Liber Pontificalis, seu de gestis Romanorum pontificum. A work of the 15th century, of great value to the student of early Christian art work, and in particular of textiles and embroidery.
Libra, R. (1) A balance with two scales (lanx), depending by chains from the ends of the beam (jugum); in the centre of the latter was a handle (ansa). (2) The As or pound; the unit of weight. (See As.)
Libretto, It. The words of an opera, oratorio, &c.
Librile, R. (libra). A term denoting the ends of the beam (jugum) in a balance, and thence the balance itself; it is thus synonymous with Libra (q.v.).
Liburna, Liburnica, R. A vessel of war so called from the fact that it was built on a model invented by the Illyrian pirates, or Liburni.
Lichanos, Gr. (forefinger string). The note below the Mese of the seven-stringed lyre. (See Mese.)
Lich-gate. A shed over the gate of a churchyard to rest the corpse under. (See Corpse-gate.) (Fig. [197].)
Lich-stone—near a churchyard gate, for resting coffins on—is generally raised about three feet from the ground, shaped like a coffin, and has stone benches round it for the bearers to rest upon.
Liciæ, Med. Lat. (Fr. lices), from the Italian lizza, palings. The lists; an enclosed space surrounding a camp or castle.
Licium, R. A leash, or thick thread, employed to divide in two a set of threads in a warp, in order to allow the shuttle to pass through them. By analogy, any kind of thread or cord used for fastening.