Among corruptions of the names of birds it will be sufficient to mention the Widow-bird, properly the Whydaw-bird, after the territory in Africa of which it is a native; the Martin, from the Latin murustenco, or wall-swallow, shortened into murten, and mispronounced marten; and the Muscovy Duck, which, so far from claiming a Muscovite origin, is merely a musk duck, a species somewhat larger than our common duck.
The Swift derives its name from its rapid flight; the Passenger-pigeon, from its migratory habits; the Skylark, from mounting to the sky and singing as it flies; and the Chaffinch, from its preference for chaff above every other kind of food. The Diver is remarkable for its habit of diving; the Sandpiper inhabits the sea-beach; and the Chimney-swallow builds his nest in an ordinary house chimney. The Horn-bill, the Boat-bill, the Spoon-bill, and the Duck-bill are respectively so named on account of the resemblance of their bills to the articles, and in the last-mentioned case to the bird, indicated; while the Cross-bill has its mandibles crossed in opposite directions. The Pouter-pigeon is so called from the pouting, or bulging out, of its breast; the Ring-dove, from the white ring around its neck; and the Wryneck, from the curious manner in which it turns its neck over its shoulder when surprised. The Woodcock is found in the underwood of a forest, while the Woodpecker pecks holes in the bark of trees in search for insects.
Chief among the birds which derive their names from the countries to which they originally belonged are the Guinea-fowl, brought from Guinea, West Africa; the Brahma-fowl, from the neighbourhood of the Brahmapootra River in India; the Bantam, from Bantam in Java; the Barb, from Barbary, and the Turkey, which, although an American bird, was long believed to have been imported from European Turkey. Another native of North America received its name of the Baltimore-bird from the fact that its colours corresponded with those which occurred in the arms of Lord Baltimore, the Governor of Maryland, in which State it principally abounds. The Canary was first brought from the Canary Islands in 1500. The Petrel, a sea-bird usually associated with storms, expresses the Anglicized form of the Italian petrillo, a diminutive of Peter, in allusion to St. Peter walking on the sea, and the frequent appearance of this bird standing as it were on the surface of the water.
RELIGIOUS ORDERS.
Strictly speaking, the members of the various Religious Orders, in this country at least, are not Monks, but Friars. Only those who live completely isolated from the rest of mankind, as did St. Anthony, are entitled to the former designation, which, in common with the term Monastery, comes from the Greek monos, alone. Consequently, a Religious House is incorrectly described as a Monastery unless each individual within its walls occupies a separate cell, both by night and by day, and never suffers himself to have the least communion with his neighbour. Failing compliance with such a rule, the term Convent, derived from the Latin con, together, and venire, to come, is more fittingly applicable. This designation, however, is now borne by an institution reserved for a community of Nuns, so called from the Italian nonna, a grandmother, because they originally comprised only very aged women; albeit it was formerly the custom to speak of Monasteries and Convents without discrimination. An Abbey always indicated a Religious House in connection with a Church, as, for example, Westminster Abbey, the abode of the community attached to the West Minster, presided over by an Abbot, so styled in accordance with the Syriac and Latin abba, a father, or, in the case of a female community, by an Abbess; whereas a Priory denoted a lesser or branch establishment placed at some distance from the Abbey, and controlled by a Prior (or Prioress), signifying one who had a prior claim over the rest to the office of Abbot (or Abbess) in the original community.
A Friar, on the other hand, is—conformably to the Latin fratre and the French frère, a brother—what the term implies, viz., one of a brotherhood. In olden times there existed four distinct and powerful Orders of Friars. These were the Dominicans, founded by St. Dominic to preach away the Albigensian heresies, also known as the Black Friars, on account of their black habits, and in France as the Jacobins, because their first convent was situated in the Rue St. Jacques, Paris; the Franciscans, or Grey Friars, named after St. Francis d’Assissi; the Carmelites, or White Friars of Mount Carmel; and the Augustines, or Austin Friars, whose origin is ascribed to St. Augustin or Austin, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, who died in 605. Eventually a fifth Order, styled the Trinitarians, or Friars of the Holy Trinity, otherwise the Crutched Friars, so called from the cross (Latin cruciati, crossed) embroidered on their habit, came into existence.
Referring to the Franciscans, those who conformed to the austere rules laid down by their founder were denominated Observant Friars, while those who, as time wore on, began to live in convents and coveted lands, chapels, and books, received the name of Conventional Friars. Out of the Franciscans there have sprung two lesser Orders, so to speak, chiefly distinguished by a slight change in the details appertaining to the habit worn by them. These are the Capuchins, so called from the capuce, or pointed cowl, that they wear, and the Cordeliers, from the knotted cord which encircles their waist in place of a girdle. In effect, however, these two offshoots of the Franciscans are the same, and subject to the like rules, as the parent institution.
Having disposed of the Friars, let us now turn to the Monks properly so called. Originally the sole existing order of monks was that of the Benedictines as established by St. Benedict, who introduced the monastic system into Western Europe in the year 529. No less than twelve large Monasteries were raised by him before he died; but notwithstanding the austere rules which obtained among the Benedictines, these were yet considered too lax by some individual members of the Order, with the result that first one and then another “Reformed Order” sprang into existence, the latest being in each case distinguished for a still more rigorous rule than that of its immediate predecessor. Thus, we now have the Carthusians, our English designation for the monks of La Chartreuse near Grenoble, by whom the celebrated liqueur known as Chartreuse is prepared; the Cistercians, or monks of Citeau; and the Cluniacs, or monks of Cluny, respectively named after the vicinity of their original monastery in France; while the Bernardines received their title from St. Bernard, who founded the famous Hospice of Mont St. Bernard in the year 962. From the Carthusians, also, there have sprung the Basilians founded by St. Basil, and from the Cistercians, the Trappists, or monks of La Trappe, originally established in the French district so denominated.