An Illustrated Dictionary of Words used in Art and Archaeology / Explaining terms frequently used in works on architecture, arms, bronzes, Christian art, colour, costume, decoration, devices, emblems, heraldry, lace, personal ornaments, pottery, painting, sculpture, &c., with their derivations.

by John W. Mollett

F.

Fabaria, R. Offerings of bean-flour (faba) made by the Romans on the 1st of June to the goddess Carna; from these offerings the calends of June took the name of fabariæ.

Fabatarium, R. A large earthenware vessel in which bean-flour (puls fabacia) was served, boiled up with water or broth. It formed a kind of polenta.

Fabrica, R. (faber, an artisan). The shop in which an artisan works, chiefly a joiner’s or carpenter’s shop.

Fabrilia, R. A general term, including all the different kinds of tools used by an artisan.

Façade, Arch. The face or front of a building.

Face-guard. On a helmet, a bar or bars of iron protecting the face.

Face-painting, O. E. Portrait painting.

Facets (Fr. facette, a little face). The flat surfaces cut upon precious stones.

Facial Angle. The angle formed by two lines, one horizontal from the nostrils to the ear, the other perpendicular from the nostrils to the forehead.

Fac-simile (from Latin factum, made, and simile, like). A perfectly exact copy.

Factorium (sc. vas), R. A vessel containing exactly a factum, or quantity of grapes or olives proper to be placed under the press (torcular) at one factum or making.

Faculæ, R. Little torches.

Fig. 301. Faenza sweetmeat-dish.

Faenza. A manufacture of pottery considered by some writers to be the most ancient in Italy. Garzoni, writing in 1485, says, “The majolicas of F. are white and polished, and one can no more confound them with those of Treviso, than one would take puff-balls for truffles.” Vincenzo Lazari says they are distinguished by the softness of the tints, the correctness of the drawing, and the whiteness of the enamel at the back. For a long and interesting account of this most important botega, see Jacquemart, Hist. of the Ceramic Art. The name of Fayence is derived from Faenza, and not from the little town of Fayence in France. (Fig. [301].)

Faience. (See Fayence.)

Fairy Butter, O. E. (1) A fungous excrescence about the roots of trees, and (2) a species of tremella found on furze and broom are so called.

Fairy Circles. Circles of coarse green grass common in meadows, and attributed to the dancing of the fairies.

Fairy Dances = Fairy Circles (q.v.).

Fairy Darts. Small flints in the form of arrow-heads, possibly of the stone age.

Fairy Faces. Fossil echini or sea-urchins.

Fairy Groats. A country name for certain old coins. (See Harrison’s England, p. 218.)

Fairy Loaves. Fossils found in the chalk, called also fairy faces.

Fairy Money. Treasure trove was so called.

Fairy Pipes. Small old tobacco-pipes, frequently found in the north of England.

Fairy Rings. (See Fairy Circles.)

Fairy Sparks. Phosphoric light seen on various substances in the night time. (Halliwell.)

Fairy Stones. (See Fairy Loaves.)

Faith, in Christian art, is represented by a female figure holding the Eucharistic cup.

Fala, R. A wooden tower used in the siege of a fortified place, but the exact form of which is unknown; it differed from the Acrobaticon.

Falarica or Phalarica, R. A heavy spear, used by the Saguntines, which was generally discharged from a balista. Its shaft was sometimes enveloped with sulphur and resin, and with tow steeped in oil; and it was launched blazing against wooden towers for the purpose of setting them on fire.

Falbala. (See Furbelow.)

Falcastrum, R. (falx, a sickle). An agricultural tool with a curved blade for tearing up weeds.

Falcatus, R. Furnished with scythes (falces). (See Currus.)

Falchion. A broadsword, spelt “fawchon;” 14th century. (See Falx.)

Falcicula. Dimin. of falx.

Falcon, in mediæval art, is the attribute of a gentleman, in allusion to the restrictions of the sumptuary laws.

Falcula. Dimin. of falx.

Faldestol, O. E. An elbow-chair of state; modern “fauteuil.” (See Faldstool.)

Falding (A.S. feald). A kind of coarse cloth, like frieze.

Faldstool, Faldistory, O. E. A folding-stool, like a modern camp-stool, used in cathedral church services in Saxon times.

Fall or Falling-band. A large collar falling on to the shoulders; 16th and 17th centuries. (See Bands.)

Fallals, O. E. The falling ruffs of a woman’s dress.

False, Her. Said of any charge when its central area is removed; thus an annulet is a “false roundle.”

False Roof, Arch. The space between the ceiling of the garret and the roof.

Falx, R. A scythe, sickle, bill-hook, &c.; any instrument with a curved edge used for cutting grass, wood, or other objects. There were many different kinds, which were called respectively arboraria and sylvatica, denticulata, fænaria or veruculata, vinitoria, vineatica, and putatoria. The term falx was also applied to a falchion strongly curved at the end. Falx supina was a dagger with a keen and curved blade; falx muralis was an instrument employed in warfare, both by sea and land, either to cut the masts and rigging of a vessel, or to sweep the ramparts clear of defenders. [Culter is a knife with one straight edge; falx, one with the edge curved. Hence our falchion, &c.]

Familia, Med. Lat. An old term for a set of chessmen. Among the jewels in the wardrobe-book of Edward I. occur “una familia de ebore, pro ludendo ad scaccarium,” and “una familia pro scaccario de jaspide et crystallo.”

Fig. 302. Feather Fan—Italian.

Fan, Egyp. With the Egyptians, the fan of ostrich feathers for brushing away flies was looked upon as the insignia of princes and chieftains; the flabellum or umbellum (parasol) was carried by inferior officers. Both kinds of fan are frequently represented on the sacred barges. The use of the fan was first introduced into England in the 16th century; they were first made of feathers with long handles of gold, silver, or ivory of elaborate workmanship, and sometimes inlaid with precious stones. The engraving shows one from a portrait of Queen Elizabeth. The Greeks and Romans had fans of various elegant materials, often of peacock’s feathers; sometimes of wings of birds, or of linen stretched on a frame. Italian fans, mediæval, were square flags, as in Fig. [303]. Folding fans were first introduced in the 17th century. Inventories of churches and monasteries of the 14th century include ecclesiastical fans or flabella. These are still used in the Catholic Church in the East. An illumination at Rouen represents the deacon raising the flabellum, a circular fan with a long handle, over the head of the priest at the altar. In the accounts of the churchwardens of Walberswick, Suffolk, of 1493, is the entry “for a bessume of pekok’s fethers, IVd.” (Figs. 302, 303.)

Fig. 303. Venetian lady, with a square fan of the 16th century.

Fan-crest, Her. An early form of decoration for the knightly helm.

Fandango. A Spanish dance.

Fane. (1) A vane or weathercock; “a fayne of a schipe,” i. e. a vane on the top of a mast. “Of sylver his maste, of golde his fane.” (2) Anglo-Saxon. A banner. (3) The white flower-de-luce. (Gerard.) (4) Enemies. (Halliwell.) (See also Fanum.)

Fanfare, Fr. A flourish of trumpets.

Fannel or Phannel, O. E. The Fanon (q.v.).

Fanon, Chr. The maniple or napkin worn by the priest at mass. It was originally nothing but a plain strip of linen worn on the left wrist. In later times it was highly decorated, and often made of the richest materials.

Fan-tao, Chinese. A fabulous peach-tree, which blossoms every 3000 years; represented on pottery as an attribute of Cheou-Lao, the god of longevity, who holds in his hand a fruit of it.

Fan-tracery. In Gothic architecture, elaborate carved work spread over an arched surface, like a fan with the handle resting on a corbel or stone bracket below.

Fanum, R. (fari, to speak); Eng. Fane. A term synonymous with Templum (q.v.), but implying also the idea of a place which had been consecrated by the solemn formula of the augurs. The fanum thus comprised not only the building itself, the temple, but also all the consecrated ground surrounding it [“locus liberatus et effatus.”]

Farrago, R. (i. e. made of far, spelt). Fodder for horses and cattle, consisting of the green ears of different kinds of grain.

Fig. 304. Farthingale of the time of Elizabeth.

Farthingale (Fr. vertugale) is first spoken of in 1547. It was a sort of cage made of whalebone worn under the petticoat, increasing the size of the hips. In Elizabeth’s reign it reached to a preposterous size, giving the wearer the appearance of “standing in a drum,” according to “Sir Roger de Coverley.” There were wheel-farthingales and tub-farthingales. Farthingales were worn during the reign of Charles I., but of more moderate dimensions; and in Charles II.’s reign the fashion vanished to reappear in the hoop of the 18th century. The engraving gives an example of a moderate farthingale. (Fig. [304].)

Fartura, R. (farcio, to stuff). The act of fattening poultry; and thence applied to a kind of structure, the centre of which was filled with rubble.

Fasces. (See Fascis.)

Fig. 305. Roman lictor carrying the fasces.

Fascia, R. Any strip of cloth used for a bandage; such as (1) the swathes (Gr. σπάργανον) in which newly-born children were wrapped; (2) a white band, or for women, a purple, worn as a diadem (DIADEMA); (3) (f. pectoralis) a bandage worn by young Roman girls to prevent excessive development of the breast; (4) (f. cruralis) a bandage wound closely round the leg from the ankle to the knee, &c.; these were adopted in Europe in the Middle Ages; (5) (f. pedulis, Gr. ποδεῖον) a sock; (6) see Zona. (7) In architecture the term fascia or facia is applied to three flat parallel bands of stone, introduced to break the monotony of architraves, more especially of the Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite Orders.

Fasciculus, R. (dimin. of fascis). A small bundle, or number of objects tied up into small bundles.

Fascina (fascinum = fascination). Amulets worn to avert the “evil eye.” “Nescio quis teneros oculus mihi fascinat agnos.” (Virgil.)

Fasciola (dimin. of fascia). A small bandage. (See Fascia.)

Fascis, R. A bundle; a small packet; a small faggot of wood, or fascine. In the plural fasces denoted the bundle of rods, with an axe in the middle, carried by the lictors before certain of the Roman magistrates. (See Fig. [305].) Fasces laureati were the fasces crowned with laurel leaves, which were carried before a victorious general; fasces versi, the reversed fasces, which were carried axe downwards, in token of mourning, at funerals. The fasces were carried by the lictors on their shoulders, as shown in Fig. [305]; and when an inferior magistrate met a superior one, the lictors of the former lowered their fasces to him; hence the expression submittere fasces, to yield or confess inferiority.

Faselus. (See Phaselus.)

Fasti, R. (fas, divine law). Archives or calendars engraved on stone or marble; they were of two kinds. (1) The fasti sacri or kalendares, a kind of almanack or calendar, setting out the dies fasti, or lawful days on which certain kinds of business might be transacted without impiety; also the religious festivals, &c. The calendars were entirely in the keeping of the priests. (2) The fasti annales or historici, which contained the names of the consuls and magistrates, and a short account of the most remarkable events. Some important lists of this kind of the time of Tiberius are preserved in the capitol at Rome, and called the Fasti Capitolini.

Fastigium, R. (fastigo, to raise to a point). The top of a pediment, and thence the entire pediment itself. In a building this term also signifies the ridge, or top of a roof whose two sides rise up to a point.

Faun (Lat. Faunus). A woodland god, frequently represented with sharp ears and with the feet of a goat.

Fauteau, Fr. A military engine used in the Middle Ages; it was a kind of battering-ram suspended in a tower. (See Aries.)

Faux, R. Any narrow passage, lobby, corridor, or entrance to a house, in especial the passage which formed the communication between two blocks of a house. In the plural, fauces, like carceres, denoted stalls or stables for horses. (See Carcer.)

Favissæ, R. Pits or cellars under a temple, in which all the furniture and sacred implements which had become unfit for use were kept.

Favour, O. E. A love-gift; a ribbon or glove, &c., worn on the crest of the favoured knight at a tournament, &c.

Favourite, O. E. A lock of hair: “a sort of modish lock, dangling on the temples.” (Ladies’ Dictionary, 1694.)

Favus, R. A flagstone or tablet of marble cut into a hexagon, like the cell of a honeycomb (favus), whence its name. [Pavements of this pattern were called Sectilia.]

Fax, R. A torch. This consisted either of pieces of wood joined together and steeped in resin, or a metal tube filled with inflammable materials, such as resin, pitch, tallow, tow impregnated with wax, &c. [The early evening was hence called prima fax, and as marriages were celebrated at that time of day, the torch was made an attribute of Hymen, and a symbol of marriage. The torch was also carried at funerals to fire the pile with.]

Fayence. Pottery.

Feather. In Christian art (German) an attribute of St. Barbara; it is generally a peacock’s feather. This refers to an old German version of her legend, which relates that when St. Barbara was scourged by her father, angels changed the rods into feathers.

Featherings, in Architecture, are lacelike ornaments along the edges of arcs in windows, canopies, &c.

Fig. 306. Ostrich feathers. (An escroll for a coronet.)

Feathers, Her. The feathers borne as crests and badges are generally those of the ostrich, sometimes of the swan, the turkey, and a few other birds. Fig. [306] is a representation of an early plume of ostrich feathers, as they are carved, with an escroll in place of a coronet, in the Abbey Church of St. Albans. From the time of the accession of the House of Stuart to the crown of the United Kingdom, the coroneted plume of three ostrich feathers appears to have been regarded, as it is at this present day, as the special badge of the Princes of Wales.

Februa, Februales, R. A festival in honour of the dead instituted by Numa; it was celebrated every year on the ides of February.

Feet. In Christian art the feet of Our Lord, also of angels and of the Apostles, should always be represented naked, without shoes or sandals. (Fairholt.)

Felt (Fr. feutre). A sort of coarse wool, or wool and hair. Felt hats were first made in England by Spaniards and Dutchmen, in the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII. Felt was also used for the stuffing of garments.

Feminalia or Femoralia, R. (femur, the thigh). Short breeches or a kind of drawers which reached from the waist to about the knee. [Worn by Augustus Cæsar, who was very susceptible to cold.]

Fendace (armour). The old name for the gorget.

Fenestella, Chr. (lit. a small window). A niche made in the wall of a church, near the altar, and containing the stone basin in which the priest poured away the water in which he had washed the chalice.

Fenestra, Window. Fenestra biforis is a Gemel-window, formed by a double bay. Fenestra was the name given to the hole pierced in the ears to receive the ear-rings, as also to the loop-holes made in the walls of a fortress.

Fenestration, Arch. A term which expresses the disposition and arrangement of all the windows in a house.

Fengite. Transparent alabaster used for glass in windows.

Ferculum, R. (fero, to carry). Contracted form of fericulum, a tray, and thence the dishes carried upon a tray; a course or remove. In a triumphal procession the term was applied to a platform for displaying an enemy’s spoils, a rich booty, images of the gods, &c.; or the ashes of the dead in a funeral.

Fig. 307. Silver Feretory or Reliquary, of good English work, for the most part in repoussé.

Feretory, Chr. (1) A richly ornamented shrine, often of solid gold and set with jewels, in which the relics of saints are carried in Roman Catholic processions. (2) The enclosure or chapel in which the shrine was kept.

Feretrum or Pheretrum, Gr, R., and Chr. (Lat. capulus). A bier; sometimes a shrine. The term was used at a period when coffins were uncommon; more properly the Feretory, 1 (q.v.).

Feriæ, R. Days of festival among the Romans; they were classed as follows: (1) Feriæ statæ or stativæ, which were held regularly on the days indicated in the calendar; these were the immovable festivals, such as the Agonalia, Carmentalia, Lupercalia, &c. (2) Feriæ conceptæ or conceptivæ, which were held every year, but at uncertain intervals; these were the movable festivals, such as the Latinæ, Sementivæ, Paganalia, and Compitalia. (3) Lastly, there were the feriæ imperativæ or official festivals, which were held by order of the dictators, consuls, or prætors. All feriæ were dies nefasti, on which lawsuits, political transactions, &c. were impious, and slaves were relieved of their labour. The feriæ Latinæ were the most important of all Roman festivals.

Fermail, Her. A buckle.

Ferr, Her. A horse-shoe.

Ferrara. A manufactory of majolica in North Italy, described by Jacquemart as “one of the most brilliant in Italy;” established by Alfonso I. with artists imported from Faenza, circa 1495. (Jacquemart.)

Ferrea Solea. A horse-shoe. (See Solea and Hipposandalium.)

Ferriterium. A prison for slaves. Synonym of Ergastulum (q.v.).

Ferula, R. The fennel; a plant with which children were beaten for slight faults, and thence a cane or stick with which slaves were chastised.

Fig. 308. Fesse.

Fesse, Her. One of the ordinaries. A broad band of metal or colour crossing the shield horizontally.

Fesse-point, Her. The central point of an escutcheon.

Fesse-wise, In Fesse, Her. Disposed in a horizontal line, side by side, across the centre of a field, and over the fesse-point of a shield.

Fig. 309. Festoon of foliage.

Festoon, Arch. Garland of flowers. (Fig., 309.) (See Encarpa.)

Festra, R. An abbreviation anciently employed for Fenestra (q.v.).

Festuca or Vindicta, R. The rod which the lictor held over the head of a slave during the ceremony of manumissio, by which he was given his freedom. (See Manumissio.)

Fetter-lock, Her. A shackle, padlock; a Yorkshire badge.

Fibrinæ (vestes), Fibrinæ (lanæ). (See Castoreæ.)

Fig. 310. Fibula. Gallic.

Fig. 311. Fibula. Gallic.

Fibula, Gen. (figo, to fix). (1) A clasp, buckle, or brooch; any contrivance made of gold, silver, bronze, ivory, &c., used for fastening male or female attire. (2) The buckle of a head-band (tænia, vitta). Figs. 310 and 311 represent buttons and clasps belonging to the Gaulish and Merovingian periods. [The girdles of the Franks and Saxons, found in English tombs, were usually ornamented most profusely. Not only were the buckles (fibulæ) of the richest workmanship, and conspicuous for size and decoration, but they are sometimes supplemented by enchased plates, or plates set with precious stones. (Roach Smith.)] (See Figs. [a]105] to [113].)

Fictile Ware, Keremania, R. (fingo, to mould). Any object made of terra-cotta or pottery, such as tiles, bricks, vases, &c. (See Pottery.)

Fiddle (A.S. fithele), or Viol, is represented in an Anglo-Saxon MS. of the 11th century, of a pear-shape, with four strings. The fiddle-bow probably originated in Hindustan, where the Hindus claim that the ravanastron was invented about 5000 years ago by Ravanon, a king of Ceylon. Almost identical with this is the Chinese fiddle called urheen, which has only two strings, and its body consists of a small block of wood, hollowed out and covered with a snake-skin. A German fiddle of the 9th century, called lyra, has only one string. In the Nibelungen Lied Volker is described as dexterous in playing the fiddle. Interesting representations of performers on the fiddle are painted on the roof of Peterborough Cathedral. They are attributed to the 12th century.

Fidelia, R. An earthenware vessel or jar used as a receptacle for cement.

Fides or Fidis, R. A general term comprising all stringed or gut instruments (from sphidé, catgut).

Fidicula, R. (dimin. of fides). A very fine catgut string, a treble-string. The plural fidiculæ denotes an instrument of torture for slaves, the form of which is unknown.

Field. In Numismatics, the surface of a coin on which objects were engraved; in Heraldry, the entire surface of a shield or banner.

Figure-paintings. Paintings of the human figure.

Fig. 312. Silver Filigree. Reliquary, belonging to Lord Hastings, said to have been dug up in the foundations of St. Paul’s, London.

Filagree, Filigree, or Filigraine (It. filigrana = filum and granum, or granular network; so called because the Italians, who first introduced this style of work, placed beads upon it. [Ure.]). This work is of gold or silver wire plaited and soldered into delicate arabesques and flower patterns. In the 15th century the Spanish Moors “made admirable chiselled, enamelled, and gilt work, and applied filigree work on the surface, a system kept up at Salamanca and Cordova to the present day.” The Eastern nations have always been famous for filigree work.

File, Her. A label (from the Latin filum, a narrow ribbon).

Filfot, called also the Gammadion. (See Fylfot.)

Filigree Glass. (See Glass.)

Fillet, Her. A diminutive of a chief.

Fillets, Gen. Strips of linen employed for various purposes. The victims which were conducted by priests to sacrifice were adorned with sacred fillets. Among the Egyptians fillets were employed to swathe mummies, the strips being repeatedly wound by the embalmers round the corpse, till it reassumed the appearance it had presented before being dried. (See Diadem, Fascia.) In Architecture, a small round or rectangular moulding which separates two others which are larger and more prominent; the fillet also separates the flutings of columns. (See Tænia.)

Fimbria, R. The border or fringe of a cloth or garment. [These were more common among the Egyptians and Assyrians than the Greeks and Romans, and are mentioned in the Bible.]

Fig. 313. Cross fimbriated.

Fimbriated, Her. Bordered; the border (which is narrow) lying in the same plane with the object bordered. (Fig. [313].)

Fig. 314. Finial.

Finial. In Gothic architecture, an ornament of carved work representing foliage, on the apex of a spire or pinnacle. (See Crocket.) (Fig. [314].)

Fir-cone upon a stem was the form of vases special to the majolica manufactory of Deruba; “a form,” says Jacquemart, “quite special to that manufactory, and directly imitated from the extreme East and from Asia Minor.”

Fire. Flames of fire placed near St. Anthony signify his spiritual aid as patron saint against fire in all shapes, in the next world and in this. Tongues of fire are, of course, depicted on the heads of the Apostles, in representations of the Day of Pentecost.

Fire-dog. (See Andiron.)

Fire-lock. The musket fired by flint and steel, invented in France about the year 1630. (See Match-lock.)

Fire-stommer, O. E. A poker.

Fiscus, R. A wicker-work basket used for gardening purposes, especially for gathering in the olive and grape crops. The Romans also made use of this basket for transporting sums of money; hence fiscus came to mean a moneychest, and was the name given to that part of the revenue which was applied to the civil list of the emperors [opposed to ærarium, the property of the senate]; but at last the word was used to signify generally the property of the state.

Fish. In Christian art, the symbol of water and the rite of baptism. (See Acrostic and Vesica Piscis.)

Fistuca, R. A pavior’s ram or beetle; a wooden bar or pile used to consolidate floorings, masonry, and pavements.

Fistula, R. (1) A water-pipe of lead or earthenware. (2) A writing-pen made of reed, and thence a Pan’s pipe. (3) A rolling-pin for making pastry. (4) A probe. (5) A machine for bruising corn, which was called fistula farraria.

Fitch. The best of paint-brushes are made of the hair of the fitch or polecat. They are black, elastic, and firm though soft. They are made flat or round, and are used also for varnishing.

Fitchée, Her. Pointed at the base.

Flabelliform, Arch. (flabellum). Fan-shaped. The term is usually applied to an ornament composed of leaves and palms, which is of frequent occurrence on Romano-Byzantine monuments.

Flabellum, Gen. (flo, to blow). A fan. (See Fan.)

Flagellum, Gen. (flagrum). A whip or scourge made with thongs of leather, especially thongs of the ox’s hide, or twisted or knotted cords, &c., used in antiquity for punishing slaves or culprits. It was a terrible weapon, and the lash was often knotted with bones, or heavy metal hooks to tear the flesh (scorpio). Gladiators used to fight in the arena with flagella.

Flagon. A vessel with a long neck covered at top, and a spout. The flagons of the 15th and 16th centuries are the best in design and ornamentation.

Flail. A weapon like a flail, of wood and iron armed with spikes, temp. Henry VIII.

Flake-white. So called from its form, in commerce, of flakes or scales. As a pigment it possesses great body, and enters largely into numerous compound tints. (Fairholt.) (See Carbonate of Lead.)

Flamboyant (style), Mod. The style of French architecture peculiar to the 15th century, so called because the mullions and tracery of the windows in the monuments belonging to that period are curved and twisted like the waving of flames. This style was contemporary with that called “the perpendicular” in England.

Flamen, R. A priest devoted to the service of any one god; e. g. Flamen Martialis, the priest of Mars. Their characteristic dress was the Apex, the Læna, and a laurel wreath.

Flaming Heart, in Christian symbolism, expresses fervent piety and love.

Flammeolum (dimin. of flammeum). A term denoting a texture much finer than that of the flammeum.

Flammeum, R. A bridal veil worn by the bride on the day of her marriage; it was of light gauze, and in colour of a vivid and brilliant yellow, like a flame; whence its name. It covered the lady from head to foot, and was removed by the bridegroom on their arrival home after the ceremony.

Flammula, R. A small flame; a small banner borne by light cavalry regiments; it was of a vivid and brilliant yellow colour, like the bridal flammeum; whence its name. (Modern Oriflamme, q.v.)

Flanches, Flasques, Her. Subordinaries.

Fig. 315. Flat-heads.

Flat-heads, Projecting-heads, Mod. An ornament peculiar to the Romano-Byzantine period, which decorates archivolts. Fig. [315] gives an example of flat-heads; Fig. [316] of projecting-heads.

Fig. 316. Projecting-heads.

Flaying-knife. An attribute of St. Bartholomew, signifying the manner of his martyrdom. In Croyland Abbey it was anciently the custom to present all members of the community with small flaying-knives on St. Bartholomew’s Day (Aug. 24).

Fig. 317. Old Flemish Lace.

Flemish Lace. Flanders and Italy dispute the invention of pillow lace. It is certain, however, that lace of home manufacture was worn in the 15th century in the Low Countries, and from that time to the present lace-making has formed a source of national wealth to Belgium. The engraving shows a fine specimen of old Flemish lace composed of six different designs joined together, commonly known as “Trolle Kant.” A similar lace is made in some of our own counties, and called “Trolly.” (Fig. [317].)

Fig. 318. “Cosse de Genest,” showing a Cross fleurettée.

Fleur-de-lis (Fr.), the royal insignia of France, was first adopted by Louis VII. (about A. D. 1137) semée, or scattered over the field. This shield is blazoned as “France Ancient.” On the occasion of his marriage, in 1234, St. Louis instituted the order of the “Cosse de Genest” (Fig. [318]), and, as an emblem of his humility, took for his badge the broom-flower with the motto Exaltat humiles. The collar of the order was composed of broom-flowers enamelled, intermixed with fleurs-de-lis. In the reign of Charles VI. four collars of the order of the Cosse de Genest were sent as presents to King Richard II. and his uncles the Dukes of Lancaster, Gloucester, and York. The fleur-de-lis entered the English insignia in 1275 with the marriage of Edmund with Blanche of Artois, and was erased on January 1, 1801.

Fleurettée, Her. Terminating in, or bordered with fleurs-de-lis, like the cross in Fig. [318].

Fleuron. A small full-blown rose placed in the centre of the abacus of the capital in certain orders of architecture.

Flexed, Her. Bowed, bent.

Flighted, Her. Feathered, as arrows are.

Flo, O. E. An arrow.

“Robin bent his joly bowe,

Therein he set a flo.”

(Wright’s Songs and Carols.)

Floralia, or Florales Ludi. A Roman festival in honour of Flora, said to have been instituted B.C. 238, to invoke the protection of the goddess upon the spring blossoms.

Florentine Fresco. A peculiar method of fresco-painting, by which the lime is kept moistened during the process.

Florentine Lake. (See Carminated Lakes.)

Florentine Mosaic. Inlaid-work in coloured stones, and precious stones combined into beautiful patterns.

Florid (style), Arch. This term, now disused, has been replaced by that of Flamboyant style (q.v.).

Florimontana. A literary society established at Annecy in 1606. They took for their device an orange tree, with the motto, “Flores, fructusque perennes.”

Fluor-spar or Derbyshire-spar. A mineral rock very common in Derbyshire, where it is made into ornaments, &c., with the lathe.

Flute, Gen. Said to have been invented by Apollo or Mercury. The simplest form of flute was made with an oat-stalk (avena) or a hollow reed (calamus); in the course of time it was made of ivory, bone, or the shin-bones of animals; whence its Latin name of Tibia (q.v.). The Greek flute (aulos) was held like a flageolet, and a vibrating reed was inserted into the mouthpiece. The single flute was called monaulos; the double one diaulos. A specimen of the last in the British Museum was found in a tomb at Athens. It is made of cedar, and the tubes, which are fifteen inches in length, have each a separate mouthpiece and six finger-holes, five of which are at the upper side, and one underneath. The flutes of the Etruscans were often of ivory; those used in religious ceremonies were of box-wood, ass’s bone, bronze, and silver. The Persian flute called “nay,” and the “surnay” a kind of oboe, are still popular in the East. In Mexico, the young man sacrificed to the god was taught to play the flute, and as he went to his death he broke a flute on each of the steps of the temple. The practice of making flutes of the bones of their enemies was common with many Indian tribes in America.

Fig. 319. Flutings.

Flutings or Flutes, Arch. Small semicircular indents or grooves cut perpendicularly, by way of ornament, in the shafts of columns and pilasters. Flutings may be either decorated or plain. When filled with a bead moulding, they are said to be cabled. Fig. [319] represents flutings decorated with leaves twined round a reed.

Fly, Her. The length and also the side of a flag furthest from the mast.

Fo, Chinese. (See Dog of Fo.) The “Hand of Fo” is a fragrant fruit, a kind of cédrat, generally styled the Chinese hand-plant, used to perfume apartments.

Focale, R. (fauces, the throat). A square piece of cloth which was wrapped round the neck, and covered the ears.

Fig. 320. Foculus.

Foculus, R. (dimin. of focus). A portable fireplace; a brazier or chafing-dish. (Fig. [320].)

Focus, R. The hearth or fireplace of a house, consecrated to the Lares or household gods.

Foil, in Architecture. (See Trefoil, Quatrefoil, &c.)

Fig. 321. Foliage of the Acanthus.

Foliage, Gen. Nearly every style of architecture has made use of foliage for purposes of ornamentation. In antiquity, the leaves of the acanthus, palm, laurel, olive, ivy, &c., were thus employed; the Romano-Byzantine, Byzantine, and Pointed styles utilized for the same purpose the vine, oak, cinquefoil, parsley, mahonia, mullein, thistle, &c. Foliage has been applied to the decoration of capitals, archivolts, bands, cornices, and friezes; and it has also been used to form Crockets (q.v.), crownings, pinnacles, &c. Architectural work thus enriched is said to be FOLIATED, and the ornament itself is called FOLIATION.

Fig. 322. Foliage on moulding.

Folliculus, R. A leather cap encircling the hole by which an oar protruded from a ship. The term is a diminutive of Follis (q.v.).

Follis, R. A small ball of leather inflated with air, which also went by the name of folliculus; used for a plaything.

Fong-hoang, Chinese. A fabulous bird which is immortal, lives in the highest regions of the air, and only approaches men to announce to them happy events and prosperous reigns. It is easily recognized (on pottery, &c.) by its carunculated head, its neck surrounded by silky feathers, and its tail partaking of the Argus pheasant and the peacock. (Jacquemart.)

Fig. 323. Pompeian fountain.

Fons, Fountain, Gen. In antiquity, natural springs and fountains were objects of religious worship. Fig. [323] represents a Pompeian fountain known as the Fountain of Abundance.

Fig. 324. Baptismal font (Romano-Byzantine).

Font, Chr. The vessel which contains the consecrated water used in the administration of baptism, by sprinkling or aspersion (Fig. [324]), introduced in lieu of the original mode of immersion (Fig. [325]). (Compare Piscina.)

Fig. 325. Early English Font.

Fig. 326. The Fontange Head-dress.

Fontange, Fr. “A modish head-dress,” deriving its name from Mademoiselle de Fontange, a lady of the court of Louis XIV., who invented it. (Fig. [326].)

Font-cloth, O. E. (1) The hanging with which the font was ornamented. (2) The Chrismale (q.v.).

Fools. In Church architecture and decoration, grotesque figures of men with fool’s cap and bells are frequently seen under the seats of choir-stalls and miserere seats. (See the article Obscœna.)

Foolscap. A fool’s cap was the device of the Italian society called the Granelleschi, formed at Venice in 1740 to oppose the corruption of the Italian language. A sheet of foolscap paper is 17 in. by 13½ in.

Forceps. Tongs or pincers, the attributes of some of the martyrs. (See Forfex.)

Foreshortening. The art of representing objects on a plane surface as they appear to the eye in perspective.

Fig. 327. Roman Forfex.

Fig. 328. Forfex.

Forfex, R. (1) Large scissors or shears used to cut hair or shear animals. (2) A clip, in the form of shears, for raising weights. (Fig. [327].) Fig. [328] represents a shears described by Vitruvius, which was used to raise stones.

Fori, R. This term, which is the plural of forus, denotes (1) the flooring of a ship; (2) the flooring of a bridge; (3) the standing-places on a temporary platform; (4) the shelves forming the divisions or different stories of a beehive; (5) the narrow parallel furrows drawn in a garden by means of the hoe.

Foricula. A little door. Dimin. of Foris (q.v.).

Foris, R. The door as distinguished from the frame in which it hung. In the plural, fores denotes a folding-door with two leaves, as, for instance, fores carceris, the door of the stalls in a circus.

Forks were not in general use earlier than the 14th century. One of the earliest occasions on which a fork is mentioned informs us that John, Duke of Brittany in 1306, had one “to pick up soppys.”

Forlon. A Spanish carriage with four seats.

Forma, R. (fero, to produce). A mould, form, or model; a mould for making bricks or other objects in clay, such as (1) antefixa, masks, &c.; (2) a shoemaker’s last; (3) the waterway of a subterranean aqueduct. Diminutive, Formella, R. A small shape or mould used especially by the Romans to give an artificial form to the fish which was served as one of the courses at dinner.

Fornacalia, R. A festival of bakers in honour of the goddess Fornax (oven-goddess). It took place in February, the day being given out by the curio maximus, who announced, in tablets which were placed in the forum, the part which each curia had to take in the festival. Those persons who did not know to which curia they belonged, performed the rites on the last day, called Stultorum feriæ (the feasts of fools).

Fornacula (dimin. of Fornax, q.v.). (1) A small furnace for smelting metals. (2) A small furnace for a bath-room.

Fornax, R. A furnace; an oven; a kiln for baking pottery: fornax calcaria, a lime-kiln; fornax æraria, a blast-furnace for smelting metals; fornax balnei, a hypocaust or bathfurnace; this was also called Fornacula (q.v.). Fornax is also the name of the goddess of ovens.

Fornix, R. A term having the same meaning as Arcus (q.v.). It also denotes (1) a triumphal arch (arcus triumphalis); (2) a vault or vaulted room; (3) a vaulted gate.

Forril. A kind of parchment, specially prepared for bookbinding.

Forulus, R. (dimin. of forus, a shelf). A cupboard, cabinet, or dwarf bookcase.

Fig. 329. Ground-plan of the Forum at Pompeii.

Forum, R. A large open space used by the Romans as a market; it answered to the Greek Agora (q.v.). Fig. [329] represents the forum civile of Pompeii, unquestionably one of the most complete examples bequeathed to us by antiquity. A is the principal entrance; B, a Corinthian temple; C, the public prison (carcer publicus); D is supposed to have been a horreum, or public granary; E, the temple of Venus, the guardian goddess of the city; F, the basilica; G, H, I, the curiæ, which were a kind of civil and commercial tribunals; K is a rectangular building which probably served the purpose of a shop for money-changers; L, a portico terminating in an absis; M, the temple of Mercury or Quirinus; N, a building with a large semicircular tribune, which probably formed the residence of the Augustales.

Forus. A synonym of Forum (q.v.). Forus aleatorius was the term applied to a dice-table.

Fossil Ivory. The tusks of the mammoth—the extinct elephas primigenius—found in great quantity in Siberia, are the material of which nearly all the ivory-turner’s work in Russia is made. The ivory has not undergone any petrifying change like other fossils, and is as well adapted for use as that procured from living species.

Fote (or Foot) Mantel. An outer garment of the petticoat kind, bound round the hips (of a woman on horseback) “to keep her gown or surcoat clean.” (Strutt.)

“A fote-mantel about hir hips large.” (Chaucer.)

Fountain, Her. A circular figure or ROUNDLE that is barry wavy arg. is so blazoned.

Fourchée, Her. Divided into two parts; said of a lion with a double tail.

Fraces, R. A kind of fuel made of the tan obtained from the residuum of oil-presses; it was thus the pulp of olives.

Frænum, Frenum, R. A horse’s bridle, including the bit and the reins. [The bit was called orea or Greek στόμιον.]

Framea, R. (1) A German spear, the iron head of which was short but very sharp; it was employed by them as a pike. (2) A weapon used by the Franks.

Francisca. A kind of battle-axe used by the Franks.

Frankfort Black. A German pigment prepared like blue black (q.v.).

French Ultramarine. (See Guimet’s Ultramarine.)

Fresco-Painting (i. e. al fresco, upon fresh or wet ground), generally employed for large pictures on walls and ceilings, is executed with mineral and earthy pigments upon a freshly-laid ground of stucco. It was known to the ancients, and must be distinguished from DISTEMPER PAINTING (q.v.) on plaster, which is a different process. “Buon (or genuine) fresco,” painted on the fresh surface of plaster, is distinguished from “fresco secco,” or a process of painting on dry plaster commonly practised in Italy and Munich. It is argued that the latter was the process used at Pompeii, and generally by the ancients, because (1) lime is found in nearly all the colours, and (2) the nature of the joinings in the work indicates that each compartment does not contain only one day’s work, as it must in buon fresco.

Fig. 330. Greek Fret.

Fig. 331. Greek Fret.

Fig. 332. Greek Fret.

Fret, Arch. An angular, interlaced architectural ornament of the Greek and Romano-Byzantine period, also known as broken batoon and Vitruvian scroll, and presenting some analogy with chevron or zigzag. There are crenelated or rectangular frets, triangular, nebulated, undulated frets, &c.

Fig. 333. Undulated Fret.

Fig. 334. Scroll Fret.

Fret, O. E. A caul of gold or silver wire.

“A fret of golde she had next her hair.” (Chaucer.)

Fig. 335. Badge of the Arundel family, with fret.

Fret or Frette, Her. One of the subordinaries. The illustration is one of the badges of the Arundel family: a chapeau or and gules, surmounted by a fret or, and an acorn leaved vert.

Frieze, Arch. That part of the entablature which is included between the architrave and the cornice. (See Fig. [184].) Another name for it is Zoophorus (q.v.). It was generally richly sculptured. The finest frieze ever found is that of the Parthenon, the ornamentation of which may be studied in the Elgin-marble room at the British Museum. (See Fig. [282].)

Frieze, Frize. A coarse woollen cloth, first mentioned 1399.

“Cloth of gold, do not despize

To match thyself with cloth of frize.

Cloth of frize, be not too bold,

Though thou be matched with cloth of gold.”

Frigidarium, R. (frigidus, cold). (1) A cool apartment in a bathing establishment. (2) A cool place used as a larder.

Frisquet. In wood-engraving, a piece of paper laid over the proof-paper in the act of printing, to keep clean the parts not intended to be exposed to the ink.

Fritillus, R. A dice-box of a cylindrical form, called also turricula or pyrgus (Greek φιμός).

Fig. 336. Frog. The device of Mæcenas.

Frog. An ancient emblem of silence and secrecy, from a legend quoted by Ælian that the frogs of Syriapha never croak in their own marshes. Hence it was adopted by Mæcenas, the friend of Augustus, for his device. (Fig. [336].)

Fig. 337. Frontale of a bridle.

Frontale, Gen. (frons, the forehead). (1) A frontlet or head-band worn by Greek women, and to be seen principally on the statues of goddesses. (2) A plate or band of metal placed across the forehead of horses (Fig. [337]) as a protection for the frontal bone. The Medes, Persians, Greeks, and Romans made use of the frontale for their cavalry horses. For the ecclesiastical Frontal, Mediæval, see Antependium. Henry III. gave a FRONTAL to the high altar at Westminster Abbey, upon which, besides carbuncles in golden settings, and several large pieces of enamel, were as many as 866 smaller pieces of enamel.

Frontispiece. In Architecture, the façade or face of a building. The engraved title-page of a book was originally called the frontispiece.

Frote, O. E. To rub; to stir.

Frountere, O. E. Frontal (q.v.).

Fucus, Gr. Cosmetic paint, much used by the Greek and Roman ladies. They stained their eyebrows black with a preparation of sulphuret of antimony called stimmi, or of soot, asbolos. The Roman ladies, in addition to rouge and white for the complexion, used to trace out the veins on their temples with a blue paint, and they wore the patches of Queen Anne’s time (splenia). “From beef without mustard, a servant which overvalues himself, and a woman which painteth,—good Lord deliver us!” (Stubbes.)

Fuller’s Bat or Club. Attribute of St. James the Less, who was killed with such an implement.

Fullonica, Fullonum, R. (fullo, a fuller). A fuller’s establishment. An example of one, in perfect preservation, is preserved at Pompeii. The fullones acted as laundrymen to Greek and Roman families, washing linen as well as woollen clothes by treading in tubs (using urine for soap, which was unknown to them); hence saltus fullonicus, a fuller’s dance.

Fulmen. The thunderbolt of Jove. (See also Illapa.) It is generally represented as a double cone of flame, with lightnings on each side, or frequently with wings.

Fumarium, R. (fumus, smoke). A chamber in the upper part of a Roman house, into which the smoke from the fires was conducted. The smoke-room was used for drying wood and ripening wine. The “Rauchkammer” or smoke attic is still a common institution in good houses in Germany.

Funale, R. (funis, a rope). A link or torch made of various materials.

Funalis or Funarius (sc. equus). The tracehorse, so called because its traces, instead of being of leather, were of rope (funis).

Funarius. (See Funalis.)

Funda, Sling, Gen. The sling has been employed by most of the peoples of antiquity as a weapon of warfare for hurling stones, chiefly flints or leaden bullets (glandes). The slings of the Egyptians were made of leather thongs or plaited cord. The funaitores, or slingers, of the Greek and Roman armies carried each a provision of stones in the folds (sinus) of his pallium, a shield on his left arm, and brandished his sling in the right hand. The most celebrated slingers were the inhabitants of the Balearic Islands, which took their ancient name from this circumstance.

Fig. 338. Fundibalus—Onager.

Fundibalus, Fundibalum, R. (βάλλω, to throw). A machine for hurling stones; a kind of balista (q.v.). (Fig. [338].)

Fig. 339. Street at Pompeii.

Fundula, R. A blind alley or cul-de-sac. Fig. [339] represents one of the kind at Pompeii.

Fundulus, R. The piston of a hydraulic machine.

Funeral Ceremonies. 1. Greek. The expressions τὰ δίκαια, νομιζόμενα, or προσήκοντα, the just and lawful rites, are expressive of the Greek idea that the proper burial of the dead was a most sacred duty to them. The first act was to place in the mouth of the corpse an obolus, with which the spirit would pay the ferryman in Hades. This coin was then called danaké. The body was then washed and anointed, the head crowned with flowers, and the handsomest robes put on. All this was done by the women of the family. By the side of the bed upon which the corpse was then laid (πρόθεσις) were placed painted earthen vessels (lecuthoi; see Lecythus), which were afterwards buried with the corpse. (These vases are frequently disinterred in modern excavations.) A honeycake (melittouta) to throw to the dog Cerberus was laid on the bed. Before the door a vessel of water (ostracon or ardalion) was set, to be used, like the holy water of Catholic times, by persons leaving the house, for purification. On the third day after death, the ecphora, or carrying out for burial, took place in the morning before sunrise. The men walked before the corpse, and the women behind. Hired mourners (threnodoi) accompanied the procession, playing mournful tunes on the flute. The bodies were either buried or burned, until cremation gave way to a Christian prejudice. The body was placed for burning on the top of a pyre (Gr. πῦρ, fire); and, in remote ages, animals, prisoners, or slaves were burned with it. Oils and perfumes were thrown into the flames. Finally, the smouldering ashes were quenched with wine, and relatives and friends collected what remained of the bones. The bones were then washed with wine and oil, and placed in urns, often golden.

2. Roman. Funera justa conveys the same idea as the Greek dicaia of the right and title of the dead to a proper observance. With the Romans, the washing, anointing, &c. of the body was done by slaves (pollinctores) of the undertakers, who were called libitinarii, because they dwelt near the temple of Venus Libitina, in which all things requisite for funerals were sold and a mortuary register was kept. The coin having been duly placed in the mouth, the body was laid out in the vestibule dressed, of ordinary citizens in a white toga, and of magistrates in their official robes, and the couch was strewn with flowers, and a branch of cypress was placed at the door of the house. All funerals were, in ancient times, performed at night, but afterwards only those of the poor. At a great funeral the corpse was carried out on the eighth day, preceded by musicians (cornicines, &c.) and mourning women (præficæ), who chanted a funeral hymn (nænia); players and buffoons (histriones, scurræ) followed, and a procession of the freed slaves wearing the cap of liberty (pileati). Images of the deceased and of his ancestors were borne before the corpse, which was carried on a litter (feretrum). The common bier of the poor was called sandapila, and its bearers vespillones, because they bore it forth in the evening (vespere). The couches of the rich were of ivory, richly ornamented with gold and purple. The relations walked behind in mourning, sons with the head veiled, and daughters with dishevelled hair. At the forum a funeral oration (laudatio) was delivered, and thence the procession went to the place of burial or cremation. Those who were buried (as all were subsequently to the 4th century A. D.) were placed in a coffin (arca or loculus), often of stone. The Assian stone, from Assos in Troas, was said to consume all the body, with the exception of the teeth, in forty days, whence it was called sarcophagus (q.v.). For cremation the pyre, or rogus, was built like an altar, and the corpse in its splendid couch being placed on the top, the nearest relation, with averted face, fired a corner of the pile. Perfumes were forbidden by the Twelve Tables. Sometimes animals were slaughtered, and in ancient times, captives and slaves, but afterwards gladiators were hired to fight round the blazing pile. (Compare Bustum.) When the pyre was burnt down, the embers were soaked with wine, and the bones and ashes collected into urns. (See Urna.) The solemnities continued for nine days after the funeral, at the end of which time a sacrifice was performed called the novemdiale. Men wore black for mourning, and women white; but at all banquets given in honour of the dead the guests were clothed in white.

Fig. 340. Covered urn of red pottery. Ohojepore.

Funeral Urns of Indian pottery are found of extremely ancient date. That represented in Fig. [340] is a covered jar, of primitive make, with an inscription in ancient characters; its date is probably from 260 to 240 B.C. (Jacquemart.)

Fur. Strutt says that “the furs of sables, beavers, foxes, cats, and lambs were used in England before the Conquest; to which were afterwards added those of ermines, squirrels, martens, rabbits, goats, and many other animals.” In the Middle Ages the more precious furs, as ermine and sable, were reserved for kings, knights, and the principal nobility of both sexes. Inferior ranks used “vair” and “gris,” or gray; while citizens, burgesses, and priests wore the common squirrel and lamb-skins. The peasants wore cat-skins, badger-skins, &c. In after times were added the skins of badgers, bears, beavers, deer, fitches, foxes, foynes (or martens), grays, hares, otters, sables, squirrels, weasels, wolves, &c. The mantles of our kings and peers, and the furred robes of municipal officers are the remains of this fashion, which in the 13th century was almost universal.

Fig. 341. Shield with Ermine.

Fur, Her. The furs are of comparatively rare appearance in heraldry, and do not appear in the best ages. Vair and ermine are common. In Fig. [341] is an example of the treatment of ermine from the monument of Edward III.

Furbelow, O. E. An ornament on the petticoat of a woman’s dress, described as a “puckered flounce,” to display which it became the fashion to roll back the skirts of the gown. “The Old Mode and the New, or the Country Miss with her Furbelow,” is the title of an old play, temp. William and Mary.

Furca, R. A fork with two teeth (bidens), or two prongs; a hay-fork: furca carnarii, a fork used for taking down the meat hung up in the carnarium. The term furca was further applied to a kind of fork by aid of which a foot-traveller carried his baggage, but the more usual name for this kind of fork was ærumna (q.v.). Also, a wooden fork placed for punishment across the shoulders of slaves and criminals, to the prongs of which the hands were tied. Reversed it formed a cross upon which criminals were executed, either by scourging or by crucifixion with nailing. The patibulum was a similar instrument of punishment formed like the letter H.

Furgon, O. E. (Fr. fourgon). A fork for putting faggots and sticks on to the fire.

Furnus, R. (1) A baker’s oven. (2) A baker’s shop. (See Fornax.)

Fuschan in Appules, O. E. Fustian of Naples. (See Fustian.)

Fuscina, R. (1) A fork with three prongs used for spearing fish. (2) The trident of the retiarius. Originally it was called tridens, and used as a goad to drive horses. Neptune always carries one.

Fuscinula (dimin. of Fuscina, q.v.). A carving-fork.

Fusée, Fr. A gun with a wide bore, like a blunderbuss.

Fusiform (fusus, a spindle). In the form of a spindle.

Fig. 342. Fusil. Device of Philip of Burgundy (D. 1467).

Fusil, Fr. The steel for striking fire from a flint; an ancient device of the Dukes of Burgundy, the motto inculcating the worthlessness of latent virtues never brought into action.

Fusi-yama. The sacred mountain of the Japanese, often depicted on their porcelain.

Fustian. “A species of cotton cloth much used by the Normans, particularly by the clergy, and appropriated to their chasubles.” (Strutt.) It was originally woven at Fustat, on the Nile, with a warp of linen thread, and a woof of thick cotton, so twilled and cut that it showed on one side a thick but low pile. In the 14th century Chaucer says of his knight,—

“Of fustian he wered a gepon.”

In the 15th century Naples was celebrated for fustian. An old English account of this date has “Fuschan in Appules” (for Fustian from Naples).

Fustibalum, R. A pole about four feet long, furnished with a sling (funda) in the middle. It was wielded by both hands, and was used to hurl huge stones to a distance.

Fusus (Gr. ἄτρακτος). A spindle. It was generally made of wood; but some nations, as for instance the Egyptians, had spindles of pottery.

Fygury, O. E. An old name for silks diapered with figures of flowers and fruit. A cope in the York fabric rolls is described “una capa de sateyn fygury.”

Fig. 343. Fylfot.

Fylfot or Filfot. This mysterious ornament exactly resembles the Hindu arani of remote antiquity, i. e. the instrument of wood by which fire was obtained by friction; which is the symbol of Agni. This symbol has never been lost, and occurs sixty times on an ancient Celtic funereal urn; also on monumental brasses and church embroidery of the Middle Ages. It is generally called the Gammadion.