Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 7.djvu/175

 HAROLD

141

HARPER

Harold, Fr.u^cis, Irish Franciscan and historical writer, d. at Rome, 18 March, 1685. He was for some time professor of theology in the Irish College at Prague; and afterwards went to Rome, where he spent the remaining years of his life in the Irish Fran- ciscan College of St. Isidore, fulfilling the duties of librarian. In 1662 he published at Rome in two folio volumes an epitome of the " .\nnals" of his uncle Luke Wadding, extending from 1208 to 1540, to which he prefixed a life of Wadding, dedicating it to Cardinal Francesco Barberini. This life was again published at Rome in 1731. He also wrote "Beati Thuribii Alphonsi Mogroveii archiepiscopi Limensis vita exem- plaris", published at Rome in 1683. A copy of this work with the author's manuscript corrections is still preservetl in the library of the Royal Irish Academy. His "Lima Limata conciliis, constitutionibus syno- dalibus et aliis monumentis . . . notis et scholiis illus- trata", published at Rome in 1673, contains a col- lection of documents connected with the councils and other affairs of importance in the Church of Peru.

Ware-Harris, Writers of Ireland, II (Dublin, 1739-40), 200-01; Gilbert in Did. Nat. Biog., XXIV.

Stephen M. Donovan.

Harold Bluetooth (Bu-iatand), b. 911; d. 1 November, 985 or 986. He was the son of King Gorm the Old of Denmark and of Thyra, daughter of a nobleman of Schleswig (S0nderjylland) who is sup- posed to have been kindly disposed tow-ards Christian- ity. His mother must have implanted in the child's soul the first germs of faith which his father, a devout servant of Wotan, did his utmost to destroy. The latter's invasion of Friesland in 934 involved him in war with the German King, Henry I. Having been vanquished, he was .forced to restore the churches which he had demolished as well as to grant toleration to his Christian subjects, and he died one year later, bequeathing his throne to Harold. Bishop Unni of Bremen, accompanied by Benedictine monks from the Abbey of Corvey, preached the gospel in Jutland (Jylland) and the Danish isles, and soon won the confidence of the young ruler, although he did not succeed in persuading him to receive baptism. Harold sought to shut the Germans out of his kingdom by strengthening the "Dauawirk" — a series of ramparts and fortifications that existed until the latter half of the nineteenth century; moreover, as absolute quiet prevailed throughout the interior, he was even able to turn his thoughts to foreign enterprises. Again and again he came to the help of Richard the Fearless of Normandy (in the years 945 and 963), while his son conquered Semland and, after the assassination of King Harold Graafeld of Norway, he also managed to force the people of that country into temporary sub- jection to himself. Meanwhile the new religion had become more and more deeply rooted among the Danes. Even a few members of the nobility (such as Frode, Viceroy of Jutland) embraced the faith and soon episcopal sees were estabUshed (Schleswig, Ribe, Aarhus). However the prominent part the Germans had in these achievements as well as the lofty idea of the Roman Empire then prevailing led Otto I, the Great, to require Harold to recognize him as "advo- catus", or lord protector of the Danish church, and even as "Lord Paramount". It is easy to under- stand why the indignant king of the Danes replied to this demand with a declaration of war, and why the "emperor" sought to force his "vassal" into sub- jection. The devastating expeditions, which were pushed as far as the Lymfjord, enabled the emperor to beat down all opposition (972), and to compel Harold not only to conclude peace but to accept baptism. Henceforth paganism steadily lost ground. The Bishopric of Odense was established at FOnen (Fyen) in 980; the sacrificial grove at Lethra (on Zealand), which, until then, had been from time to

time the scene of many human sacrifices, was deserted. King Harold removed his royal residence to Roeskilde and erected there a wooden church dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Later (in the eleventh century) it was replaced by a basUica which in turn was soon torn down. Since about the year 1200 its site has been occupied by the Gothic cathedral (dedicated to St. Lucius), the burial place of the kings of Denmark. Christian houses of worship were also buUt in many other places during Harold's reign; in these German and Danish priests preached the gospel of the cruci- fied and risen Saviour. There is no doubt that Harold professed Christianity at that time: it is also true that he contributed to its spread. But his moral con- duct in many respects distinctly violated the Divine commandments. Consequently many people looked on the plots that were directed against the sovereignty and life of the ageing prince by his own son (Svend) as a punishment from Heaven. Although baptized, the latter joined forces with Palnatoke, the most powerful chieftain on Fijhnen, who was the leader of the heathen party. The fortunes of war varied for a time, but finally Harold was slain on 1 November, 985 or 986. His remains were buried in the cathedral at Roeskilde, where his bones are still preserved, walled up in one of the pillars of the choir.

See Devm.4rk: also K^bee, De danske Kirkebygninger (2nd ed., Copenhagen, 1908).

Pius WlTTMANN.

Harpasa, a titular see of Caria, suffragan of Stau- ropolis. Nothing is known of the history of this town, situated on the bank of the Harpasus, a tributary of the Maeander. It is mentioned by Ptolemy (V, ii, xix), by Stephanus Byzantius, by Hierocles (Synecd., 688), and by Pliny (V, x.xi.x). According to Pliny, there was in the neighbourhood a rocking-stone which could be set in motion by a finger-touch, whereas the force of the whole body could not remove it. Arpat Kalehsi, in the vilayet of Smyrna, preserves the old name. Harpasa appears in the lists of the " Notitise Episcopatuum " until the twelfth or thirteenth century. Lequien (Or. Christ., I, 907) mentions only four bish- ops: Phinias, who took part in the Council of Ephe- sus, 431; Zotieus, represented at Chalcedon by the presbyter Philotheos, 451 ; Irenaeus, an opponent of the Council of Chalcedon; L«o, in Constantinople at the Photian Council of 879.

Fellows, Discoveries in Lycia, 51; Leake, Asia Minor, 249.

S. Petrides.

Harper, Thomas Morton, priest, philosopher, theologian and preacher. Born in London 26 Sept., 1821, of Anglican parents, his father being a merchant of good means in the City; d. 29 Aug., 1893. He was educated first at St. Paul's School, London; then at Queen's College, Oxford. Having taken his B.A. degree, he subsequently received orders in the Angli- can Church, in which he worked for five years as a curate. His first mission was at Barnstaple in Devon- shire. Here he manifested High Church prochvities and took a vigorous part in ecclesiastical controversies in the local press. Getting into collision with his bishop on some points of doctrine, he left Devonshire and purchased a small proprietary chapel in a poor district in Pimlico, London. But his ritualistic views and practices here again brought him into conflict with his diocesan — Blomfield, Bishop of London. He was obviously drifting steadily towards the Catholic Church. The final impulse came, oddly enough, from the perusal of an attack on the Jesuit Order in a volume entitled " One Year in the Noviceship of the Society of Jesus" by Andrew Steinmetz. Harper's logical instinct discerned the intrinsic discrepancies of the book and the feebleness of the argument as a whole. Within half a year he was received into the Catholic Church, and some months later, in October, 1852, he entered the Society of Jesus. He passed