Fig. 18. The ambo of St. Lawrence at Rome.
Ambo, Chr. (perhaps from ἀναβαίνειν, to ascend). A tribune of stone or marble in the ancient Latin basilicas, a pulpit. Fig. [18] gives a representation of the ambo in the church of St. Lawrence without the walls at Rome.
Ambrices, R. The cross laths (regulæ) inserted between the rafters and the tiles of a roof.
Ambry; see Almery.
Ambulant, Her. In the act of walking.
Ambulatory, Chr. (ambulo, to walk). Part of a cloister, forming a kind of gallery for taking exercise in.
Amenti or Amenthi, Egyp. One of the names given to the nether world of the Egyptians. It means the unseen region. We learn from Plutarch’s treatise on Osiris that, “the subterranean regions whither souls betake themselves after death is called Amenthes.” Osiris is the lord and god of Amenti, which was also called by the Egyptians the country of truth.
Amentum, R. A thong attached to the shaft of a lance at the centre of gravity. The soldier placed the fingers of his right hand between the two ends of the thong, gave the weapon a rapid turn, and then hurled it. Amentum was also used to denote the leather strap by which certain kinds of boots, such as the crepidæ, solæ, &c., were fastened above the instep.
Amess. (See Almuce.)
Amethyst, (ἀμέθυστος, without intoxication.) A precious stone of a more or less deep violet colour. The engravers of antiquity carved figures upon it, in especial those of Bacchus, since the stone was also used, in preference to any other, for making drinking-cups, from a belief that it possessed the virtue of dispelling intoxication. This was the origin of the Greek term. Among the ancient Jews the amethyst was one of the twelve stones composing the breastplate of the high priest; it occupied the eighth or ninth row. In Christian symbolism the amethyst (or the colour violet) signifies humility and modesty.