Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/310

 B I G

B I L

BlDENTAL, in antiquity, a place ftruck with a thunderbolt, and on that account con llx rated to the gods, and forbidden to he trod on. Non. Marcdl. c. i. p. 564. Scholiaft. Per/, ad fat. z. v. 27.

Bidentalonly differed from pttteal, as in the latter the thunder- bolt was fuppofed to be hidden, or buried with ceremony un- der the ground. Kenn. Rom. Antiq. P. 2. 1. 5. c. 10. p. 336. Struv. Antiq. Rom. c. 6. p. 293.

The fall of lightning, or a thunderbolt, on any place, was judged by the Romans an indication that Jupiter demanded it for himfelf. Hence they furrounded it with a wall, rail, ftakes, or even a rope; and expiated it, by the facrifice of a Btdms, or fheep of two years old. Vid, Biding. deFulm. c. 11. Lo- meter, de Luftrat. c. 1 3.

Feftus reprefents the bidentalzs a temple, where fheep of two years old were offered in facrifice a. But by temple he here means no more than a place inclofed, and confecrated to the gods b. — [ a Fcft. de verb, fignif. in voc. Bidtntul. b Piti/c. Lex. Ant. T. 1. p. 277, in voc.

EIDENTES, in middle-age-writers, denotes two yearlings, or flieep of the fecond year. Kenneth Glofi". ad Paroch. Antiq. in voc.

The wool of thefe bidentes, or two year old fheep, being the firft fhecring, was fometime claimed as a heriot to the King, on the death of an abbot. Kennct, loc. cit. Among the antient Romans, the word was extended further to any forts of beafts ufed for victims, efpecially thofe of that age: whence we meet with files bidentes. See Bidental. Vid. A. Ged, 1. 16. c. 6. Struv. Ant. Rom. c. 10. p. 462. Lang. Epift. Medic. I. 1. Ep. 61. p. 297. Voff. Etym. p.

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BIDET, a nag, or little horfe, formerly allowed to each troop- er, and dragoon, for his baggage, and other occafions. Cru/o, Milit.Inftr. for Cavalry, app.

Bidets are grown intodifufe, on account of the expences there- of, and the diforders frequently arifing from thofe who at- tended on them, £sV.

BIDI/EI, friSWioi. an order of magistrates at Sparta, five in num- ber, whofc bufinefs was to have an eye over the ephebi, and be prefent at their exerciles, wreftlings, &V. Craig, de R.epub. Lacedxm. 1. 2. c. 5. Schottg. Lex. Antiq. p. 219.

BiER, a kind of wooden carriage, in which the bodies of the dead are born to their grave. See Burial. The word comes from the French bicre, which fignifies the fame. It is called in Latin fcrctrum, a/erenda. Anion" the Romans the common bier, whereon the poorer fort were carried, was called /andapila ; that ufed for the richer fort, leclica, leSiica /unebris, fometimes leElm. The former was only a fort of wooden chert, vilis area, which was burnt with the body ; the latter was enriched and gilded for pomp. It was carried bare, or uncovered, when the perfon died a na- tural and eafy death ; when he was much disfigured or diftort- ed, it was veiled or covered over. Piti/c. L. Antiq. T. 1. p. 774. voc. Ferdrwn.lt. T.2. p. 26. voc. Leclica. Id. ibid. p. 689. voc. S andapila. Kenn. Rom. Ant. Not. P. 2. 1. 5. c. 10. p. 348. Du Cange Gloff Lat. T. 3. p. 241. voc. Le&us,

Bier is more peculiarly ufed for that whereon the bodies of faints are placed in the church to reft, and expofed to the ve- neration of the devout.

This is alfo called in middle-age writers, leSius, /ereirum, leEtica, and loculus ; and was ufually inriched with gold, filver, and precious {tones, which was the caufe that the bier of St. Benedict was pillaged, and all its ornaments carried off. In our Englifh churches we read of gilt, and cryftal biers. Du Cange, Gloff. Lat. T. 3, p. 241. voc. LeSius. It. p. 319. voc. Loculus. It. p. 237. voc. Leclica. Dugd. MonzR. Abr.

BIFFA, in middlc-agc writers, a machine for catting ftones and darts, having a moveable counterpoife, which turned round its yard. ' Mgid. Rom. de Regin. Princ. 1. 3. c. 18. Aquin. Lex. Milit. T. 1. p. 128.

RIFRONS, a perfon double-fronted, or two-faced.

Bifrons is more peculiarly an appellation of Janus, who was reprefented by the antients with two faces, as being fuppofed to look both backwards and forwards : though other reafons for it are recited by Plutarch a. Sometimes he was painted With four faces, quadri/roKS, as refpecting the four feafons b. — [» Vid. Serv, ad JE11. 1. 12. v. 198. Pint Quasft Rom. N° 21. Piti/c. Lex. Antiq. T. 1. p. 925. b Crinit. de Ho- neft.Difcipl. 1 4- c 10.]

BIGA (Cyd.) — The invention of biga is attributed by Pliny a to the Phrygians ; by Ifidore b, to Cyreftenes of Sicyon, who firft yoaked two horfes together. — [ a Plin. Hift. Nat 1. 7. c. 56. b 1/td. Orig. I.18. c. 35.]

Biga were the chariots firft ufed in the Circenfian games ; then triga, and afterwards quadriga. See Chariot, Suppl, and Circenses ludi, Cycl.

The moon, night, and the morning, are by mythologifts fuppofed to be carried in biga; the fun in quadriga. Statues in biga were at firft only allowed to the gods, then to conquerors in the Grecian games; under the Roman em- perors, the like ftatues, with biga, were decreed and granted to great and well-deferving men, as a kind of half triumph,

being erected in molt public places of the city. Phi/c. Lex.

Ant. T. 1. p. 278. See Statue, Cyd.

Figures of biga were alfo ftruck on their coins. Bcocrin. Synt.

de Ponder, p. S. See Bicati.

The drivers of biga were called big-rit; a marble buftofone

Florus a hi:arius is ftill feen at Rome. Piti/c. loc. cit.

Biga, or Bigata, in writers of the middle and barbarous age, a cart with two wheels, drawn often with one horfe. It was more frequently called birota. Kenn. Gloff. ad Paroch. Antiq. in voc-

BIGAMY {Cyd)— According to the law of Scotland, the crime in bigamy confi: s in the perjury it implies, as being a manifeft violation of the matrimonial oath; and it is punifh d in the fame manner as perjury, with confifcation of movea- bles, imprifonment for a year and a day, or, longer, at the king's will, and infamy. This is by force of the act 19 Q. Mary. The crime is but ill defined in this ftatute, but the meaning is plain enough, to fhew that a man's marrying a fe- cond wife, or a wife a fecond hutband, during a ftanding marriage with a former wife, or former hufband, is bigamy. By a ftanding marriage is meant one formally fubfifting at the time; for bigamy is committed, whether the former marriage is reducible for adultery, or fubjedt to be declared null ab initio, for impotency or contingency of blood, But in this cafe, the cafe of the bigamift is held favourable; efpecially if the former marriage be declared null, before the procefs for the bigamy is commenced. Jldackenz. Crim Law.

BIGATI, in antiquity, a kind of antient Roman filver coins, on one fide whereof was reprefented a biga, or chariot drawn by two horfes. See Biga, Cyd. and Suppl.

•The bigaius was properly the Roman denarius, whofe impref- fion during the times of the commonwealth, was a chariot driven by victory, and drawn either by two horfes, or four, according to which it was either denominated bigatus, or qua- dr'igaius.

Bigati therefore were of different values, according to the fpe- cies of denarii, &c. The denarius bigatus is rated by Beve- rinus at a Roman julio, the quinarius at half, and the jcxtarins at aguarter of a julio. Beverin. Synt. de Ponder, p. 37, and 2 17.

Several of thofe called confular medals are alfo bigati. In lieu of horfes, the chariot is reprefented on fome bigati, as drawn by two deer, efpecially in the medals 'of the family of Axfia ; on thofe of the family Crepereia, by two hippopotami, who draw, or rather bear Neptune on their tails. Treo. Diet. Univ. T. I. 1036.

BIGGEL, in natural hiftory, a quadruped much about the co- lour and bignefs of a rein-deer ; its head is laid to be like that of a horfe; its main like that of an afs, with black cloven feet, and two black horns on his head.

This animal is found in the Eaft-Indies, according to Mandel- fioe, in Harris's collection of voyages, N°52. p. 775. A creature brought from Bengal, fomething anfwering this defcription, was thewn in London, an. 174$. We have a defcription and figure of it by Dr. Parfons, in Phil. Tranf. N-+ 7 6. §.i 7.

BIGHT, in the fea-language, denotes any part of a rope, as it is taken ccmpailing, coiled up. When they cannot, or would not, take the end in hand, becaufe of the cables being coiled up ; they fay, give me the bight, or hold by the bight, i. e, by one of the fakes, which lies rolled up one over the other. Manw. Seam. Direct, p. 8. B'teL Sea. Dial. 4. p. 1-94.

BIGNONIA, in botany. SeeTRUMPET'-ySWfr.

BIGOT, (Cycl.) in Italian btgontia, is ufed to denote a Vene- tian liquid meafure, containing the fourth part of the amphora, or half the boot. Savar. Diet. C'omra. T. 1. p. 335.

BIGOURNEAU, in natural hiftory, a name given by Hello- nius to that genus of codrea, called the /emi-circular mouthed, or /end-lunar kind, including the nerita. ■ See Ne rita.

BIL, in ichthyography, a name given in fome parts of England to a particular fpecies of cod-fiih, called by Willughby a/dlus In/cus. It is but a fmall kind, feldcm exceeding twelve inches in length, and is not of the round bodied fhape of moft of the other fpecies, but is broad and flatted at the fides. Its colour on the back is a pale olive colour, or dufky yellow ; its belly is white ; its fcales are more than twice as large as thofe of the cod, and adhere very firmly to the fkin. The mouth is of a moderate fize, and under the chin, or in the angle of the lower jaw, there is a fmall fhort beard. The jaws are fur- nished with long, ftrong, and fharp teeth, which bend back- ward ; but there is only one row of thefe in each jaw. The dotted lines running along-the fides, are curved to the end of the abdomen, defcending gradually from the upper angle of the gills toward the bottom of the belly. It is diftiuguifhed from the cod by its fmallnefi, by its being fhorter and broader in its fhape, by the palenefs of its colour, and largenefs of its fcales; tho' it agrees with it, in having a beard under the chin. milughbys Hift. Pifc p. 169.

BILANCII3 de/erendis, a writ directed to a corporation, for the carrying of weights to fuch a haven, there to weigh the wool, that pcrfons by our antient laws were Hcenfed to tranfport. Reg. ( 'rig. Z70. Blount. Cowel.

BILANDER, in navigation, a fmall flat-bottomed veffel ufed in northern countries, with one large maft and fail ; having

its