A system of election in France by which all the deputies for a Department are elected en bloc. It was in force in 1848 and again in 1871, while an unsuccessful attempt to reintroduce it was made in 1881. It is also the system prevailing in Italy.
Scullabogue, Massacre of.
The massacre by the Irish Rebels in 1798 of nearly 200 Protestant prisoners. They were shut up in a barn, and after the defeat of the rebels at New Ross, the barn was fired and they were burnt to death, or piked as they attempted to escape.
Scutage.
A money payment exacted from knights in lieu of personal service. The first instance of it occurs in the reign of Henry II. It enabled the king to hire mercenaries for his foreign wars, and to dispense with the services of his barons, and came to be regarded as a regular source of revenue. The right of the sovereign to exact it, however, was greatly restricted by Magna Charta. It was also known as escuage.
Sea-dogs.
English privateers in the early days of Elizabeth, who preyed on French commerce in the Channel, sailing under letters of marque granted by Condé and the Huguenots. When the differences between the Huguenots and Catholics were adjusted and the letters of marque withdrawn, they joined the Dutch “Beggars of the Sea” in their raids upon the Spaniards.
Sealed Knot.
A small band of Royalists formed as a secret committee to manage the affairs of the party in 1657. One of their number, Willis, was in the pay of Cromwell, who was thereby enabled to counteract their numerous plots for his destruction.