good and a bad angel attendant on him was an early belief, and is held to some extent yet. Roman Catholics, since St. Ambrosius, who died in 397, show a certain veneration or worship to angels, and beg their prayers and their kind offices. The New Testament, however, formally forbidding such veneration (Col. ii, 18, &c.), Protestants consider this unlawful.
Angel, a gold coin introduced into England in the reign of Edward IV, and coined down to the Commonwealth, so named from having the representation of the archangel Michael piercing a dragon upon it. It had different values in different reigns, varying from 6s. 8d. to 10s.
Angel-fish, a fish, Squatīna angĕlus, nearly allied to the sharks, very ugly and voracious, preying on other fish. It is from 6 to 8 feet long, and takes its name from its pectoral fins, which are very large, extending horizontally like wings when spread. This fish connects the rays with the sharks, but it differs from both in having its mouth placed at the extremity of the head. It is common on the south coasts of Britain, and is also called Monk-fish and Fiddle-fish.
Angel´ica, a genus of umbelliferous plants, one of which, A. sylvestris, a tall plant bearing large umbels of white flowers tinged with pink, is common in wet places in Britain, and was formerly believed to possess angelic properties as an antidote to poison, a specific against witchcraft, &c. The name is also given to an allied plant, the Archangelica officinālis, found on the banks of rivers and ditches in the north of Europe, once generally cultivated as an esculent, and still valued for its medicinal properties. It has a large fleshy aromatic root, and a strong-furrowed branched stem as high as a man. It is cultivated for its agreeable aromatic odour and carminative properties. Its blanched stems, candied with sugar, form a very agreeable sweetmeat, possessing tonic and stomachic qualities.
Angelico (a˙n-jel´i-kō), Fra, the common appellation of Fra Giovanni da Fiesole, one of the most celebrated of the early Italian painters. Born 1387, he entered the Dominican order in 1407, and was employed by Cosmo de' Medici in painting the monastery of St. Mark and the church of St. Annunziata with frescoes. These pictures gained him so much celebrity that Pope Nicholas V invited him to Rome to ornament his private chapel in the Vatican, and offered him the archbishopric of Florence, which Angelico declined. He died at, Rome 1455. He has been called the 'painter of seraphic dreams'. His works were considered unrivalled in finish and in sweetness and harmony of colour, and were made the models for religious painters of his own and succeeding generations.
Angeln (a˙ng´eln), a district in Schleswig of about 300 sq. miles, bounded N. by the Bay of Flensburg, S. by the Schlei, E. by the Baltic, the only continental territory which has retained the name of the Angles.
Angelo (a˙n´je-lō), Michael. See Buonarotti.
An´gelus, in the Roman Catholic Church, a short form of prayer in honour of the incarnation, consisting mainly of versicles and responses, the angelic salutation three times repeated, and a collect, so named from the word with which it commences, 'Angelus Domini' (Angel of the Lord). Hence, also, the bell tolled in the morning, at noon, and in the evening to indicate the time when the angelus is to be recited. The prayer is attributed to St. Bonaventura, and in Germany and Italy it is called 'Ave Maria'.
Ångermann (ong´er-ma˙n), a Swedish river which falls into the Gulf of Bothnia, noted for its fine scenery. It is navigable for nearly 70 miles for vessels of 600 tons.