Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/816

* XIMENA. 694 X-BAYS. XIMENA, Span. pron. He-ma'na. The wife of the Cid in Spanish legend. In Corneille's tragedy she is known as Xim6ne. XIMENA, or The Heeoick Daughter. A tragedy by Colley Gibber, first acted at Drury Lane December 28, 1712, revived November 1, 17 IS. and printed in the latter year. It is large- ly drawn from Corneille's he Cid and represents the dilemma of the heroine in choosing between love and family honor. XIMENES, .S'p. pron. ne-ma'n.TS, Francisco (1430-1.517). A Spanish prelate and statesman, born at Torrelaguna in Castile. He was educated at Alcalfl. Salamanca, and Rome, where he prac- ticed as an advocate in the Papal courts. He ob- tained from the Pope a benefice near his native place, but the Archbishop of Toledo refused to recognize the Papal jurisdiction, and im- prisoned Ximenes for a number of years. In 1480 he was named vicar-general of Car- dinal Mendoza at Siguenza, but gave up his preferment, and entered the Franciscan Order in 1482. His reputation for piety and learning led Queen Isabella to choose him, in 1492, for her confessor, and three years afterwards to name him Archbishop of Toledo — a dignity which he refused to accept until he received an express command from the Pope. He continued as arch- bishop the life of mortification and austerity which he had practiced in his monastery, and he applied to purposes of religion, charity, and pub- lic utility the whole of the princely revenues of his see. As confessor and confidential adviser of the Queen, Ximenes, during the lifetime of Isabella, was the guiding spirit of Spanish af- fairs, and on her death in 1504 he held the balance in the Kingdom of Castile between the parties of Ferdinand and Philip of Burgundy, husband of .Joanna, the heiress of the crown. On the death of Philip in 1506, Ximenes was ap- pointed Regent of Castile, in consequence of the incapacity of .Joanna and the alisence of Ferdi- nand in Italy, and conducted the affairs of the kingdom through a most critical time with consummate skill and success. In 1507 he was created cardinal and Grand Inquisitor. He or- ganized, at his own expense, and himself accom- panied as commander, an expedition consisting of 10.000 foot and 4000 horse, for the conquest of Oran. on the .-frican coast (1509). Fcidinand died in .January. 1516, and on his deathbed named Ximenes Regent of Spain till the arrival of his grandson Charles. Charles arrived in 1517, but Ximenes was treated coldly by the new mon- arch. He died at Roa on November 8, 1517. Ximenes was an able statesman and adminis- trator. The social and political revolution which he efTeeted in breaking down the feudal power of the nolilcs has often been compared with the analogous change wrought in France by Richelieu. He was a munificent patron of religion, of letters, and of art. The celebrated Complutensian Polyglot Bible (q.v.) was printed under his own supervision at .Mcali'i. The I'niversity of .-McalA was his especial care and he was practically its founder. Consult: F'V'chier. fli.ilnirr (hi rnrdinnl Ximrnen (.Am- sterdam, 1693): Hcfele. f)pr Kardinnl Ximrnca und flic kirchlichen Zu.^tiindc .S'pnn'cn.w nm Ende den Mi. und .Anfnnfj des 16. Jnhrhundrrt.i (2d cd., Tubingen, 18C1 ) ; Prcscott, Ferdinand and Isabella; Barrett, Life of Cardinal Ximenes (London, 1813). XIMENES (JIMINEZ) DE QUESADA, da ka-sa'ua, (jo.NZALo ie.l.500-c. 15791. . Spanish adventurer, born in Granada. He came to South America in 1535 as judge of the Province of Santa ilarta. Two years afterwards he led an expedi- tion against the Chibeha Indians, and at the head of 800 men, after great hardships, captured the cities of Iraca .and Tunja in New Granada, found a large amount of treasure, and broke the power of the Chibehas. He founded the city of Bogota in 1538, visited Spain the next year, and received the title of marshal, but was refused the Govern- ment of New Granada, and returned to South America. Later he went in search of El Dorado. In 1572 he foimded Santa Agueda, where he died, probably in 1579. XINCA, Henl^a. A Central American tribe of distinct linguistic stock occupying the coast region and valley of Rio de los Esclavos, in southeastern Guatemala. They are of a low grade of culture and appear to have occupied central Guatemala before the coming of the Quiche (q.v.) and Cakchiquel (q.v.), by whom they were pressed southward. They were con- quered in 1524 by Alvarado, who found them living in populous villages with houses built of wood. XINGU, shen-goo'. A large tributary of the Amazon. It is formed by a number of head- streams on the plateau ridge which forms the watershed between the Amazon and tlu? Paraguay, in the State of JIatto Grosso, Brazil (Map: Brazil, G 4). Thence it flows in a winding north- ward course of about 1100 miles till it joins the Amazon at the head of the estuary. The river is interrupted by a number of impassable falls and rapids, the last occurring about 110 miles above its mouth. Near its mouth the Xingd expands into a lake-like sheet of water, whence it communicates with the Amazon and its estuary, as well as with the estuary of the Tocan- tins, through a vast network of channels and backwaters. The Xingv'i flows through a practi- cally unexplored and unsettled forest region in- habited only by savages, and the river itself was almost unknown until it was descended by Von den Steinen in 1884. XIPHOSTJRA (Neo-Lat. nom. pi., from Gk. J(0os. .!i///io.s sAVord + otrpi. owra. tail). That division of the Merostomata which contains tlic modern representatives of this almost wholly Paleozoic group, namely the genns Limulus. See Mero.stomata, and King-Crab, and consult the authorities there cited. XISUTHBUS, zf-zoo'thrus (Lat., from Gk. Sitrouftios, Xi.iouihros) . The hero of the deluge according to the fragments of the Babylonian his- tory of Berosus (q.v.). He is said to liave been the tenth and last king of the first Baliylonian dynasty, which reigned for a period of 432,000 years; the names of the ten rulers bear some resemblance to those of the ten antediluvian patriarchs, ending with Noah, in Genesis v. See Deuge: Noah. X-RAYS. .V radiation proceeding out from the interior of a highly exhausted glass bulb through which a discharge of electricity is taking place. This radiation was discovered in 1895 by