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OLDENBURG

status. When Dr. Bishop died they sent a list of names from which his successor might be chosen, and the Holy See accepted their action choosing the first name — Dr. Richard Smith. Three years later he had to leave the country, and spent the rest of his life in Paris. After his death the chapter assumed the right to rule the country in the vacancy of the episcopal office, and for thirty years all faculties were issued by the dean who claimed the verbal approval of Alexander VII.

When James II ascended the throne, and England was divided into four districts or vicariates, the posi- tion of the chapter became still more anomalous. Dr. Leyburn, the first vicar Apostolic of that reign, was required to take an oath not to recognize the chapter, and a decree was issued in general terms suspending all jurisdiction of chapters of regulars and seculars so long as there were vicars Apostolic in England; but doubt was felt whether this was meant to apply to the Old Chapter, for the very reason that its position was anomalous. In practice, however, they submitted, and ceased to exercise any acts of jurisdiction; but they continued their existence. The vicars Apostolic themselves were usually members.

When the hierarchy was re-established in 1850, a chapter was erected in each diocese, and whatever claims to jurisdiction the Old Chapter had, from that time, ceased. Not wishing to dissolve, however, they reconstituted themselves as the "Old Brotherhood of the Secular Clergy", the dean of the chapter becoming president of the brotherhood. Under this title they have continued to the present day. They meet twice a year and distribute their funds to various charities.

Sehqeant, Transaclinns of English Secular Clergy (1706), reprinted bv Wiluam Turnbull, aa An Account of the Chapter (1853); Kirk. History of the Chapter (MS.); Dodd, Church His- tory of England, ed. Tierney; Ward, Catholic London a Century ago (1905); Burton. Life of Challoner (1910); Ward, Dawn of the Catholic Remal (1909). See also Kirk's Biographies, edited by Pollen and Burton (1909). eontaining a list of capitulars (p. 273) : most of the proceedings of the chapter during the eigh- teenth century can be found scattered among the biographies.

Bernard VVard.

Oldcorne, Edward, Venerable, martyr, b. 1561; d. 1606. His father was a Protestant, and his mother a Catholic. He was educated as a doctor, but later decided to enter the priesthood, went to the Eng- lish College at Reims, then to Rome, where, after ordination, in 1587, he became a Jesuit. Next year he returned to England in com- pany with Father John Gerard (q. v.), and worked, chiefly in Worces- ter, until he was arrested with Fa- ther Henry Garnet (q. V.) and taken to the Tower. No evidence connect- ing him with the Gunpowder Plot (q. V.) could be ob- tained, and he was executed for his priesthood only. Two letters of his areatStonyhurst (Ang., Ill, 1;VII, 60); the second, written from prison, overflows with zeal and charity. His last combat took place on 7 April, at Red Hill, Worcester. With him suffered his faithful servant, the Ven. Ralph Ashby, who is traditionally believed to have been a Jesuit lay-brother. Oldcorne's picture, painted after his death for the Gesil, is extant, and a number of his relics.

FoLET. Records S.J., IV, 202; M0RR13, John Gerard, x; Gillow, BiU. Did. Eng. Cath., a. v.

J. H. Pollen.

Oldenburg, a grand duchy, one of the twenty-six federated states of the German Empire. It consists of three widely separated parts: the duchy of Oldenburg; the principality of Liibeck, situated between Hol- stein and Mecklenburg; and the principality of Birk- enfeld, in Rhenish Prussia. The duchy is bounded by the North Sea, and by Hanover. It has an area of 2571 sq. miles and (1 Dec, 1905) 438,8,56 inhabitants. Oldenburg has 2134 sq. miles and 353,789 inhabitants; Liibeck, 217 sq. miles and 38, .583 inhabitants; and Birkenfeld, 202 sq. miles and 46,484 inhabitants.

There were in 1905, in Oldenburg: Catholics, 86,- 865; Protestants, 264,805; other Christians, 1163; Jews, 956; in Liibeck: Catholics, 485; Protestants, 38,- 064; other Christians, 11; Jews, 23; in Birkenfeld: Catholics, 8717; Protestants, 37,047; other Christians, 177; Jews, 543. In the entire grand duchy: 96,067 Catholics, 399,916 Protestants, 1351 other Christians, 1522 Jews. The percentage of Catholics among the total population is now 21.9; in 1871 it was 22.4. The cause of this lies in the emigration of a part of the agricultural population to the industrial districts of the neighbouring provinces.

The capital is Oldenburg. In that part of the coun- try facing the North Sea, the population is of Frisian descent; further inland it is Low Saxon. The chief rivers are the Weser and the Hunte. Of great impor- tance to the country are the numerous canals. The chief industries are agriculture, cattle raising, horse- breeding, peat-cutting, and fishing. The country's industrial establishments include brick factories, bri- quette manufacture, shipbuilding, metal and iron works, distilleries of alcohol from rye and potatoes. The most important articles of commerce are cattle, grain, lumber, etc.

The country takes its name from the castle of Old- enburg, erected about the middle of the twelfth cen- tury. The founder of the reigning house was Egilmar, who is first mentioned in a document dated 1088. His territory, of which the Duke of Saxony was the liege lord, was situated between the country of the Saxons and the Frisians. The wars with the latter lasted for several centuries, and it was not until 1234 that one of their tribes (the Stedingians) succumbed to the Olden- burg attacks in the battle of Altenesch. The Arch- bishop of Bremen was in these wars an ally of the counts of Oldenburg. When the famous Saxon duke, Henry the Lion, was forced to flee and the old Duke- dom of Saxony was partitioned by Frederick Barba- rossa in 1181, the oounts of Oldenburg obtained the rights of princes of the Empire, but took little part in its development and progress. Of great importance later on was the marriage which Count Dietrich the Fortunate (d. 1440), concluded with Heilwigof S( hau- cnburg (Schaumburg). Two sons issued from this marriage. Christian and Gerhard the \aliant. Through the influence of his uncle, Duke Adolf VIII of Schleswig, Heilwig's eldest son. Christian, became King of Denmark in 1448, King of Norway in 1450, and King of Sweden in 1457. This last royal crown Christian lost again in 1471. He became, after the death of Duke Adolf, Duke of Schleswig and Count of Holstcin. Christian became the ancestor of the House of Holstein-Oldenburg, branches of which are reigning to-day in Denmark, Greece, Norway, Russia, and Oldenburg.

The ancestral lands of Oldenburg wore turned over by Christian in 1458 to his brother Gerhard the Val- iant. The Emperor Charles V gave Oldenburg as a fief to Count Anton I in 1531. The main lino became extinct with the death of Count Anton GUnther (160.3- 67). After lengthy quarrels over the succession. Chris- tian V of Denmark became ruler of Oldenburg in 1676. In 1773, however, the Danish King Christian VII sur-