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IXTLILXOCHITL

two plates of ivory, hinged so as to fold together hke a book; the inside of each leaf was slightly counter- sunk, with a narrow raised margin, so as to hold the wax that received the writing, while the outside of the leaves was profusely adorned with carvings. They were used for various purposes, such as listing the names of the baptized, bishops, martyrs, saints, and benefactors, and of the living and the dead who were to be prayed for.

That these diptychs suggested ivory plaques for book covers, reliquary doors and triptych shrines, is obvious; hundreds of plaques are in existence, dat- ing from the time of Constantine to the sixteenth century, and many of them are exquisite works of art; in the British Museum there is one, six inches by four, divided into thirty panels, less than an inch square, and each compartment contains a scene from the life of the Blessed Virgin, all being beautiful examples of ivory sculpture. Another use the early ("hristians found for ivory was the making of cylindrical pyxes from a cross section of the elephant tusk; upon the covers, they carved figures of Our Lord, St. Peter, and St. Paul, and on the side the Apostles and Biblical subjects. Again, somewhat later, no doubt remem- bering that Solomon made "a great throne of ivory" (III Kings, X, 18), they overlaid their episcopal chairs with carved ivory tablets, as may be seen at Ravenna in the chair of St. Maximian, archbishop of that city (546). After the fifth century, possibly before, ivory crosiers were in use; eighty or more of them are now in existence, including those said to have belonged to a number of the saints. At the same time liturgical combs of ivory were in use. A beautiful example, the comb of St. Lupus (623), is in the treasury of St- Etienne at Lens. Representations of the Crucifixion in ivory upon various objects, are common, but not the crucifix. Most of the crucifixes date from the seventeenth century, and of these there are many, but of the earlier ones, only five have survived the action of time and the fanaticism of the Reformers. During the whole of the Middle Ages ivory was extensively used for paxes {inslrumenta ■pads), tabernacles, port- able altars, caskets, holy-water buckets, statuettes, rosary-beads, seals, and the decoration of ecclesiasti- cal furniture.

Maskell, The Ivories, Ancient and Uediaval, in the South Kensington Museum (London, 1872); Westwood, Fictile Ivories in the South Kensington Museum (London. 1872); RoHAULT DE Fleort, La Messe (Paris, 1883); GoRl, Thesaurus Veterum Diptychorum (F\oTence, 1759); Charles, in Revue de I'Art Chretien, Un diptyque d'imire du XIV' sihde ; Ivoires Sculptea (1885-7-8); Couronne. Crosse, Au crucifiement, Feuillet de diptyque (1883); Maskell, Ivories (London, 1905).

C.'UiYL Coleman.

Ivrea, Diocese op, suffragan of Turin, Northern Italy. The city is situated on the right bank of the Dora Baltea and has a fine view of the Great St. Ber- nard. A city of the Salassi, it received a Roman col- ony in 90 B. c. In the Lombard period it was the seat of a dukedom. In 870 Emperor Guy of Spoleto gave the Mark of Ivrea to his brother Anscarius, whose de- scendants, especially Berengarius II (950) and Ardu- inus (1002), aspired to the title of King of Italy. Soon afterwards Ivrea had to contend vigorously for its communal freedom against the marquesses of Mon- ferrat. Finally, in 1248, Frederick II gave it to the Count of Savoy. During the war between France and Spain for the possession of Lombardy there was, for a long time, a Spanish garrison in the fortress of Ivrea. By the Peace of Cateau - Cambrfeis (1559) it was re- stored to the House of Savov. It was besieged and taken by the French in 1,554, 1641, 1704, 1796. In 1800 Lannes put the Austrians to flight at the pass of the Chiusella. There is a noteworthy festival at Ivrea, the burning of the aciirlo (a tree decked out with fire- works), tlie oriKin of which is unknown. Legend tr.aces the cathedral back to the middle of the fifth century, when the ancient temple of Apollo is said to have been

consecrated to the service of the true God. It con- tains a valuable painting by Perugino. The episcopal see is said to have been established by St. Eusebius of Vercelli about the middle of the fourth century. The first historically certain bishop is Eulogius (c. 451). Among the other bishops were St. Veremundus (969); Hugo (1053), a son of King Arduinus; the Cistercian Peter (1205), afterwards transferred to Salonica; Al- berto (jonzaga (12SS); Giuseppe di Ceva (1614), who restored the episcopal palace and adorned it with paintings; also the present (1909) Archbishop of Turin, Cardinal Richelny, made Bishop of Ivrea in 1886. The diocese has 138 parishes, with 220,000 souls; 4 religious houses of men and 10 of women; 6 schools for boys, and 5 schools for girls, and a Catholic paper.

Savio, Gli antichi vescovi d'ltalia; Anon., Cenni storici sulla provincia d'Jvrea (1843); Saroglia, Memorie storiche delta Chiesa d'lvrea (Ivrea, 1881); Idem, Eporedia sacra (Ivrea, 1887).

U. Benigni.

Ixtlilxochitl, Fernando de Alba; b. 1.568; d. 1648. The most illustrious of the native Mexican historians and the great-grandson of Don Fernando Ixtlilxoehitl, fifth son of Netzahualpilli, King of Texcoco, and of his wife Dona Beatriz Papantzin, daughter of Cuitlahuac, last but one of the Aztec emperors. He was educated in the college of Santa Cruz de Tlaltelolco, but, notwithstanding his illus- trious birth, education, and ability, he lived for a long time in dire poverty, and the greater part of his works were written to relieve his wants. He gives a de- tailed account of the important part played by his great-grandfather Don Fernando in the conquest of Mexico and the pacification of the Indians of New Spain, praising him in every possible way, and blam- ing the ingratitude of the conquerors. " His descend- ants", says the writer, " were left poor and neglected, with scarcely a roof to shelter them, and even this is gradually being taken from them." In " La Entrada de los Espanoles en Texcoco" he again remarks; "The sons, daughters, grandchildren, and relations of Netzahualcoyotl and Netzahualpilli are ploughing and digging to earn their daily bread and to pay ten reales and half a measure of corn to his Majesty. And we, the descendants of a royal race, are being taxed beyond every lawful right." Partly owing to the appeal made in his works, and partly to the favour of Fray Garcia Guerra, who afterwards became .Archbishop and Viceroy of New Spain, some land concessions were granted Don Fernando, and he was appointed interpreter in the Indian judiciary couit. The " Historia de la Nacion Chichemeca " was his last work, but this he left unfinished, having reached only the period of the siege of Mexico. This is the best of his works. The facts are fairly well defined, the chronology is more exact, the editing much better, and more care is taken in the orthography of Tex- cocan names. His other works contain very im- portant data for the history of Mexico, but they are written without order or method, the chronology is very faulty, and there is much repetition. For his writings he availed himself of the ancient Indian hieroglyphic paintings, and the traditions and songs of the Indians; he indicates those which he has con- sulted — all of them more than eighty years old. His works, recently publishetl to commemorate the fourth centenary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, are: (1) A summary of all tlie events that occurred in New Spain and of many things known and accomplished by the Tultecas from the creation of the world to their destruction, and from the coming of the third Chichemeca settlers up to the invasion of the Spaniards, taken from the original history " La Nueva I&pafia"; (2) History of the Chichemecas to the time of the coming of the Spaniards. (To this is added: (a) Part of the history of Netzahualcoyotl; (b) List of