FORMOSUS, pope from 891 to 896, the successor of Stephen V. (or VI.). He first appears in history when, as bishop of Porto, he was sent on an embassy to the Bulgarians. Having afterwards sided with a faction against John VIII., he was excommunicated, and compelled to take an oath never to return to Rome or again to assume his priestly functions. From this oath he was, however, absolved by Marinus, the successor of John VIII., and restored to his dignities; and on the death of Stephen V. in 891 he was chosen pope. At that time the Holy See was engaged in a struggle against the oppression of the princes of Spoleto, and a powerful party in Rome was eager to obtain the intervention of Arnulf, king of Germany, against these dangerous neighbours. Formosus himself shared this view; but he was forced to yield to circumstances and to consecrate as emperor Lambert, the young son of Guy of Spoleto. Guy had already been consecrated by Stephen V., and died in 894. In the following year Arnulf succeeded in seizing Rome, and Formosus crowned him emperor. But, as he was advancing on Spoleto against Lambert, Arnulf was seized with paralysis, and was forced to return to Germany. Overwhelmed with chagrin, Formosus died on the 4th of April 896. The discords in which he had been involved continued after his death. The validity of his acts was contested on the pretext that, having been originally bishop of Porto, he could not be a legitimate pope. The fundamental factor in these dissensions was the rivalry between the princes of Spoleto and the Carolingian house, represented by the king of Germany. The body of Formosus was disinterred in 897 by Stephen VI., and treated with contumely as that of a usurper of the papal throne; but Theodore II. restored it to Christian burial, and at a council presided over by John IX. the pontificate of Formosus was declared valid and all his acts confirmed.
(L. D.*)
FORMULA (Lat. diminutive of forma, shape, pattern, &c., especially used of rules of judicial procedure), in general, a stereotyped form of words to be used on stated occasions, for specific purposes, ceremonies, &c. In the sciences, the word usually denotes a symbolical statement of certain facts; for example, a chemical formula exhibits the composition of a substance (see [Chemistry]); a botanical formula gives the differentia of a plant; a dentition formula indicates the arrangement and number of the teeth of an animal.
FORNER, JUAN BAUTISTA PABLO (1756-1799), Spanish satirist and scholar, was born at Mérida (Badajoz) on the 23rd of February 1756, studied at the university of Salamanca, and was called to the bar at Madrid in 1783. During the next few years—under the pseudonyms of “Tomé Cecial,” “Pablo Segarra,” “Don Antonio Varas,” “Bartolo,” “Pablo Ignocausto,” “El Bachiller Regañadientes,” and “Silvio Liberio”—Forner was engaged in a series of polemics with García de la Huerta, Iriarte and other writers; the violence of his attacks was so extreme that he was finally forbidden to publish any controversial pamphlets, and was transferred to a legal post at Seville. In 1796 he became crown prosecutor at Madrid, where he died on the 17th of March 1799. Forner’s brutality is almost unexampled, and his satirical writings give a false impression of his powers. His Oración apologética por la España y su mérito literario (1787) is an excellent example of learned advocacy, far superior to similar efforts made by Denina and Antonio Cavanilles; and his posthumous Exequias de la lengua castellana (printed in the Biblioteca de autores españoles, vol. lxiii.) testifies to his scholarship and taste.
FORRES (Gaelic, far uis, “near water”), a royal and police burgh of Elginshire, Scotland. Pop. (1891) 3971; (1901) 4317. It is situated on the Findhorn, which sweeps past the town and is crossed by a suspension bridge about a mile to the W., 11 m. W. of Elgin by the Highland railway, and 6 m. by road from Findhorn, its port, due north. It is one of the most ancient towns in the north of Scotland. King Donald (892-900), son of Constantine, died in Forres, not without suspicion of poisoning, and in it King Duff (961-967) was murdered. Macbeth is said to have slain Duncan in the first structure that gave its name to Castlehill, which was probably the building demolished in 1297 by the adherents of Wallace. The next castle was a royal residence from 1189 to 1371 and was occupied occasionally by William the Lion, Alexander II. and David II. It was burned down by the Wolf of Badenoch in 1390. The ruins on the hill, however, are those of a later edifice and are surmounted by a granite obelisk, 65 ft. high, raised to the memory of Surgeon James Thomson, a native of Cromarty, who at the cost of his life tended the Russian wounded on the field of the Alma. The public buildings include the town hall, a fine and commodious house on the site of the old tolbooth; the Falconer museum, containing among other exhibits several valuable fossils, and named after Dr Hugh Falconer (1808-1865), the distinguished palaeontologist and botanist, a native of the town; the mechanics’ institute; the agricultural and market hall; Leanchoil hospital and Anderson’s Institution for poor boys. The cross, in Decorated Gothic, stands beside the town hall. Adjoining the town on the south-east is the beautifully-wooded Cluny Hill, a favourite public resort, carrying on its summit the tower, 70 ft. high, which was erected in 1806 to the memory of Nelson, and on its southern slopes a well-known hydropathic. An excellent golf-course extends from Kinloss to Findhorn. The industries comprise the manufacture of chemicals and artificial manures, granite polishing, flour and sawmills, boot- and shoe-making, carriage-building and woollen manufactures. There is also considerable trade in cattle.
Sueno’s Stone, about 23 ft. high, probably the finest sculptured monolith in Scotland, stands in a field to the east of the town. Its origin and character have given rise to endless surmises. It is carved with figures of soldiers, priests, slaughtered men and captives on one side, and on the other with a cross and Runic ornamentation. One theory is that it is a relic of the early Christian church, symbolizing the battle of life and the triumph of good over evil. According to an older tradition it was named after Sueno, son of Harold, king of Denmark, who won a victory on the spot in 1008. A third conjecture is that it commemorates the expulsion of the Danes from Moray in 1014. Skene’s view is that it chronicles the struggle in 900 between Sigurd, earl of Orkney, and Maelbrigd, Maormor of Moray. Another storied stone is called the Witches’ Stone, because it marks the place near Forres where Macbeth is said to have encountered the weird sisters.