C H A
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C H A
A Rofary is a Cbaplet of fifteen Decays of Ave-Marys. See Rosary.
Menage derives the Origin of the Word from the Re- femblance the Thing bears to a Hat, Cbapcau ; which is call'd by the Italians and modern Latins, Cape Him ; the firft more frequently call it Corona.
Larrey and e P. Viret aictibe the firft Invention of the Cbaplet to 'Peter the Hermit, well known in the Hiilory of the Croifades.
There is a Cbaplet of our Saviour, confiding of 33 Beads, in honour of his 33 Years living on Earth, inftiruted by F. Michael, the Camaldulan.
The Orientals have a kind of Chapelets, which they call Chains, and which they ufe in their Prayers, rehearl- ing one of the Perfections of God on each Link, or Bead. The Great Mogul is faid to have eighteen of thefe Chains, all precious Stones ; fome Diamonds, others Rubles, Pearls, £f?c.
The "Turks have likewife Chaplets, which they bear in the Hand, or hang at the Girdle : But, F. 2)andini ob- ferves, they differ from thofe us'd by the Romanics, in that they are all of the fame Bignefs, and have not that Diftinction into Decads ; tho they confift of fix Decads, or 60 Beads. He adds, that they have prefently run over the Cbapelet, the Prayers being extremely fhort ; having only thefe Words, 'Praife to God ; or thefe, Glory to God, for each Bead.
Befides the common Cbapelet, they have likewife a larger one, confitting of too Beads, which has fome Distinction, being divided by little Threads into three Parts, on one of which they repeat thirty times Soubhan lallab, i.e. God is to be praifed $ on another, Ellamd lallab, Glory to God $ and on the third, Alia echer, God is Great, Thefe thrice 30 times making only 90 $ to complete the Number joo, they add a Number of other Prayers for the Beginning of the Cbaplet.
He adds, that the Mahometan Cbapelet appears to have had its rife from the Me a beracoth, or hundred benedictions •-, which the jfe-ivs are dblig'd to repeat daily, and which we find in their Prayer-Books : The Je<ws and Mahometans having this in common, that they fcarce do any thing with- out pronouncing fome Laud, or Benediction.
Chaflet, in Architecture, is a little Ornament cut or carv'd into round Beads, Pearls, Olives, and Pater-Nofters ; as is frequently done in Baguettes.
A Cbaplet, in effect, is little elfe but a "Baguette enrich'd with Sculpture. See Baguette.
CHAPPAR, a Courier of the King of "Per/la, who carries Difpatches from Court to the Provinces, and from the Provinces to Court. See Courier.
The Polls, M. Tavermer tells us, are not eftablifiVd and regulated in 'Perfia as among us : When the Court fends out a Chappar, the Sophi's Matter of the Horfe furnifhes him with a fingle Horfe, how long foever his Journey be, and a Man to run after him : when his Horfe is weary, he takes that of the firft Horfeman he meets with, who dares not make the Ieaft Refufal, and fends his own home by the Man who follows him.
For the Maftet of the new Horfe he has taken, he rouft run, or at leaft fend after the Chappar to re-take him, when the Cbappar difmounts fome other Horfeman to change him.
The Word, in the original 'Per/tan, fignifies Courier.
CHAr^PE, in Heraldry, the Partition of an Efcutcheon, by Lines drawn from the Centre of the upper Edge to the Angles below, as in the Figure adjoining, which they blazon, Cbappe Or, and Vert.
The Sections of the Sides are to he of a different Colour from the reft. Mackenzy calls it, A Chief 'Party tier bend dexter, otfimjlcr, or both. See Chappeau, or Chapeau.
CHAPPFL, or CHAPEL. See Chapel.
CHAPTER, Cat?itulum, a Community of Ecclefiafticks, who ferve a Cathedral or Collegiate Church. See Cathe- dral, and Collegiate.
The Chief, or Head of the Chapter, is the "Dean : The Body confifts of Canons, or Prebendaries, &c. See Dean ; fee alfo Canon, and Prebendary.
The Chapter has now no longer any Share in the Ad- minifiration of the Diocefs, during the Lite of the Bifhop 5 but fucceeds to the whole Epifcopal Jurifdiction during the Vacancy of the See.
The Origin of Chapters is dcriv'd from hence, that an- tiently the Bifhops had their Clergy refiding with them in their Cathedrals, to affift them in the Performance of Sacred Offices, and in the Government of the Church 5 and even after Parochial Settlements were made, there were flill a Body of Clerks who continu'd with the Bifhop, and were indeed his Family, maintain'd out of his Income.
After the Monaflick Life grew into recmeft, many Bi- fhops chofe Monks rather than Seculars.
Thefe Bodies, either of Monafticks or Seculars, had the am e Privilege of chufing the Bifhop, and being his Coun- cil 5 which the whole Clergy of the Diocefs had before ;
But, by degrees, their Dependence on the Bifiiop grew lefs and lefs 5 and then they had diilinct Parceis of the Bi- fhop's Eitate aflign'd them for their Maintenance 3 till at lait, the Bifhop had little more left than the Power of vi- firing them. See Bishop.
On the other hand, thefe Capitular Bodies by degrees alfo loft their Privileges ; particularly that of chufing the Bifhop, for which the Kings of England had a long ilrug- gle with the Pope: but at laft, Henry VIII. got this Power vefted in the Crown $ and how the Deans and Chapters have only the Shadow of it.
The fame Prince likewife expel l'<! the Monks from the Cathedrals, and phic'd Secular Canons in their room j thole he thus regulated, are call'd 'Deans and Chapters of the new Foundation ; fuch are Canterbury, Wtnchefler, Wor- cefier, Ely, Carlrfle, J.hirham, Rochester, and Norwich : fuch alio are the Chapters of the four new Sees, of Petcr- borough, Oxford, Ghcejler, and Shjlol. See Dean.
Chapter, is alfo us'd for the Affemblies held by Reli- gious and Military Orders, for deliberating on their Affairs, and regulating their Difcipline.
Tapias fays, they are fo call'dj quod Capitu'a ibi legantur. The Eftablimment of General Chapters of Religious Orders, is owing to the Ciftercians, who held the firtt in 1 1 id, and were foon follow'd by the other Orders.
Chapter is alfo us'd for a Divifion of a Book; con- triv'd for keeping Matters more clear and diftinct.
The Antients were unacquainted with the Divifion of Books into Chapters and Articles. Papias fays, the Name was given it, quod fit alterius fcntcnt'ne Caput, or qttod Capiat totam Jitmmam. St. Augufhine compares Chapters to Inns; which refrefh the Reader, as thole the Traveller. The three Chapters, is a Ph'rafe famous in Eccleftafti- cal Hiftory, Signifying a Volume publifh'd by Thcodoret, an Adherent of Nejlorius, againft St. Cyril ; confiiling of a Letter of Ibas l Prieft of Edcjfa, to Marius, a Bifliop in ( Perfia , of Extracts from the Works of c Diodorus of Tar- fits, and Tbcodorus of Afoffttcjl/s, wherein the fame Doc- trines were taught, that were contended for by Ncfloriusi and of two Pieces of ' Tbeodoret ', the one againft the Council of Ephefits, the other againft the Anathemas of St. Cyril.
Thefe make the three Chapters ; which have been, fines, condemn'd by various Councils and many Popes. CHAPTREL. See Impost.
CHARACTER, or CARACTER, in its general Senfe, fignifies a Mark, or Figure drawn on Paper, Metal, Stone, or other Matter, with a Pen, Graver, Chiffel, or ether n - flrumenr, to fignifv, or denote any thing.
The Word is Greek, %«*?a>iTijf , form'd from the Verb yj*.%a.?- <niv, infcalpcre, to i??grave, imprefs, &c.
The various Kinds of Characters may beredue'd to three Heads, viz,. Literal Characters, Numeral Characters, and Abbreviations.
Literal Character, is a Letter of the Alphabet, ferv- ing to indicate fome articulate Sound, exprefltve of fome Idea, or Conception of the Mind. See Alphabet.
Thefe may be divided, with regard ro their Nature and Ufe, into Nominal, Rea\ and Emblematical
Nominal Characters;*^ thofe we properiy call Letters $ which ferve to exprefs the Names of Things. See Letter. Real Characters, are thofe thar inttead of Names, exprefs Things, and Ideas. See Idea, &c.
Emblematical, or JJymboUcal Characters, hive this in common with real ones, that they exprefs the Things themfelves ; but have this further, that theyin fome mea- fure perfonate them, and exhibit their Form : Such are the Hieroglyphics of the antient Egyptians. See Hiero- glyphic,
Literal Characters may be again divided, w:th regard to their Invention and Ufe, into ^Particular and General.
'Particular Characters, are thofe peculiar to this, or that Nation ; or that have been fo i Such are Roman, Italic, Greek, Hebreiv, Arabic, Gothic, Cbinefe, &c. Characters. See Roman, Italic, Greek, Hebrew, Gothic, Chi- nese, &g.
Univerfal Characters, are alfo real Characters, and make what fome Authors call a Philofophical Language.
That Diverfity of Characters us'd by the feveral Nations to exprefs the fame Idea, is found the chief Oblfacle to the Advancement of Learning ; to remove this, feveral Au- thors have taken occafion to propefe Plans of Characters that ftiould be Univerfal, and which each People mould read in its own Language. The Character here to be Real, not Nominal : to exprefs Things, and Notions ; not, as the common ones, Letters, or Sounds : yet to be mute, like Letters, and Arbitrary j not Emblematical, like Hieroglyphics.
Thus, every one mould retain their own Language, yet every one underftand thatof each other, without learningir ■ only by feeing a Real or Univerfal Character, whuh mould fignify the fame to all People ; by what Sounds foever each exprefs it in his particular Idiom. For Inftance, by feeing
