“Over the midst of the said vault did lie a fair throwstone, and at each either side of the stone it was open, through which were cast the bones of the monks whose graves were opened for other monks to lie in; which vault was made to be a charnel-house to put dead men’s bones in.”
(Ancient Rites of Durham.)
Fig. 652. Thurible. An Arabic incense-burner in brass, inlaid with silver.
Thurible, Chr. An incense-burner. Generally of bronze. The practice of burning incense in religious functions is very ancient, and originated in the East. The illustration (Fig. [652]) is a beautiful specimen of Arabian work devoted to this object.
Thurles, O. E. (holes through the wall). The small windows of a house; 12th century.
Thyas or Thias, Gr. A Bacchante, the Greek equivalent for the Latin Baccha.
Thymela, Thymelê, Gr. (θυμέλη). (Literally, a place for sacrifice.) An altar placed in the orchestra of a Greek theatre and dedicated to Bacchus.
Thyroma, Gr. (θύρωμα). A synonym for the Latin Janua (q.v.).
Thyrsus, R. (θύρσος). A long staff, surmounted with a fir-cone, or a bunch of vine-leaves or ivy, with grapes or berries, carried by Bacchus, and the satyrs, mænads, and others, during the celebration of religious rites. Beneath the garland or fir-cone the thyrsus ends in the sharp point of a spear, a puncture from which induces madness.