Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/837

* EISLEBEN. 725 EJECTMENT. west-northwest of HiiUc (Map: Prussia, D 3). It is the centre of u rich mining district, ami consists of the old town, new town, and tliree suburbs. The town possesses great historic interest as the place where Martin Luther was born and died. The house in which he was born, i>artially de- stroyed by lire in ItiS9, was rebuilt through vol- untary contributions, and has been converted into a free school. The house in which he died has also been restored, and contains numerous relics. The Church of Saint Andrew contains Luther's pulpit, busts of Luther and Melanch- thon, and monuments of the counts of Mansfeld. In the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul are preserved the font in which Luther was bap- tized, his leather cap, and a fragment of his cloak. The town has a gT.'mnasium, founded by Luther shortly before his death. The chief in- dustry of Eisleben is the smelting of copper and silver, obtained from the mines in the vicinity. Population, in 1890, 23,04.3; in 1900, 23,900. Eisleben, known in the tenth century as Islebin, came into the possession of the counts of Jlans- feld in the twelfth century, to whom it belonged until the extinction of that line in 1780, when it passed to Saxonv, and later, in 1815. to Prussia. EISTEDDFOD, is-teo'vod (Welsh, from eistcdil, to sit + mod, circle). A Welsh word, meaning literally •sitting.' or 'session.' It is applied to the assemblies of bards and people, of which there are two sorts — the national or general body, and the provincial gatherings which take place in many parts of Wales, and even among the Welsh in the United States. The in- stitution is supposed to be of very ancient origin; but the eisteddfods traditionally ascriV»ed to the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries can hardly be deemed historic. In 1100 GrulTydd ap Cynan is supposed to have held a great national eistedd- fod at Caerwys, and in 1176 Lord Rhys is known to have held at his castle of Aberteifl a grand festival with musical competitions — the earliest eisteddfod of which we have any actual account. In the twelfth century, as Professor Rhys ob- serves, the eisteddfod appears to have been "a regularly constituted court, bearing all the marks of antiquity." Its function was to license bards and regulate their privileges. Again in the time of the Tudors we find the eisteddfod recognized as a tribunal of authority, and Queen Elizabeth in 1508 issued a commission for holding one. In the seventeenth century the eisteddfod seems to have fallen into abeyance, and it was not revived until the nineteenth. It has now become an institu- tion of prime importance for the intellectual life ni the Welsh people. The national gathering is held every year in North and South Wales alter- nately, and is attended by many thousands of people. Consult Rhys and BrynMor-.Jones. The Wehh People (London, 1900). The programmes of some recent eisteddfods have been published in y Ci/t'iinroflor. See Hards. EITELBEKGER VON EDELBERG, i'tel- bfrK'«"r ffin a'dcl-berK, Rudolf (1817-85). An Austrian art historian, horn at Olmiitz. He was made professor of the history of art at the University of Vienna in 1852, and took an active part in the founding of a School of Decorative .Arts and of the Museum of .Arts and Industries at Vienna. His works, critical and liistorical, have Hone much to stimulate the study of art and to promote the industrial arts in Austria. Among them are: Die Reform des Kunstunterrichts (1848); Mittelaltcrliche Kunstdenkmale des osterreichischen Ktiiserstaats (1858-60); and, in collaboration, Quellciischriften fiir Kunstgc- schichte iiiid Kiinsttcchnilc des ilittelallers uiid der licnaissance (1871-82). E'JA (Egypt.). The desert saw-viper. See Saw-Viper. EJECTMENT (from eject, from Lat. ejicere, to throw out, from <>, out + jacere, to throw). Action of. An action brought to recover posses- sion of land, and also to obtain damages for its being wrongfully withheld from the i)erson who brings the suit. This, in the conunon-law prac- tice, is the only surviving instance of a mixed action; that is, one ]iartaking in part of the na- ture of a real action for the recovery of the land, in part that of a jiersonal action for damages. The origin of the action is to be found in the old writ of eject io flrmw, or tcrmw (ejectment from a term of years), which (originally only an action in trespass, whereby a tenant for years could recover damages for an eviction or ouster) was so shaped as to entitle him to recover the possession of his lands. Being a simpler and more expeditious remedy than the various pos- _ sessory actions provided by the eonunon law, such a's the writ of novel ilisxcifiiii. and the like, for re- covering the possession of freehold lands, it came in process of time to be employed for this pur- pose in all cases of wrongful dispossession until it had completely superseded the more cumber- some remedies afforded by the common-law writs. The process of establishing title to real estate by this action was formerly — and still is. in some jurisdictions — a most intricate and serious one. As has been said above, the original action of ejectment was brought, not 'to recover the land itself, but to recover damages for the injury sus- tained on account of being deprived of the use of the land for a certain term. To maintain such an action the plaintiff was obliged to show: (1) Good title in the owner alleged; (2) a lease by him; (3) entry on the land by his lessee; (4) ovister from the land. But as, when it was de- sired to test the question of title, this state of facts very likely might not exist, and as common- law procedure had provided no other way of test- ing the title, a series of fictions was introduced into the case. In England this form of action of ejectment was abolished in 1852, though the name was still retained. By the judicature acts of 1875 actions for the recovery of land were placed on the same footing as other actions. *and what had been retained of the old common-law action was su- perseded by a siiii])lc and uniform method. Legis- lation to a similar elTect has been adopted in several of the United States; in others the action of ejectment is maintained in much the same condition in which it was left after the English act of 1852: in a very- few others the ancient form is still in use. The remedy given by an action of ejectment is one that may ordi- narily be used for the recovery only of corporeal property, not of incorporeal hereditaments, such as an easement or a profit i) ftrendrc. thoiigb there are a few instances of its use for the latter pur pose also; nor will such an action lie to recover personal property. .An action of ejectment may lie brought by any one wlio has the legal riglit to enter and possess the land, without regard to