _Romische Mitteilungen_, 1897, 194). Within the city
no remains are visible. The place was of importance as a fortress; it
was approached by a branch road which diverged from the Via Aurelia at
the post station of Succosa, at the foot of the hill on which the town
stood. The harbour, too, was of some importance. In the 5th century we
hear of it as deserted, and in the 9th a town called Ansedonia took its
place for a short time, but itself soon perished, though it has left its
name to the ruins.
See G. Dennis, _Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria_ (London, 1883), ii.
245. (T. AS.)
COSEL, or KOSEL, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Silesia,
at the junction of the Klodnitz and the Oder, 29 m. S.E. of Oppeln by
rail. Pop. (1905) 7085. It has an Evangelical and a Roman Catholic
church, an old chateau and a grammar-school (Progymnasium). Its
industries are of some importance, including a manufactory of cellulose
(employing 1200 hands), steam saw- and flour-mills and a petroleum
refinery. There is a lively trade by river.
The first record of Cosel dates from 1286. From 1306 to 1359 it was the
seat of an independent duchy held by a cadet line of the dukes of
Teschen. In 1532 it fell to the emperor, was several times besieged
during the Thirty Years' War, and came into Prussian possession by the
treaty of Breslau in 1742. Frederick II. converted it into a fortress,
which was besieged in vain by the Austrians in 1758, 1759, 1760 and
1762. In 1807 it withstood another siege, by the Bavarian allies of
Napoleon. The fortifications were razed and their site converted into
promenades in 1874.
COSENZ, ENRICO (1812-1898), Italian soldier, was born at Gaeta, on the
12th of January 1812. As captain of artillery in the Neapolitan army he
took part in the expedition sent by Ferdinand II. against the Austrians
in 1848; but after the _coup d'etat_ at Naples he followed General
Guglielmo Pepe in disobeying Ferdinand's order for the withdrawal of the
troops, and proceeded to Venice to aid in defending that city. As
commandant of the fort of Marghera, Cosenz displayed distinguished
valour, and after the fall of the fort assumed the defence of the
Piazzale, where he was twice wounded. Upon the fall of Venice he fled to
Piedmont, where he remained until, in 1859, he assumed the command of a
Garibaldian regiment. In 1860 he conducted the third Garibaldian
expedition to Sicily, defeated two Neapolitan brigades at Piale (August
23), and marched victoriously upon Naples, where he was appointed
minister of war, and took part in organizing the _plebiscite_. During
the war of 1866 his division saw but little active service. After the
war he repeatedly declined the portfolio of war. In 1881, however, he
became chief of the general staff, and held that position until a short
time before his death at Rome on the 7th of August 1898.
COSENZA (anc. _Consentia_), a town and archiepiscopal see of Calabria,
Italy, the capital of the province of Cosenza, 755 ft. above sea-level,
43 m. by rail S. by W. of Sibari, which is a station on the E. coast
railway between Metaponto and Reggio. Pop. (1901) town, 13,841; commune,
20,857. It is situated on the slope of a hill between the Crati and
Busento, just above the junction, and is commanded by a castle (1250
ft.). The Gothic cathedral, consecrated in 1222, on the site of another
ruined by an earthquake in 1184, goes back to French models in
Champagne, and is indeed unique in Italy. It contains the Gothic tomb of
Isabella of Aragon, wife of Philip III. of France, and also the tomb of
Louis III., duke of Anjou; but it has been spoilt by restoration both
inside and out. S. Domenico has a fine rose window. The Palazzo del
Tribunale (law courts) is a fine building, and the upper town contains
several good houses of rich proprietors of the province; while the lower
portion is unhealthy. Earthquakes, and a fire in 1901, have done
considerable damage to the town.
The ancient Consentia is first named as the burial place of Alexander of
Epirus in about 330 B.C. In 204 it became Roman, though it was more
under the influence of Greek culture. It is mentioned by Strabo as the
chief town of the Bruttii, and frequently spoken of in classical authors
as an important place. It lay on the Via Popillia. Varro speaks of its
apple trees which gave fruit twice in the year and Pliny praises its
wine also. It is the more surprising that in the whole of its territory
no inscriptions, either Greek or Latin, have ever been found, those that
are recorded by some writers being fabrications. in A.D. 410 Alaric fell
in battle here and was buried, it is said, in the bed of the Busento,
which was temporarily diverted and then allowed to resume its natural
course. Cosenza became an archbishopric in the 11th century. In 1461 it
was taken by Roberto Orsini, and suffered severely. It was the home of a
scientific academy founded by the philosopher Bernardino Telesio
(1509-1588). In 1555-1561 it was the centre of the persecution by the
Inquisition of the Waldenses who had settled there towards the end of
the 14th century. (T. AS.)
COSHOCTON, a city and the county-seat of Coshocton county, Ohio, U.S.A.,
at the confluence of the Tuscarawas and the Walhonding rivers, with the
Muskingum river, and about 70 m. E.N.E. of Columbus. Pop. (1890) 3672;
(1900) 6473 (364 foreign-born); (1910) 9603. It is served by the
Pennsylvania, the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St Louis (controlled
by the Pennsylvania), and the Wheeling & Lake Erie railways. The city is
built on a series of four broad terraces, the upper one of which has an
elevation of 824 ft. above sea-level, and commands pleasant views of the
river and the valley. It has a public library. Coshocton is the
commercial centre of an extensive agricultural district and has
manufactories of paper, glass, flour, china-ware, cast-iron pipes and
especially of advertising specialities. The municipality owns and
operates its water-works. Coshocton occupies the site of a former Indian
village of the same name--the chief village of the Turtle tribe of the
Delawares. This village was destroyed by the whites in 1781. The first
settlement by whites was begun in 1801; and in 1802 the place was laid
out as a town and named Tuscarawas. In 1811, when it was made the
county-seat, the present name was adopted. Coshocton was first
incorporated in 1833.
COSIN, JOHN (1594-1672), English divine, was born at Norwich on the 30th
of November 1594. He was educated at Norwich grammar school and at Caius
College, Cambridge, where he was scholar and afterwards fellow. On
taking orders he was appointed secretary to Bishop Overall of Lichfield,
and then domestic chaplain to Bishop Neile of Durham. In December 1624
he was made a prebendary of Durham, and in the following year archdeacon
of the East Riding of Yorkshire. In 1628 he took his degree of D.D. He
first became known as an author in 1627, when he published his
_Collection of Private Devotions_, a manual stated to have been prepared
by command of Charles I., for the use of the queen's maids of honour.[1]
This book, together with his insistence on points of ritual in his
cathedral church and his friendship with Laud, exposed him to the
suspicions and hostility of the Puritans; and the book was rudely
handled by William Prynne and Henry Burton. In 1628 Cosin took part in
the prosecution of a brother prebendary, Peter Smart, for a sermon
against high church practices; and the prebendary was deprived. In 1634
Cosin was appointed master of Peterhouse, Cambridge; and in 1640 he
became vice-chancellor of the university. In October of this year he was
promoted to the deanery of Peterborough. A few days before his
installation the Long Parliament had met; and among the complainants who
hastened to appeal to it for redress was the ex-prebendary, Smart. His
petition against the new dean was considered; and early in 1641 Cosin
was sequestered from his benefices. Articles of impeachment, were, two
months later, presented against him, but he was dismissed on bail, and
was not again called for. For sending the university plate to the king,
he was deprived of the mastership of Peterhouse (1642). He thereupon
withdrew to France, preached at Paris, and served as chaplain to some
members of the household of the exiled royal family. At the Restoration
he returned to England, was reinstated in the mastership, restored to
all his benefices, and in a few months raised to the see of Durham
(December 1660). At the convocation in 1661 he played a prominent part
in the revision of the prayer-book, and endeavoured with some success to
bring both prayers and rubrics into completer agreement with ancient
liturgies. He administered his diocese with conspicuous ability and
success for about eleven years; and applied a large share of his
revenues to the promotion of the interests of the Church, of schools and
of charitable institutions. He died in London on the 15th of January
1672.
Cosin occupies an interesting and peculiar position among the churchmen
of his time. Though a ritualist and a rigorous enforcer of outward
conformity, he was uncompromisingly hostile to Roman Catholicism, and
most of his writings illustrate this antagonism. In France he was on
friendly terms with Huguenots, justifying himself on the ground that
their non-episcopal ordination had not been of their own seeking, and at
the Savoy conference in 1661 he tried hard to effect a reconciliation
with the Presbyterians. He differed from the majority of his colleagues
in his strict attitude towards Sunday observance and in favouring, in
the case of adultery, both divorce and the re-marriage of the innocent
party. He was a genial companion, frank and outspoken, and a good man of
business.
Among his writings (most of which were published posthumously) are a
_Historia Transubstantiationis Papalis_ (1675), _Notes and Collections
on the Book of Common Prayer_ (1710) and _A Scholastical History of
the Canon of Holy Scripture_ (1657). A collected edition of his works,
forming 5 vols. of the Oxford _Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology_,
was published between 1843 and 1855; and his _Correspondence_ (2
vols.) was edited by Canon Ornsby for the Surtees Society (1868-1870).