OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Fountains Abbey

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​FOUNTAINS ABBEY, one of the most celebrated ecclesiastical ruins in England. It lies in the sequestered valley of the river Skell, 3 m. S.W. of the city of Ripon in Yorkshire. The situation is most beautiful. The little Skell descends from the uplands of Pateley Moor to the west a clear swift stream, traversing a valley clothed with woods, conspicuous among which are some ancient yew trees which may have sheltered the monks who first sought retreat here. Steep rocky hills enclose the vale. Mainly on the north side of the stream, in an open glade, rise the picturesque and extensive ruins, the church with its stately tower, and the numerous remnants of domestic buildings which enable the great abbey to be almost completely reconstructed in the mind. The arrangements are typical of a Cistercian house (see Abbey). Building began in earnest about 1135, and was continued steadily until the middle of the 13th century, after which the only important erection was Abbot Huby’s tower (c. 1500). The demesne of Studley Royal (marquess of Ripon) contains the ruins. It is in part laid out in the formal Dutch style, the work of John Aislabie, lord of the manor in the early part of the 18th century. Near the abbey is the picturesque Jacobean mansion of Fountains Hall.
In 1132 the prior and twelve monks of St Mary’s abbey, York, being dissatisfied with the easy life they were living, left the monastery and with the assistance of Thurstan, archbishop of York, founded a house in the valley of the Skell, where they adopted the Cistercian rule. While building their monastery the monks are said to have lived at first under an elm and then under seven yew trees called the Seven Sisters. Two years later they were joined by Hugh, dean of St Peter’s, York, who brought with him a large sum of money and a valuable collection of books. His example was followed by Serlo, a monk of St Mary’s abbey, York, and by Tosti, a canon of York, and others. Henry I. and succeeding sovereigns granted them many privileges. During the reign of Edward I. the monks appear to have again suffered from poverty, partly no doubt owing to the invasion of the Scots, but partly also through their own “misconduct and extravagance.” On account of this Edward I. in 1291 appointed John de Berwick custodian of the abbey so that he might pay their debts from the issues of their estates, allowing them enough for their maintenance, and Edward II. in 1319 granted them exemption from taxes. After the Dissolution Henry VIII. sold the manor and site of the monastery to Sir Richard Gresham, and from him after passing through several families it came to the marquess of Ripon.
See Victoria County History, Yorkshire; Dugdale, Monasticon; Surtees Society, Memorials of the Abbey of St Mary of Fountains, collected and edited by J. R. Walbran (1863–78).
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Foullon, Joseph François

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​FOULLON, JOSEPH FRANÇOIS (1717–1789), French administrator, was born at Saumur. During the Seven Years’ War he was intendant-general of the armies, and intendant of the army and navy under Marshal de Belle-Isle. In 1771 he was appointed intendant of finances. In 1789, when Necker was dismissed, Foullon was appointed minister of the king’s household, and was thought of by the reactionary party as a substitute. But he was unpopular on all sides. The farmers-general detested him on account of his severity, the Parisians on account of his wealth accumulated in utter indifference to the sufferings of the poor; he was reported, probably quite without foundation, to have said, “If the people cannot get bread, let them eat hay.” After the taking of the Bastille on the 14th of July, he withdrew to his estate at Vitry and attempted to spread the news of his death; but he was recognized, taken to Paris, carried off with a bundle of hay tied to his back to the hôtel de ville, and, in spite of the intervention of Lafayette, was dragged out by the populace and hanged to a lamp-post on the 22nd of July 1789.
See Eugène Bonnemère, Histoire des paysans (4th ed., 1887), tome iii.; C. L. Chassin, Les Élections et les cahiers de Paris en 1789. (Paris, 1889), tomes iii. and iv.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Churching of Women

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​CHURCHING OF WOMEN, the Christian ceremony of thanksgiving on the part of mothers shortly after the birth of their children. It no doubt originated in the Mosaic regulation as to purification (Lev. xii. 6). In ancient times the ceremony was usual but not obligatory in England. In the Greek and Roman Catholic Churches to-day it is imperative. The custom is first mentioned in the pseudo-Nicene Arabic canons. No ancient form of service exists, and that which figures in the English prayer-book of to-day dates only from the middle ages. Custom differs, but the usual date of churching was the fortieth day after confinement, in accordance with the Biblical date of the presentment of the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus at the Temple. It was formerly regarded as unlucky for a woman to leave her house to go out at all after confinement till she went to be churched. It was not unusual for the churching service to be said in private houses. In Herefordshire it was not considered proper for the husband to appear in church at the service, or at all events in the same pew. In some parishes there was a special pew known as “the churching seat.” The words in the rubric requiring the woman to come “decently apparelled” refer to the times when it was thought unbecoming for a woman to come to the service with the elaborate head-dress then the fashion. A veil was usually worn, and in some parishes this was provided by the church, for an inventory of goods belonging to St Benet’s, Gracechurch Street, in 1560, includes “A churching cloth, fringed, white damask.”
The “convenient place,” which, according to the rubric, the woman must occupy, was in pre-Reformation times the church-door. In the first prayer-book of Edward VI., she was to be “nigh unto the quire door.” In the second of his books, she was to be “nigh unto the place where the Table standeth.” Bishop Wren’s orders for the diocese of Norwich in 1636 are “That women to be churched come and kneel at a side near the Communion Table without the rail, being veiled according to custom, and not covered with a hat.” In Devonshire churching was sometimes called “being uprose.” Churchings were formerly registered in some parishes. In pre-Reformation days it was the custom in England for women to carry lighted tapers when ​being churched, in allusion to the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin (February 2nd), the day chosen by the Roman Catholic church for the blessing of the candles for the whole year (see Candlemas). At her churching a woman was expected to make some offering to the church, such as the chrisom or alb thrown over the child at christening.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Chuvashes

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​CHUVASHES, or Tchuvashes, a tribe found in eastern Russia. They form about one-fourth of the population of the government of Kazan, and live in scattered communities throughout the governments of Simbirsk, Samara, Saratov, Orenburg and Perm. They have been identified with the Burtasses of the Arab geographers, and many authorities think they are the descendants of the ancient Bolgars. In general they physically resemble the Finns, being round-headed, flat-featured and light-eyed, but they have been affected by long association with the Tatar element. In dress they are thoroughly Russianized, and they are nominally Christians, though they cling to many of the Old Shamanistic practices. They number some half a million. Their language belongs to the Tatar or Turkish group, but has been strongly influenced by the Finno-Ugrian idioms spoken round it.
See Schott, De Lingua Tschuwaschorum (Berlin, 1841).
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Churn

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​CHURN (O. Eng. cyrin; found in various forms in most Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch karn; according to the New English Dictionary not connected with “quern,” a mill), a vessel in which butter is made, by shaking or beating the cream so as to separate the fatty particles which form the butter from the serous parts or buttermilk. Early churns were upright, and in shape resembled the cans now used in the transport of milk, to which the name “churn” is also given. The upright churn was worked by hand by a wooden “plunger”; later came a box-shaped churn with a “splasher” revolving inside and turned by a handle. The modern type of churn, in large dairies worked by mechanical means, either revolves or swings itself, thus reverting to the most primitive method of butter-making, the shaking or swinging of the cream in a skin-bag or a gourd. (See Dairy.)
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Chusan

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​CHUSAN, the principal island of a group situated off the eastern coast of China, in 30° N. 122° E., belonging to the province of Cheh-kiang. It lies N.W. and S.E., and has a circumference of 51 m., the extreme length being 20, the extreme breadth 10, and the minimum breadth 6 m. The island is beautifully diversified with hill and dale, and well watered with numerous small streams, of which the most considerable is the Tungkiang, falling into the harbour of Tinghai. Most of the surface is capable of cultivation, and nineteen-twentieths of the inhabitants are engaged in agriculture. Wherever it is possible to rear rice every other product is neglected; yet the quantity produced is not sufficient for the wants of the inhabitants. Millet, wheat, sweet potatoes, yams and tares are also grown. The tea plant is found almost everywhere, and the cotton plant is largely cultivated near the sea. The capital, Tinghai, stands about half a mile from the southern shore, and is surrounded by a wall nearly 3 m. in circuit. The ditch outside the wall is interrupted on the N.W. side by a spur from a neighbouring hill, which projects into the town, and forms an easy access to an attacking force. The town is traversed by canals, and the harbour, which has from 4 to 8 fathoms water, is landlocked by several islands. Temple (or Joss-house) Hill, which commands the town and harbour close to the beach, is 122 ft. high. The population of the entire island is estimated at 250,000, of which the capital contains about 40,000. Chusan has but few manufactures; the chief are coarse cotton stuffs and agricultural implements. There are salt works on the coast; and the fisheries employ a number of the inhabitants. In Tinghai a considerable business is carried on in carving and varnishing, and its silver wares are in high repute. The principal exports are fish, coarse black tea, cotton, vegetable tallow, sweet potatoes, and some wheat. Chusan was occupied by the Japanese during the Ming dynasty, and served as an important commercial entrepot. It was taken by the British forces in 1840 and 1841, and retained till 1846 as a guarantee for the fulfilment of the stipulations of the treaty. It was also occupied by the British in 1860.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Chute

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​CHUTE (Fr. for “fall,” of water or the like; pronounced as “shoot,” with which in meaning it is identical), a channel or trough, artificial or natural, down which objects such as timber, coal or grain may slide from a higher to a lower level. The word is also used of a channel cut in a dam or a river for the passage of floating timber, and in Louisiana and on the Mississippi of a channel at the side of a river, or narrow way between an island and the shore. The “Water-Chute” or water tobogganing, is a Canadian pastime, which has been popular in London and elsewhere. A steep wooden slope terminates in a shallow lake; down this run flat-bottomed boats which rapidly increase their velocity until at the end of the “chute” they dash into the water.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Chutney

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​CHUTNEY, or Chutnee (Hindustani chatni), a relish or seasoning of Indian origin, used as a condiment. It is prepared from sweet fruits such as mangoes, raisins, &c., with acid flavouring from tamarinds, lemons, limes and sour herbs, and with a hot seasoning of chillies, cayenne pepper and spices.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Churl

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​CHURL (A.S. ceorl, cognate with the Ger. Kerl and with similar words in other Teutonic languages), one of the two main classes, eorl and ceorl, into which in early Anglo-Saxon society the freemen appear to have been divided. In the course of time the status of the ceorl was probably reduced; but although his political power was never large, and in some directions his freedom was restricted, it hardly seems possible previous to the Norman Conquest to class him among the unfree. Some authorities, however, accept this view. At all events it is certain that the ceorl was frequently a holder of land, and a person of some position, and that he could attain the rank of a thegn. Except in Kent his wergild was fixed at two hundred shillings, or one-sixth of that of a thegn, and he is undoubtedly the twyhynde man of Anglo-Saxon law. In Kent his wergild was considerably higher, and his status probably also, but his position in this kingdom is a matter of controversy. After the Norman Conquest the ceorls were reduced to a condition of servitude, and the word translates the villanus of Domesday Book, although it also covers classes other than the villani. The form ceorl soon became cherl, as in Havelok the Dane (ante 1300) and several times in Chaucer, ​and subsequently churl. Taking a less technical sense than the ceorl of Anglo-Saxon law, churl, or cherl was used in general to mean a “man,” and more particularly a “husband.” In this sense it was employed about 1000 in a translation of the New Testament to render the word ἀνήρ (John iv. 16, 18). It was then employed to describe a “peasant,” and gradually began to denote undesirable qualities. Hence comes the modern use of the word for a low-born or vulgar person, particularly one with an unpleasant, surly or miserly character.
See H. M. Chadwick, Studies on Anglo-Saxon Institutions (Cambridge, 1905); F. Seebohm, Tribal Custom in Anglo-Saxon Law (London, 1902).
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Extrados

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​EXTRADOS (extra, outside, Fr. dos, back), the architectural term for the outer boundary of the voussoirs of an arch (q.v.).
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Eye (Municipality)

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​EYE, a market-town and municipal borough in the Eye parliamentary division of Suffolk; England; 941/2 m. N.E. from London by the Great Eastern railway, the terminus of a branch from the Ipswich-Norwich line. Pop. (1901) 2004. The church of St Peter and St Paul is mainly of Perpendicular flint work, with Early English portions and a fine Perpendicular rood screen. It was formerly attached to a Benedictine priory. Slight fragments of a Norman castle crown a mound of probably earlier construction. There are a town hall, corn exchange, and grammar school founded in 1566. Brewing is the chief industry. The town is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen and 12 councillors. Area, 4410 acres.
Eye (Heya, Aye) was once surrounded by a stream, from which it is said to have derived its name. Leland says it was situated in a marsh and had formerly been accessible by river vessels from Cromer, though the river was then only navigable to Burston, 12 m. from Eye. From the discovery of numerous bones and Roman urns and coins it has been thought that the place was once the cemetery of a Roman camp. William I. gave the lordship of Eye to Robert Malet, a Norman, who built a castle and a Benedictine monastery which was at first subordinate to the abbey of Bernay in Normandy. Eye is a borough by prescription. In 1205 King John granted to the townsmen a charter freeing them from various tolls and customs and from the jurisdiction of the shire and hundred courts. Later charters were granted by Elizabeth in 1558 and 1574, by James I. in 1604, and by William III. in 1697. In 1574 the borough was newly incorporated under two bailiffs, ten chief and twenty-four inferior burgesses, and an annual fair on Whit-Monday and a market on Saturday were granted. Two members were returned to each parliament from 1571 till 1832, when the Reform Act reduced the membership to one. By the Redistribution Act of 1885 the representation was merged in the Eye division of the county. The making of pillow-lace was formerly carried on extensively, but practically ceased with the introduction of machinery.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Eyra

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​EYRA (Felis eyra), a South American wild cat, of weasel-like build, and uniform coloration, varying in different individuals from reddish-yellow to chestnut. It is found in Brazil, Guiana and Paraguay, and extends its range to the Rio del Norte, but is rare north of the isthmus of Panama. Little is known of its habits in a wild state, beyond the fact that it is a forest-dweller, active in movement and fierce in disposition. Several have been exhibited in the London Zoological Gardens, and some have grown gentle in captivity. Don Felix de Azara wrote of one which he kept on a chain that it was “as gentle and playful as any kitten could be.” The name is sometimes applied to the jaguarondi.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Eybeschütz, Jonathan

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​EYBESCHÜTZ, JONATHAN (1690–1764), German rabbi, was from 1750 rabbi in Altona. He was a man of erudition, but he owed his fame chiefly to his personality. Few men of the period so profoundly impressed their mark on Jewish life. He became specially notorious because of a curious controversy that arose concerning the amulets which Eybeschütz was suspected of issuing. These amulets recognized the Messianic claims of Sabbatai Sebi (q.v.), and a famous rabbinic contemporary of Eybeschütz, Jacob Emden, boldly accused him of heresy. The controversy was a momentous incident in the Jewish life of the period, and though there is insufficient evidence against Eybeschütz, Emden may be credited with having crushed the lingering belief in Sabbatai current even in some orthodox circles. (I. A.)
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Eyemouth

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​EYEMOUTH, a police burgh of Berwickshire, Scotland. Pop. (1901) 2436. It is situated at the mouth of the Eye, 71/2 m. N.N.W. of Berwick-on-Tweed by the North British railway via Burnmouth. Its public buildings are the town hall, library and masonic hall. The main industry is the fishing and allied trades. The harbour was enlarged in 1887, and the bay is easily accessible and affords good anchorage. Owing to the rugged character of the coast and its numerous ravines and caves the whole district was once infested with smugglers. The promontory of St Abb’s Head is 3 m. to the N.W.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Eyre, Edward John

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​EYRE, EDWARD JOHN (1815–1901), British colonial governor, the son of a Yorkshire clergyman, was born on the 5th of August 1815. He was intended for the army, but delays having arisen in producing a commission, he went out to New South Wales, where he engaged in the difficult but very necessary undertaking of transporting stock westward to the new colony of South Australia, then in great distress, and where he became magistrate and protector of the aborigines, whose interests he warmly advocated. Already experienced as an Australian traveller, he undertook the most extensive and difficult journeys in the desert country north and west of Adelaide, and after encountering the greatest hardships, proved the possibility of land communication between South and West Australia. In 1845 he returned to England and published the narrative of his travels. In 1846 he was appointed lieutenant-governor of New Zealand, where he served under Sir George Grey. After successively governing St Vincent and Antigua, he was in 1862 appointed acting-governor of Jamaica and in 1864 governor. In October 1865 a negro insurrection broke out and was repressed with laudable vigour, but the unquestionable severity and alleged illegality of Eyre’s subsequent proceedings raised a storm at home which induced the government to suspend him and to despatch a special commission of investigation, the effect of whose inquiries, declared by his successor, Sir John Peter Grant, to have been “admirably conducted,” was that he should not be reinstated in his office. The government, nevertheless, saw nothing in Eyre’s conduct to justify legal proceedings; indictments preferred by amateur prosecutors at home against him and military officers who had acted under his direction, resulted in failure, and he retired upon the pension of a colonial governor. As an ​explorer Eyre must be classed in the highest rank, but opinions are always likely to differ as to his action in the Jamaica rebellion. He died on the 30th of November 1901.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Cooper, Charles Henry

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​COOPER, CHARLES HENRY (1808–1866), English antiquary, was born at Great Marlow, on the 20th of March 1808, being descended from a family formerly settled at Bray, Berkshire. He received his education at a private school in Reading. In 1826 he fixed his residence at Cambridge, and in 1836 was elected coroner of the borough. Four years later he was admitted a solicitor, and in course of time he acquired an extensive practice, but his taste and inclination ultimately led him to devote almost the whole of his time to literary research, and especially the elucidation of the history of the university of Cambridge. In 1849 he resigned the office of borough coroner on being elected to the town-clerkship, which he retained till his death on the 21st of March 1866. His earliest production, A New Guide to the University and Town of Cambridge, was published anonymously in 1831. The Annals of Cambridge followed (1842–1853) containing a chronological history of the university and town from the earliest period to 1853. His most important work, the Athenae Cantabrigienses (1858, 1861), a companion work to the famous Athenae Oxonienses of Anthony à Wood, contains biographical memoirs of the authors and other men of eminence who were educated at the university of Cambridge from 1500 to 1609. Cooper’s other works are The Memorials of Cambridge, (1858–1866) and a Memoir of Margaret, Countess of Richmond and Derby (1874). He was a constant contributor to Notes and Queries, the Gentleman’s Magazine and other antiquarian publications, and left an immense collection of MS. materials for a biographical history of Great Britain and Ireland.