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 1426, to appoint two Observants as inquisitors without territorial limitation to make a special crusade against the heresy of the Fraticelli. These two inquisitors, who pursued their duties under three popes (Martin V., Eugenius IV. and Nicholas V.) were Giovanni da Capistrano and Giacomo della Marca. The latter’s valuable Dialogus contra Fraticellos (Baluze and Mansi, Miscellanea, iv. 595-610) gives an account of the doctrines of these heretics and of the activity of the two inquisitors, and shows that the Fraticelli not only constituted a distinct church but a distinct society. They had a pope called Rinaldo, who was elected in 1429 and was succeeded by a brother named Gabriel. This supreme head of their church they styled “bishop of Philadelphia,” Philadelphia being the mystic name of their community; under him were bishops, e.g. the bishops of Florence, Venice, &c.; and, furthermore, a member of the community named Guglielmo Majoretto bore the title of “Emperor of the Christians.” This organization, at least in so far as concerns the heretical church, had already been observed among the Fraticelli in Sicily, and in 1423 the general council of Siena affirmed with horror that at Peniscola there was an heretical pope surrounded with a college of cardinals who made no attempt at concealment. From 1426 to 1449 the Fraticelli were unremittingly pursued, imprisoned and burned. The sect gradually died out after losing the protection of the common people, whose sympathy was now transferred to the austere Observants and their miracle-worker Capistrano. From 1466 to 1471 there were sporadic burnings of Fraticelli, and in 1471 Tommaso di Scarlino was sent to Piombino and the littoral of Tuscany to track out some Fraticelli who had been discovered in those parts. After that date the name disappears from history.

See F. Ehrle, “Die Spiritualen, ihr Verhältnis zum Franziskanerorden und zu den Fraticellen” and “Zur Vorgeschichte des Concils von Vienne,” in Archiv für Literatur- und Kirchengeschichte des Mittelalters, vols. i., ii., iii.; Wetzer and Welte, Kirchenlexikon, s.v. “Fraticellen”; H. C. Lea, History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, iii. 129-180 (London, 1888).

FRAUD (Lat. fraus, deceit), in its widest sense, a term which has never been exhaustively defined by an English court of law, and for legal purposes probably cannot usefully be defined. But as denoting a cause of action for which damages can be recovered in civil proceedings it now has a clear and settled meaning. In actions in which damages are claimed for fraud, the difficulties and obscurities which commonly arise are due rather to the complexity of modern commerce and the ingenuity of modern swindlers than to any uncertainty or technicality in the modern law. To succeed in such an action, the person aggrieved must first prove a representation of fact, made either by words, by writing or by conduct, which is in fact untrue. Mere concealment is not actionable unless it amounts not only to suppressio veri, but to suggestio falsi. An expression of opinion or of intention is not enough, unless it can be shown that the opinion was not really held, or that the intention was not really entertained, in which case it must be borne in mind, to use the phrase of Lord Bowen, that the state of a man’s mind is as much a matter of fact as the state of his digestion. Next, it must be proved that the representation was made without any honest belief in its truth, that is, either with actual knowledge of its falsity or with a reckless disregard whether it is true or false. It was finally established, after much controversy, in the case of Derry v. Peek in 1889, that a merely negligent misstatement is not actionable. Further, the person aggrieved must prove that the offender made the representation with the intention that he should act on it, though not necessarily directly to him, and that he did in fact act in reliance on it. Lastly, the complainant must prove that, as the direct consequence, he has suffered actual damage capable of pecuniary measurement.

As soon as the case of Derry v. Peek had established, as the general rule of law, that a merely negligent misstatement is not actionable, a statutory exception was made to the rule in the case of directors and promoters of companies who publish prospectuses and similar documents. By the Directors’ Liability Act 1890, such persons are liable for damage caused by untrue statements in such documents, unless they can prove that they had reasonable grounds for believing the statements to be true. It is also to be observed that, though damages cannot be recovered in an action for a misrepresentation made with an honest belief in its truth, still any person induced to enter into a contract by a misrepresentation, whether fraudulent or innocent, is entitled to avoid the contract and to obtain a declaration that it is not binding upon him. This is in accordance with the rule of equity, which since the Judicature Act prevails in all the courts. Whether the representation is fraudulent or innocent, the contract is not void, but voidable. The party misled must exercise his option to avoid the contract without delay, and before it has become impossible to restore the other party to the position in which he stood before the contract was made. If he is too late, he can only rely on his claim for damages, and in order to assert this claim it is necessary to prove that the misrepresentation was fraudulent. Fraud, in its wider sense of dishonest dealing, though not a distinct cause of action, is often material as preventing the acquisition of a right, for which good faith is a necessary condition. Also a combination or conspiracy by two or more persons to defraud gives rise to liabilities not very clearly or completely defined.

FRAUENBURG, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Prussia, on the Frische Haff, at the mouth of the Bande, 41 m. S.W. from Königsberg on the railway to Elbing. Pop. 2500. The cathedral (founded 1329), with six towers, stands on a commanding eminence adjoining the town and surrounded by castellated walls and bastions. This is known as Dom-Frauenburg, and is the seat of the Roman Catholic bishop of Ermeland. Within the cathedral is a monument to the astronomer Copernicus bearing the inscription Astronomo celeberrimo, cujus nomen et gloria utrumque implevit orbem. There is a small port with inconsiderable trade. Frauenburg was founded in 1287 and received the rights of a town in 1310.

FRAUENFELD, the capital of the Swiss canton of Thurgau, 27 m. by rail N.E. of Zürich or 14 m. W. of Romanshorn. It is built on the Murg stream a little above its junction with the Thur. It is a prosperous commercial town, being situated at the meeting point of several routes, while it possesses several industrial establishments, chiefly concerned with different branches of the iron trade. In 1900 its population (including the neighbouring villages) was 7761, mainly German-speaking, while there were 5563 Protestants to 2188 Romanists. Frauenfeld is the artillery depôt for North-East Switzerland. The upper town is the older part, and centres round the castle, of which the tower dates from the 10th century, though the rest is of a later period. Both stood on land belonging to the abbot of Reichenau, who, with the count of Kyburg, founded the town, which is first mentioned in 1255. The abbot retained all manorial rights till 1803, while the political powers of the Kyburgers (who were the “protectors” of Reichenau) passed to the Habsburgs in 1273, and were seized by the Swiss in 1460 with the rest of the Thurgau. In 1712 the town succeeded Baden in Aargau as the meeting-place of the Federal Diet, and continued to be the capital of the Confederation till its transformation in 1798. In 1799 it was successively occupied by the Austrians and the French. The old Capuchin convent (1591–1848) is now occupied as a vicarage by the Romanist priest.

FRAUENLOB, the name by which, a German poet of the 13th century, is generally known. He seems to have acquired the sobriquet because in a famous Liederstreit with his rival Regenbogen he defended the use of the word Frau (i.e. frouwe, = lady) instead of Weib (wîp = woman). Frauenlob was born about 1250 of a humble burgher family. His youth was spent in straitened circumstances, but he gradually acquired a reputation as a singer at the various courts of the German princes. In 1278 we find him with Rudolph I. in the Marchfeld, in 1286 he was at Prague at the knighting of Wenceslaus (Wenzel) II., and in 1311 he was present at a knightly festival celebrated by Waldemar of Brandenburg before Rostock. After this he settled in Mainz, and there according to the popular account, founded the first school of s (q.v.). He died in 1318, and was buried in the cloisters of the cathedral at