B I S
B I S
In things which did not belong to the faith, they Were not to meddle with other men's dtocefes ; but, when the faith or welfare of the church were at Stake, every other bifhoprick was as much their diocefe as their own.
Bishop of bijhops, epifcopus epifcoporum, was a title an tlently given to the prelates of fome of the greater and more honoured fees;, as Jerufalem and Rome.
The firft who had the title was James hijhop of Jerufalem; which made the Spurious author of the epiftles under the name of Clemens Romanus, addrefs one to that bijhop thus : Clemens yacobo domino epifcopo epifcoponim. Some will have the appel- lation to have been common to all bijhops. Bingh. Orig. Ec- clef. I. z. c. 2. §. 3.
Bishops, in the Lutheran church, are thofe more ufually called fuperhiendents. See Superintendent, Cycl. The Calvinifts allow of no other bijhops befides prefbyters ; but the Lutherans make fome diftinction, and give a fupcriority or preheminence over the reft to their bifjops, or fupcrir.tendents.
Bishop is alfo a quality fometimes attributed to fecular princes, in refpect of their fupremacy or jurisdiction in matters belong- ing to religion. See Supremacy, Cycl. In this {enfe it is that the emperor Conftantin, in a letter to the bifiops in his dominions, calls himfelf common biJ/;op, koiv^ esurxoin®', as being, in fome reSpects, general bifjop of the whole Roman world- Vid. Eujeb. Hift Ecclef. 1, t. c. 44. & Eund. de Vit. Conftant. 1. 4. c. 24. Fabric. Eibl. Antiq.
c 13. f. 3- P-437-
This epifcopate of princes has given offence to the adorers of the ecclcfiaftic hierarchy, who have made many attempts to ex- plain it away. Some, with Pet. de Marca, will have the epif- copate of Conftantin to be only understood in refpect of the Gentiles, who were yet out of the church : others, with Leo Allatius, maintain it only to relate to civil matters : others give other folutions : yet pope Leo allowed the priefthood to kings and emperors ; on which footing, we do not fee how the epifcopate can be denied them. Vid. Fabric. Lux. Evan- gel, p. 282.
Bishop of the Jews, epifcopus Judaorum, the head of that people in England, chofen by themfelves, to whom they Submitted to be judged, and governed according to their law. Prideaux, Connect. P. 2. 1. 5. p. 478. not.
This officer, which fubfiftcd under our Norman kings, and was Hcenfed by them, anfwered to the achmalotarchs in Baby- lonia, and the alabarchs in Egypt, See jEchmalotarcha and Alabarcha.
Bishops at chefs, a kind of pieces, the third in rank below queens, but above knights, diftinguifhed by their cloven heads. Vid. Compl. Gameft. p. 1 25 &c rz8. Court Gameft. p. 95. In Latin writers of the middle age, the bijhop is called alphinut; hy the French lefou, the fool or madman. Du Cange, GlofT. Lat. T. 1. p. 150. voc. alphinus. See Chess, Cycl.
Bishop's fee, or feat, originally denoted the throne or chair in the church where the btflnp fat. Vid. Bingh. Orig. Ecclef. I, 2. c. 9. §. 7.
This was alfo denominated «4"*» apfis. Suic, Thef. Ecclef. T. 1. p. 61 2. voc. »4>k. See Apsis, Cycl.
Bishop's fee alfo denotes the city or place where the refidence of the bijhop is fixed.
Every bijhop's fee was antiently called fedes apojlolica ; though the appellation has fince been reftrained to the fee of Rome. Bingh. Orig. Ecclef. I. 2. c. 2. §. 3. p. 22. Antiently bijhops feem to have had a right to fit as judges in the hundred and county-courts k . In after-times, they were forbid to fit in fecular courts ', and had feparate courts erected for them m ; which proved an occafion of much difpute be- tween the two jurisdictions n . No church-tenant might be fued in any court but the bijhop's °. There are alfo traces of a feparate court of the bijhops much earlier, among our Sax- on anceftors, in the eighth century p. — [ k Johnf. Ecclef. Law, an. 877. §- 16. It. an. 958. §. 7. It. an. 1008. §. 8. 1 Id. an. 1102. §. 1. m Id. an. 1085. n Id. an. 1164. Pref. ° Id. an. 1064. §. 4. p Id. an. 734. §. 10.] The regard born to the character of bifliops, made them the common arbitrators even of fecular caufes 1 : they had the cog- nizance of all caufes concerning lands in frank almoign * ; and for ecclefiaftics, were judges even in capital caufes s .— [1 Bingh. 1. 2. c. 7. §. 1. & §■ 4- I(: !• 5- c - 2 - §■ J- r Johnf an, 1164. §. 9. s Id. an. 1018. §. 1 4-]
BISHOPRIC {Cycl.) —The UJhoprics of England have undergone many alterations, divers antient fees being loft, or removed to other places, and many new ones erected. Johnf. Ecclef. Law, an. 1075. Pref.
It was long a complaint, that the number of bifhops and U- Jhoprics in the ifland was too fmall a . About the middle of the eighth century, there were only twelve b ; and, in the middle of the feventh century, there were no more bifhops than king- doms, except that Kent had two ; and the like had the eaft Angles and Northumbrians for fome time c . On excluding the pope, king Henry VIII. had a defign to increafe the num- ber of bishopries, by contracting the diocefes, which appeared too <reat and vaft to be well overlooked by a Single man ; but the defign mifcarried d . Weftminfter indeed was erected into a bijhopric in 154.1 ; but itfubfiftednotlong, being converted, in 1 550, into a dean and chapter c .— [ a Johnf. Ecclef. Law,
an. 679. per tot. Id. an. 1023. Pref. »> Idem, an. 6-9. §. 4.
- Id. an. 673. §. 9. a Bingh. Grig. Ecclef. 1. 9. c. 8. in
fine. c New View of Lond. T. 2. §. 2. p. 495.] Many of the bifhops fees were antiently fixed in obfeure vil- lages; which feeming a diminution to the epifcopal dignity*, it was ordained, that, for the future, no bifhops mould be ordained in fmall cities j which yet was not fo ftrictly kept to 5 but that we meet with deviations from it. Bingh. 1. 2. c. 12. §. 1. &§. 3. It. c. 13. §. 2. See Bishop. Arcbbifhop Lanfranc earned the fees of many bifhops which till then remained in country villages, to be removed into cities. Whence a bifhop and a cathedral with us is the note of a city, excepting in that of Weftminfter. The fame alfo obtained in other countries. So?nn. Antiq of Canterb. p. 240. Bifhops in Scotland had antiently no fixed fees ; but each ex- ercifed his epifcopal office and jurisdiction indifferently, in whatever part of the kingdom he happened to refide. King Malcolm III. founded the firft regular bijhopric, which was that of Muthlac ; though the bijhopric of St. Andrews claims an elder eftablifhmcnt under king Kenneth II. Nicolf. Scott. Hift. Libr. c. 5. p. 210.
BISK, or Bisque, in cookery, a rich fort of broth or foop, made of pidgeons, chickens, force-meat, mutton-gravy, and other ingredients. Trev. Diet Univ. T. 1. p. 1052. The word is French, formed, as fome think, from bifcocla ; by reafon the bifque, confuting of a diverfity of ingredients, "ceds feveral repeated coitions to bring it to perfection. There is alfo a dani-bifque, made at a low expence, where only half the ingredients are ufed ; and a bifque of iifh, made of carps, minced with their roes and lobfters.
BISKETfCyr/.j—To preferve ten bijket from infects, Mr. Hales advifes to make the fumes of burning brimftone pafs through the caflcs full of bread. Hales, Philof. Experim Bijket may be Iikewife preferved a long time, by keeping it in cafks well calked, and lined with tin. Boyle, Phil. Work, atridg. Vol. j. p. 52.
The antients had their bijket prepared after the like manner, and for the like ufe, as the moderns. The Greek; called it ufot tfarvptt, q. d. bread put twice to the fire. The Romans gave it the name ofpaxis nauticus, or capta. Pliny denominates it vetus ant nauticus panzs tufus atque iterant coSius a . By which it appears, that, after the firft baking, they ground or pound- ed it down again for a fecond. In fome middle-age writers, it is called paximas, faximus, and paw's paximatus b — [ a Ptin. Hift.- Nat I. 22. c. 25. » Cafcn. Orig. p. ? 4 . Calv. Lex. Jur. p. 612. voc. nauticus. Pitifc. Lex. Ant. T. 1. p. 565, voc. capta. - ]
Among the Romans, we alfo meet with a kind of Imd-bisfot for the camp fervice, called buccellatimi, fometimes expeditio- Kalis annono, which was baked much, both to make it lighter for carriage, and lefs liable to corrupt, the coction being con- tinued till the bread was reduced one-fourth of its former weight. Pitifc. Lex. Antiq. T. 1. p. 299. voc. buccellatum. Cah. Lex. Jur. p. 127.
BISLINGUA, double-tongue, a name ufed by many authors for the narrow-leaved rufus, or butchers broom ; called by many others the Alexandrian bay, or laurus Alexandria, See the article Ruscus.
BISMILLAH, in the Mahometan cuftoms, a Solemn form, viz. in the name of the mojl merciful Gcd, conftantly placed at the beginning of their books and writings in general, as a peculiar mark, or distinguishing characterifticj of. their religion, it being counted an impiety to omit it.
The Jews, for the fame purpofe, make ufe of the form, in the name of the Lord, or, in the name of the great God ; and the eaft- ern Christians that of, in the name of the Father, and of the' Son, and of the Holy Ghojl. Vid. Sale. Prelim. Difc. to Koran, §• 3- P- 59-
Bismill ah is alfo ufed among the Arabs as a word of invitation to eat.
An Arab prince will frequently fit down to eat in the ftreet before his own door, and call to all that pafs, even beggars, in this word, who do not fail to come and fit down to eat with him; for the Arabs are great levellers, and Set every body upon a footing with them Pecoch's Esypt. p 483.
BISMUTH, (Cycl.) in natural hiftory, the name of a mineral fubftance, of the genus of the afphurelaia, or, as they are commonly called, the femi-metnls. See Asphurelata. Bifmttth bears a near affinity to zink. See Zink, Cycl. and Suppl.
Its weight and colour difcover it to be of a mercurial or me- tallic nature. In common menftruums, it undergoes much the fame alterations, and aftumes much the fame forms as lead 3 . Quincy fays, there is always fome filver in it b . — [ c Stahl, Philof. Princip. Chem. P. 2. §. 4. p. 345. t> gk>inc. DifpenS. p. 51.]
It is hard, and lefs friable than antimony, not ductile under the hammer, and, by the action of an acid on it, lets fall a bituminous matter. Boerh. Elem. Chem. P. 2. p. 35. Chauv. p. 82.
Its ingredients feem to be a mineral fait, a grofs Sulphur, mer- cury, a little arfenic, and a great deal of earth. Mem. Acad. Scienc. ann. 1713. p. 55.
Bifmuth is fometimes found native, but that very rarely. Its
moft
