VAGNE, or VANGNE

One of the provinces of Aethiopia Superior, or Abyssinia. Heylyn mentions it amongst the dominions of the Emperor of Abyssinia, and says that it contained the fountain of the river Vangucum. In Cockayne's Obstinate iii. 3, Vague is mentioned as one of the kingdoms subject to the Emperor of Abyssinia.

VALDARNO

(the valley of the ARNO, q.v.). Milton, P.L. i. 290, describes Galileo as studying the moon "from the top of Fesole Or in Valdarno." Galileo was a Tuscan by birth, and spent the latter part of his life, after 1610, in or near Florence, where Milton saw him in 1638–9.

VALENCE

A town in France on the left bank of the Rhone, 60 m. S. of Lyons. In H6 A. iv. 7, 63, the Earl of Talbot is styled "great Earl of Washford, Waterford, and V." Talbot held this title by virtue of his descent from Joan, daughter and co-heir of William de V., Earl of Pembroke. In Sampson's Vow iii. 3, 1, "Monlucke, Bp. of Valens" is one of the French Commissioners at Leith in 1560. It gave its name to a kind of thin fabric. Chaucer, in Parl. of Foules 272, speaks of "a covercheif of v." Lydgate, in Minor Poems 47, gives a lady for a head-covering "a kerche of V."

VALENCIA, or VALENTIA

A city in Spain, the capital of the province of the same name on the E. coast. It lies on the right bank of the Guadalaviar, 3 m. from its mouth. It was taken by the Moors in 714, recaptured by the Cid in 1094, recovered by the Moors in 1101, and finally added to the kingdom of Arragon by Jayme I is 1238. It is the seat of a Bp., and its cathedral dates from the 13th cent. Its swords, like those of Toledo, were highly valued, and its Spanish leather gloves had some reputation. The hero of the comedy of Mucedorus is "the k.'s son of V.;" an entirely imaginary person; and some of the scenes take place at his court. In Barnes' Charter i. 4, Alexander calls for "my 2 sons, the D. of Candy and the Cardinal of Valence "; the latter being Caesar Borgia, who while still a child was raised to the purple by his father. In Gascoigne's Government i. 5, Lamia says, "My mother is a good old lady in V." In Shirley's Doubtful v. 2, Leandro says to Ferdinand, "'Twas I that saved you from your uncle's fury And sent you to V." In Middleton's Changeling i. 1, Jasperino says, "This will be better news at V. than if he had ransomed half Greece from the Turk." In B. & F. Maid in Mill iii. 2, Terzo brings word that the K. "keeps his way on to V.; there ends his progress." In Thomas i. 1, Valentine tells his sister that he found Thomas "at V., poor and needy." In Barnes' Charter v. 1, Baglioni has "a V. blade, powder of Rhemes, and bullets." Rabelais, in Gargantua i. 8, says of Gargantua "His sword was not of V. nor his dagger of Saragossa," but was "a fair sword made of wood and the dagger of boiled leather." In Ital. Gent. iv. 4, Medusa has for sale "Vallentia gloves And Venice roller to rub the teeth withal."

VALETTA

The capital of Malta, on one of the finest harbours in the world, on the E. coast of the island. It was strongly fortified by the Knights of St. John, to whom the island was granted by the Emperor Charles in 1530. Most of the scenes of B. & F. Malta are laid in Valetta.

VALLACHIA

See WALACHIA.

VALLADOLID

A city in Spain, capital of the province of the same name, at the junction of the Pisuerga and Esgueva, 150 m. N.W. of Madrid. It had considerable manufactures of textiles. Here Columbus died and Philip II was born. He built a College for English Romanists here in 1589, where Sir Francis Inglefield was afterwards buried. In Middleton's Gipsy ii. 1, Alvarez says, "Is Seville close-fisted? Valladoly is open; so Cordova, so Toledo." In Quiet Life i. 1, Lady Cressingham will have "agents at Paris and at Venice and at V. in Spain for intelligence of new fashions." Leigh, in Hints for Travellers, speaks of V. as the best place to learn Spanish in its purity.

VALLOMBROSA

A beautiful valley abt. 18 m. E. of Florence. Milton is said to have spent some days there when he visited Italy in 1638. Milton, P.L. i. 303, says that the fallen angels "lay entranced Thick as autumnal leaves that strew the brooks In Vallombrosa."

VALOIS

An ancient county is Picardy in N. France. Its capital was Crêpy, near Beauvais, between 30 and 40 m. N. of Paris. In 1285 it was granted as an appanage to Charles by his father Philip III. The eldest son of Charles came to the throne in 1329 as Philip of V. (Philip VI), and successive members of that house were Kings of France until the murder of Henri III in 1589. The characteristic nose of the house of V. was as famous as the Austrian under-lip. In Marlowe's Ed. II ii. 2, Lancaster says to the K., "Thy gentle Q., sole sister to V., Complains that thou hast left her all forlorn." This was Isabelle, daughter of Philip IV, and niece, not sister, to Charles of V. In Ed. III i. 1, Artoys speaks of "John of the house of V., now their k." This was John II, who succeeded his father Philip VI in 1350. Smith's Hector iv. 2, 972, Artois says, "I betrayed V., My sovereign lord, in England to get grace." Puttenham, in Art of Poesie iii. 16, gives as an example of autonomasia the calling of "the French K: the great Vallois, because so is the name of his house." In Jonson's Volpone iii. 7, Volpone says, "At recitation of our Comedy For entertainment of the great V., I acted young Antinous." This was when Henri III visited Venice on his way from Poland to assume the French crown in 1574. In Jonson's Alchemist iv. 1, Mammon says of Doll: "The house of V. just had such a nose."

VALTELLINA

A narrow valley running due E. from the N. end of Lake Como in N. Italy, and drained by the Adda. It is between 40 and 50 m. long. The principal towns are Sondrio and Chiavenna. It belonged to the Grisons Confederation but was much coveted by Spain, then in possession of the adjacent Milanese. The French, as rivals of Spain, defended the Grisons, and in the Thirty Years' War, to which both Jonson and Davenant allude, it was a bone of contention between France and Spain. In Davenant's Cr. Brother iii. 2, Lucio refers to "the new troops sent to the Valtaline." Jonson, in Underwoods lxv., says, "What is't to me whether the French design Be, or be not, to get the Valteline?"

VALTERIA, or VOLTERRA

A town of Tuscany, 30 m. S.E. of Leghorn. It is on the site of Volaterrae, one of the most ancient of the Etruscan cities. In Middleton's R.G. v. 1, Trapdoor claims to have visited Valteria amongst other places in Italy.

VANDALS

(Vl.=Vandal). A Teutonic tribe, found in the 1st cent. in Brandenburg and Pomerania. In the 2nd cent. they migrated southward into Bohemia, and after a hundred years of conflict with Rome made peace with her and settled in Pannonia, where they became Christianized, adopting the Arian form of the Faith. In 406 they crossed the Rhine into Gaul, but, being defeated by the Franks, went over the Pyrenees into Spain and took up their abode in Andalusia. Thence in 428 they went in a body to Africa under the leadership of Genseric and in 10 years conquered the whole Province and set up their Court at Carthage. In 455 Genseric, at the invitation of Eudoxia, the widow of Valentinian, attacked and took Rome, which he systematically sacked. From that time the name Vl. has been synonymous with a ruthless destroyer of buildings and other objects of Art and Culture. In this sense it is often associated with Goth. Hunseric, the son of Genseric, married Eudocia, the daughter of Eudoxia; but in spite of her influence he continued the bitter persecution of the Catholics in Africa which his father had begun. Finally, Justinian sent Belisarius to avenge the wrongs of the Catholics, and in 533 the V. were expelled and Africa restored to the Empire. From this point they disappear from history. Heylyn (s.v. SPAIN) says, "In Africa the glory of them [the V.] was most eminent, and they ended, like a candle, in a stink."

In H. Shirley's Mart Soldier, Genserick, King of the V., is one of the principal characters. The play deals with the persecution of the African Catholics and the death of the K. In i. 1, Henrick (Huneric) is hailed on the death of Genserick as "K. of the V. and Goths." He is represented as a heathen, whereas he was an Arian Christian. In W. Rowley's Shoemaker i. 1, 294, Dioclesian says, "The Gothes and V. have out past all bounds And o'er the Rhine past into Burgundy." In iii. 3, the K. of the V is called Rodrick. Rowley himself has "past all bounds" in this: the V. did not come into France for more than a century after the reign of Dioclesian; and Roderick was the last K. of the Visigoths and was killed in 712, four cents. later. In Cockayne's Trapolin i. 1, Mattemores says, "Would Goths and V. once again would come into Italy!" In Davenant's Siege iii. 1, Ariotto says, "The V. were not so ravenous when they sacked Rome." Donne, in Valedictio to Songs and Sonnets (1633), says, "When this book is made thus, Should again the ravenous V. and the Goths invade us, Learning were safe." "Goth and Vl." language means a vulgar and unintelligible dialect. In Shirley's Courtier ii. 2, when Volterre says, "Yo soy el vestro servidor." Depazzi asks, "What's this?" and Giotto answers, "Between Goth and VI., Spanish." In Honoria i. 1, Mammon says, "Scholars think themselves brave fellows when they talk Greek to a lady; next to the Goths and V., you shall carry the babble from mankind." In his Pleasure ii. 1, the Steward tells Frederic, who has just come from the University, that his aunt intends "to make you a fine gentleman, and translate you out of your learned language into the present Goth and VI., which is French." In B.&F. Wit Money iii. 4, Lance says, "[There shall be] no more sense spoken, all things Goth and Vl."

VANDEN

A humorous name for a Dutchman, derived from the common prefix to their names, van den. In Ford's Trial ii. 1, Fulgoso speaks of "Gulls or Moguls, Tag, rag, or other, hogen-mogen vanden, Skipjacks or chouses."

VANHOLT

See ANHALT.

VAPIANS

An imaginary people mentioned by Sir Andrew in Tw. N. ii. 3, 23, "Thou spak'st of Pigrogromitus, of the Vapians passing the equinoctial of Queubus." The passage was probably suggested by Rabelais ii. 11.

VARICA

Possibly a misprint or mistake for Varia, a town in N. Spain on the Iberus, at the point where the river begins to be navigable. In Bacchus, the 10th guest was "One Philip Filpot, brought up in Varica, a city of Iberia."

VARLOME

See VERULAM.

VARNA

A spt. of Bulgaria on the Black Sea, about midway between the Bosporus and the mouth of the Danube. Here in 1444 Murad II defeated and slew the Bulgarian K. Ladislaus. In Marlowe's Tamb. B. ii. 1, Frederic says, "Through the midst of Varna and Bulgaria They [the Turks] have not long since massacred our camp." This is an anticipation of the fact by 50 years.

VATICAN

The Mons Vaticanus at first included the whole range of hills W. of the Tiber at Rome, but the name was later confined to the hill on the N.W. of the city across the Tiber, on which the ch. of St. Peter was afterwards built. There was doubtless a palace attached to the ch. from an early date; but it was not till 1377, on the return of the Popes from Avignon, that Gregory XI made it the official residence of the Popes, who had previously lived in the Lateran (until 1309). Successive Pontiffs enlarged and adorned it until it became the finest Palace in Christendom. It stands on the N. of St. Peter's, and covers an area of 1151 ft. by 767. Its chief glories are the Sistine Chapel, the Scaly Regis, the Chapel of San Lorenzo, the Pauline Chapel, the Museum and Picture-gallery, and the Library founded by Nicholas V about 1450 and transferred to the present building by Sixtus V in 1588. It is specially rich in MSS., the most important being the famous Codes Vaticanus of the Bible in Greek; it contains about 250,000 volumes. In Barnes' Charter ii. 1, Guicchiardine, as Chorus, says, "Here leave we Charles with pompous ceremonies Feasting within the Vaticane at Rome." Habington, in Castara (1640), Arber, p. 109, says, "Boast not the rev'rend V., nor all The cunning pomp of the Escuriall." In Randolph's Muses' iii. 1, when Banausus proposes to found a library of fashion-books for young gallants, Colax exclaims, "'Twill put down Bodly's and the V." In Davenant's Platonic iii. 4, Sciolto says, "I'll show a manuscript now kept in the V." In Glapthorne's Wit i. 1, Tristram says, "You have already enough [books] to furnish a new V."

VECCHIA

See CIVITA VECCHIA.

VEIL

An ancient Etruscan city, 12 m. N. of Rome, on the site of the present Isola Farnese. V. maintained for a long time a contest with Rome, but was finally taken by Furius Camillus in 396 B.C. After the capture of Rome by the Gauls in 390 B.C. it was proposed by some to transfer the whole population to V.; but the proposal was over-ruled by Camillus. Thenceforward it sank into complete ruin and desertion. When Nero built his great Golden House in Rome it was again sarcastically suggested that the Romans should migrate to V., unless indeed Nero's palace absorbed that city too. In Nero ii. 3, Piso says, "Romans, get you gone And dwell at V., if that V. too This house o'errun not." See Suetonius, Vit. Neronis 39.

VENDLOE

or VENLOO. A fortified town in N. Brabant, close to the boundary between Holland and the Rhine Provinces, on the Maas, 90 m. S.E. of Amsterdam. In Barnavelt iv. 5, Barnavelt asks, "When Graves and Vendloe were held by the Spaniard, who durst step in before me to do these countries service?"

VENETIAN GULF

The N. portion of the Adriatic Sea, between Venice and Istria. In Marston's Mellida iii. 2, Piero writes: "The just overthrow Andrugio took in the V. G. hath assured the Genowaies of the justice of his cause." In Shirley's Imposture v. 1, Bertoldi says, "I'll pledge it, and it were the G. of Venice."

VENICE (Italy)

VENEZIA (Vn.=Venetian). The famous city on the W. coast of the Gulf of V. near the head of the Adriatic Sea. The Veneti were originally settled on the neighbouring mainland, the seat of government being at Heraclea, where the 1st Doge was elected in A.D. 697; but in 810 they transferred their capital to the Rivo Alto, or Rialto, and in the same year the cathedral of San Marco was founded. The city extended by degrees until it covered the 72 islands which it now occupies. The water-ways which separate them take the place of streets, though the numerous bdges. make it possible to get to any part of V. on foot. There is no room, however, for any vehicles in the narrow lanes, and the gondolas on the canals take the place of the cabs and motor-cars of ordinary towns. The chief water-way is the Grand Canal, which takes an S-shaped course from the Piazza di San Marco through the heart of the city, and past the Rialto.

V. rapidly grew to be a maritime power in the Adriatic, and in the 10th cent. cleared the sea of the Dalmatian pirates who infested it; and, to commemorate this, the ceremony of wedding the Adriatic was instituted on Ascension Day, 998, and was annually repeated. During the next 2 cents. V. took a leading part in the commerce and politics of the East, and grew to be the greatest maritime and commercial city in Europe. In 1204 she was the chief agent in the capture of Constantinople and had dreams of founding a new Latin Empire; but they were rendered nugatory by the jealousy of her rival, Genoa. War was inevitable between these 2 States and lasted almost uninterruptedly throughout the 14th cent., until the dramatic reversal of the defeat of Pola by the victory of Chioggia in 1379 finally established the supremacy of V. She proceeded during the next cent. to secure her position on land, and added to her dominions the following: This involved her in a life-and-death contest against the League of Cambrai, which included the K. of France, the Pope, and the Emperor; but she emerged victorious, and the triumphs of Ravenna (1512) and Marignano (1515) restored to her all her territories on the mainland.

During the 16th cent. the rise of the Ottoman power gave her a new and formidable enemy, with whom she was left to contend almost single-handed. She lost by degrees almost all her islands in the E. Mediterranean; and the famous victory of Lepanto in 1571 only stemmed for a short time the tide of Turkish aggression. Cyprus was lost in 1573, and Candia (Crete) fell in 1669 after a siege of 22 years. The government was a close oligarchy, all political rights being confined to the members of the great families. At the head was the Doge, who was elected annually; there were 2 assemblies, the Great Council of 480, and the executive, called La Signoria; but the chief power came to reside in the famous Council of Ten. V. remained as a Sovereign Republic until the end of the 18th cent., but was nefariously handed over to Austria by Napoleon at the Treaty of Campo Fornico (1796). After the battle of Sadowa (1866) Austria was compelled to disgorge her, and she has since formed part of United Italy.

The chief buildings of V. are as follows: The pillars in the Piazetta were brought from the East in 1126 and erected in 1180.

The chief manufactures were metal-work, textiles, glass, and various articles of fashion and luxury, such as fans, soap, brooches, gloves, etc. V. was one of the leaders of fashion in dress in the 16th and 17th cents., and gave the name "Va." to a special type of breeches, which fitted tightly to the leg and were richly embroidered. The men were reputed to be politic, prudent, and valiant; but the courtezans of V. were infamous throughout Europe, and her women were supposed to be beautiful and vicious in an equal degree. V. was already a resort of travellers and no one could boast of extensive foreign experience who had not "swum in a gondola." The Vn. School of Painting flourished in the 15th and 16th cents. and was adorned by the names of the Bellinis, Carpaccio, Palma Vecchio, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, and Paul Veronese.

None of our dramatists show any personal knowledge of the city, and the local references to it are of the most general character. Ben Jonson, in Volpone, mentions more details than any other of them, but even they are meagre and derived from hearsay. The scene of many of the plays is laid in V. Othello, Act 1, takes place at, V.; the background of the play is a war between V. and the Turks, probably the one which began in 1570 and ended with the destruction of the Turkish fleet at Lepanto in 1571, Merch. has its scene partly in V., partly in the imaginary Belmont; the date is indeterminate. In neither play does Shakespeare show any knowledge of the topography of the city except of the most general kind; but his descriptions of the government and manners of the place are wonderfully accurate. Day's Humour is laid partly at V., partly at Mantua. The D. of V. is an imaginary Octavio, who is also the usurping D. of Mantua. Other plays whose scene is laid at V. are Jonson's Volpone, Chapman's May Day, Marston's Mellida, B.&F. Captain, Middleton's Blurt, Marston's What you and Insatiate, Shirley's Gent. Ven., Brome's Novella, Kn. Kn. Hon. Man, Kn. Kn. Knave and Day's Travails (one Act). There is an imaginary D. of V. in Mason's Mulleasses who is the rival of the D. of Ferrara for the hand of Julia, the daughter of Borgias of Florence

General references. In Webster's White Devil iii. 1, Monticelso says to Vittoria: "You were born in V., honourably descended from the Vittelli." In Chapman's May Day iv. 2, Lucretia says, "You show your virtues perfectly derived From the Vn. noblesse." The title of Magnifico was given to the magnates of the city. Spencer, in Mother Hubberd 665, says, "The fond ape stalketh stately by As if he were some great Magnifico." In Merch. iii. 2, 282, Solanio says, "The D. himself and the magnificoes Of greatest port have all persuaded with him." In Oth. i. 2, 12, Iago Calls Brabantio "the magnifico." Peacham, in Worth of a Penny (1641), says, "The greatest magnifico in V. will think it no disgrace to his magnificenza to go to market." In Horestes D. 3, the Vice says to Fame: "Whither dost thou think for to go? To purgatory or Spayne? to Venys, To pourtugaull or to the isles Canary?" In Mason's Mulleasses the banner of V. is quite wrongly described as being white with golden stars.

Historical allusions. In B.&F. Candy i. 1, Gaspero mentions "a massacre performed at sea By the Admiral of V. on a merchant of Candy"; and adds that at the time "Candy and V. were at peace." Hence a war has arisen and "all the Vn. forces are defeated." Ultimately, in v. 1, "All contentions Are happily accorded, Candy's peace secured, and V. vowed a worthy friend." Probably the reference is to the selling of Candia to the Vns. by the Marquis of Montferrat in 1204. In R2 iv. 1, 97, Carlisle tells how Norfolk "at V. gave His body to that pleasant country's earth." He died there of a broken heart on Sept. 29th, 1399; as Richd.'s deposition took place the next day, Carlisle could not have then known of Norfolk's death. In Marlowe's Tamb. A. iii. 3, Tamburlaine says, "The galleys and the pilling brigandines That yearly sail to the Vn. Gulf And hover in the Straits for Christians' wreck Shall lie at anchor in the isle Asant." The Turkish gallies are meant, which carried on continuous warfare against the commerce of V. In his Jew i. 1, Barabas suggests that the Turkish gallies reported mean "to pass along Toward V. by the Adriatic Sea; With whom they have attempted many times." In Shrew iv. 2, 83, Tranio tells the Pedant, "'Tis death for any one in Mantua To come to Padua . . . Your ships are stayed at V. and the D. For private quarrel 'twixt your D. and him Hath published and proclaimed it openly." From 1405 Padua was under the rule of V. In Oth. v. 2, 354, Othello tells how he killed a Turk in Aleppo who "beat a Vn. and traduced the state." In Jonson's Cynthia iv. 1, Philautia says of Amorphus: "He looks like a Vn. trumpeter in the battle of Lepanto in the gallery yonder"; i.e. in a picture or tapestry representation of the battle. In his Volpone v. 2, Sir Politick is accused of having "a plot To sell the State of V. to the Turk." In Shirley's Gent. Ven. iii. 1, Malipiero says, "V. is a jewel; a rich pendant would hang rarely at the Great Turk's ear." In his Bird iv. 1, Bonamico exhibits in his collection of birds "The D. of V. his own bulfinch, and taken by the Turks." In Webster's White Devil v. 1, Flamineo speaks of the Moor who has recently come to Court as having "Served the Vn. in Candy these twice seven years." In Glapthorne's Privilege i. 1, Vitelli says, "Doria's force overthrew the power of V. in a fight." Andrea Doria was a great Genoese admiral in the first half of the 16th cent. In Middleton's R. G. v. 1, Trapdoor in his mythical account of his adventures says, "Retiring home, the Vn. gallies took us prisoners."

The Marriage of the Adriatic. In K. K. Hon. Man C.4, Sempronio says, "This is the festival of holy Mark. This day our Lords of V. wonted be To sacrifice in triumph to the sea." In Dekker's Wonder iii. 1, the Brother says, "The awed Vns. on St. Mark's proud day Never went forth to marry the rich seas In greater bravery." In Webster's Monuments, Thetis says, "Sure, this is V. and the day St. Mark In which the D. and Senates their course hold To wed our empire with a ring of gold." It was a natural mistake on the part of the dramatists to make the wedding of the Adriatic take place on St. Mark's Day, April 25th, as he was the patron saint of the city; but the actual day was Ascension Day, which can never fall on St. Mark's Day, though when Easter is early it might be within a few days of it.

The Laws of Venice. In Merch. iv. 1, 102, Shylock demands the forfeit on the ground "If you deny me, fie upon your law! There is no force in the decrees of V."; and in 178 Portia admits "The Vn. law Cannot impugn you as you do proceed." But in 311 she points out: "In the cutting it, if thou dost shed One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods Are by the laws of V. confiscate Unto the State of V."; and further, in 348 "It is enacted in the laws of V. If it be proved against an alien That by direct or indirect attempts He seek the life of any citizen, The party . . . Shall seize one half his goods; the other half Goes to the privy coffers of the State And the offender's life lies in the mercy Of the D. only."

The Gondola, the well-known type of boat used on the canals, is first mentioned in the 14th cent. In the 16th it was decreed that the gondolas were to be entirely black and without decorations; this was because of the extravagance of adornment lavished on them by the nobles. In As You Like It iv. 1, 38, Rosalind advises Jacques to disable all the benefits of his own country: "Or I will scarce think you have swam in a gondola," i.e. been to V. In Merch. ii. 8, 8, Salarnio tells how Lorenzo and Jessica "in a gondola were seen together." In Oth. i. 1, 126, Roderigo informs Brabantio that Desdemona was transported to Othello's embraces "with a knave of common hire, a gondelier." In Jonson's Volpone iii. 2, Mosca tells Lady Politick that her husband is "rowing in a gondole With the most cunning courtesan of V." Marston, in Mellida iii., uses the form "gundelet"; and the same form is found in Dekker's Babylon. Montaigne (Florio's Trans., 1603), iii. 5, says that in Calicut "the ignoble are bound to cry as they walk along, like the gondoliers or water-men of V., along the streets, lest they should jostle with them," i.e. the nobles. In Rabelais' Pantagruel ii. 30, Epistemon, who has been to hell, reports that the Knights of the Round Table are employed "to row over the rivers [of Hell] as are hired the boatmen at Lyons, the gondoliers of V., and the oars of London."

The buildings. In Marlowe's Faustus vii. 16, Faust proposes to visit "V., Padua, and the rest, In one of which [or, according to the edition of 1604, "in midst of which "] a sumptuous temple stands That threats the stars with her aspiring top." Some take the reference to be to San Marco; but it does not threat the stars, whereas St. Anthony's at Padua has a very lofty tower, and is I think the ch. intended.

The unique charm and beauty of Venice and the resort of travellers thereto. Boorde, in Intro. of Knowledge xxiv., says, "Whosoever that hath not seen the noble city of V., he hath not seen the beauty and riches of this world. There be rich marchavence and merchants. Through the streets of V. runneth the water; and every merchant hath a fair little barge standing at his stairs to row through and about the city." In L.L.L. iv. 2, 98, Holofernes quotes from Mantuan "Venetia, Venetia, chi non to vede non ti pretia." In Jonson's Case i. 1, Juniper mentions V. as one of the famous places he has seen in his travels. In his Cynthia i. 1, Amorphus proposes to pretend that he has met Asotus "in V. or Padua." In Shirley's Ball i. 1, Winfield says, "A gentleman was persuaded to put the money out most wisely, to have 5 for 1 at his return from V."

Trade and commerce. In Cromwell ii. 1, we are told of certain English merchants on their way from Antwerp "bound for V." In Marlowe's Faustus i. 128, Valdes promises Faust "From V. shall they [the spirits] drag huge argosies." In his Jew iii. 1, Bellamira says, "From V. merchants, and from Padua Were wont to come rarewitted gentlemen." In iv. 1, Barabas talks of the debts he has owing "in V., Florence, Antwerp," and other places. In Merch. i. 1, 11, Salarnio describes "the argosies with portly sail" of Antonio, "The Merchant of V." In Marston's What you i. 1, Jacomo speaks of "V. state Where merchants guilt the top." In Davenant's Wits iv. 1, Palatine says, "You have no factors, Sir, In Delph, Leghorn, Aleppo, or the Vn. isles That by their traffic can advance you thus."

Venice as the emporium for rich textiles, jewellery, toilet articles, etc. In Shrew ii. 1, 316, Petruchio, who is at Padua, says, "I will to V.; We will have rings and things and fine array." In ii. 1, 356, Gremio boasts of having in his house "Valance of V. gold in needlework." In Middleton's Mad World ii. 2, Sir Bounteous says, "The curtains indeed were wrought in V. with the story of the Prodigal Child in silk and gold." The author of "A brief conceit of English Policy "(1581) says, "There is no man that can be contented now with ouche, brooch, or aglet but of V. making, or Millen." In Ital. Gent. iv. 4., Medusa has for sale "Vallencia gloves And V. tulles to rub the teeth withal." In Davenant's U. Lovers iii. 41, Altophil speaks of "Vn. tapers gilt" amongst other luxurious furnishings. In Ford's Fancies v. 2. Secco, the barber, uses "pure soap of V." as an ingredient in his shaving soap. In Dekker's Match me ii. Bilbo cries: "See here rich Tuscan hatbands, Vn. ventoyes," i.e. fans. Hall, is Satires vi. 1, says of Catilla: "[Her] wrinkled furrows, which her age doth breed, Are daubed full of V. chalk for need."

Vn. Glass was made at Murano from the 14th cent. onward, and had, and still has, a world-wide reputation. V. glasses were supposed to break if poison were poured into them; they were very delicate and brittle, and so a cracked V. glass came to be used in the sense of a woman who has lost her character. In Barry's Ram iv. 2, Beard boasts: "We'll quaff in V. glasses." In Massinger's [ed. note: Middleton's] Old Law iii. 2, Sim says, "Venues in V. glasses! Let them come!" In Shirley's Ball iii. 3, Freshwater says, "He can present you with V. glasses, Parmesan sugars, all from Antwerp." Coryat, in Crudities ii. 18, speaks of "the delicate V. glasses, so famous over all Christendom." Burton, A. M. iii. 2, 5, 3, says, "This beauty is a mere flash, a V. glass, quickly broken." In Dekker's Match me i. the Lady says, "Women are V. glasses, one knock spoils 'em." In Webster's Law Case ii. 1, Romelio thinks that Julio has spent "a hundred ducats a month in breaking V. glasses." In Dekker's Satiro iv. 3, 207, Tucca calls: "A blanket! these cracked V. glasses shall fill him out, they shall toss him." Browne, in Pseudodoxia, says, "Though it be said that poison will break a V. glass, yet have we not met with any of that nature."

Venice treacle, or Treacle of Andromachus, was supposed to be a sovereign remedy against various diseases. In B.&F. Elder B. ii. 1, Miramont speaks of a young courtier bringing home from his travels "a box of V. treacle To cure young wenches that have eaten ashes." In Taylor's Life of Thomas Parr (1635), it is said: "Garlick he esteemed above the rate Of V. treacle or best Mithridate."

Vn. Oysters and Pate de foie gras. In Davenant's Wits ii., Meager says of a lady's throat which he proposes to cut: "It should open wide as the widest oyster is the V. lake." In iv., Engine mentions among table-dainties "Your broad liver o' the Vn. gore, fattened by a Jew."

Manners, customs, and character. In Jonson's Cynthia v. 2, when Amorphus with an Italian compliment kisses the lady's hand, Crites comments: "The Vn. dop this"; dop meaning a short, quick curtsey. In Three Ladies ii. Lucre says, "V. is a city where Usury by Lucre may live in great glory." In Shirley's Ball vi. 2, Freshwater says, "The Vns. are the valiantest gentlemen under the sun." In Davenant's Italian iii. 2, Alma says of Florello: "He should be a Vn. by the wit and policy of his courage." In Cockayne's Trapolin ii. 3, Horatio speaks of "V. rich, commanding, politic." In B.&F. French Law. i. 1, Cleremont, speaking of duels, says there have been "scarce three in V. in as many years."

The Vn. women are represented as especially frail and immoral. In Oth. i. 3, 363, Iago speaks of Othello's marriage as "a frail vow between an erring barbarian and a super-subtle Vn." In Ado i. 1, 274, Don Pedro says, "If Cupid have not spent all his quiver in V., Thou wilt quake for this shortly." In Day's Humour ii. 1, the Boy calls V. "the best flesh-shambles in Italy." In Jonson's Ev. Man I. ii. 3, Knowell says, "I never yet was he that travelled with my son, before 16, to show him the Vn. courtezans!" In his Volpone ii. 1, Peregrine says, "Your lady lies here in V., for intelligence of tires and fashions and behaviour among the courtezans." In Ford's Trial iii. 1, Benatzi cries: "Vn. wanton-ravishing!" In Massinger's Guardian ii. 5, Calipso talks of "the Vn. courtezan." In B.&F. Wild Goose i. 2, Mirabel says, "Give me the plump Vn., fat and lusty, That meets me soft and supple." In Massinger's Renegado i. 1, Gazet says that the women he has with him are "bawds and common courtezans in V." In Costly Wh. ii. 1, the D. says of Valentia: "Courtezans are rare with us in Germany; except herself, being a Vn. born and privileged, the State allows none." In Brome's Covent G. i. 1, Dorcas appears upon a balcony "habited like a courtezan of V." In Cockayne's Trapolin ii. 1, the hero says, "I'll to V. and turn pimp." In Marmion's Leaguer iv. 2, the Bawd says, "The Marshall and the Constable vex us more than the Vns. do the whole corporation of Courtezans." Burton, A. M. iii. 2, 2, 2, says, "Our Vn. ladies at this day counterfeit yellow hair;" probably what is now (in 1925) known as the peroxide tint. In Randolph's Muses' iii. 1, Colax hopes to see Micropepes "build a stew Shall out-brave V."

Vn. Dress. Boorde, in Intro. of Knowledge xxiv., says, "The merchants of Venys goeth in long gowns like priests, with close sleeves . . . . The people do poll their heads and do let their beards grow." Peacham, in Worth of a Penny, says, "The Vns. are bound by the laws of their Commonwealth that their upper garment, worn within the city, should ever be of plain black." In Middleton's Quiet Life i. 1, Lady Cressingham "will have agents at V. for intelligence of all new fashions." In M.W.W. iii. 3, 61, Falstaff says, "Thou hast the right-arched beauty of the brow that becomes the ship-tire, the tire-valiant, or any tire of Vn. admittance." In Ret. Parnass. iv. 2, Ingenioso says, "The poor Aristotelians walk in a short cloak and a close Vn. hose." Laneham, in Letter (1575), speaks of "along garment with a side and wide sleeves Vn.-wise." Stubbes, in Anat. of Abuses, p. 56, says, "The Vn. hosen, they reach beneath the knee to the gartering place of the leg, where they are tied finely with silk points, or some such-like, and laid on also with rows of lace or guards." But in Three Ladies ii., Simony says, "The Vns. came nothing near the knee." In T. Heywood's Lucrece iii. 5, Valerius sings: "The Spaniard loves his ancient slop, The Lombard his Vn." In Ev. Wom. In. i. 1, the citizen's wife speaks of "the party in the yellow scarf and the round Vn." Greene, in Cony-Catching (1592) ix. 95, says, "The vn. and the gallogascaine is stale, and trunk slop out of use."

VENICE

The name of a house of ill-fame in Whitefriars, Lond. It may have been named so because of the reputation of V. as an immoral city. In. Brome's Covent G. i. 1, Madge says, "I lay not long ago at the V. by Whitefryers Dock."

VENISE, HOTEL DE

An hotel in Paris, apparently frequented by Englishmen. In Davenant's Rutland, p. 227, the Londoner says, "I am retiring to my countrymen at the good H. de V."

VENTA CRUZ

A little town on the river Chagres in the isthmus of Panama. Drake describes it as being 3 days' row up the river, but a day and a night's only coming down; he also says it is 6 leagues from Panama. In Davenant's Playhouse iii., Drake says, "Secure the fort Whilst we to V. C. enforce our way."

VENUS STREET

La Rue de Venus, in the N. quarter of Antwerp, running N. from the junction of the Rue des Aveugles and the Rue des Princes to the Marche aux Chevaux. In Larum, Alva says, "The N. part of the city, Venus st., Remains the subject of desired spoil."

VENUSIA

now VENOSA. An ancient city on the borders of Lucania and Apulia in Italy, on the Appian Way, 190 m. S.E. of Rome. It was a flourishing place all through the later years of the Roman Republic, and is still an episcopal city of some importance. Its chief glory is that it was the birthplace of Horace. Dekker, Satiro. (Prol.), says, "I thank thee, thou true Venusian Horace, for these good words thou giv'st me: Populus me sibylat at mihi plaudo." See Horace, Sat. i. 1, 66. In Jonson's Poetaster iii. 2, Horace says, "Lucanian or Apulian, I not [i.e. know not] whether, For the Venusian colony ploughs either"–a translation of Horace, Sat. ii. 1, 35. Horace means that he does not know whether he is an Apulian or a Lucanian, as Venusium is on the borders of both. Hall, in Satires iv. 1, 2, says, "Who dares upbraid these open rhymes of mine With blindfold Aquines, or dark Venusine?" i.e. the obscure satiric allusions of Juvenal or Horace. Jonson, in Underwoods lxi. 89, says of his own poetry: "All the old Venusine could spy, Was there made English."

VERDEA

Probably Monte Verdo in S. Tuscany is intended. It is in a celebrated wine-producing dist. In B.&F. Elder B. ii. 1, Miramont describes an Italian traveller as "having been at Rome and seen the relics, drunk your Verdea wine, and rid at Naples."

VERE

or VEERS. A town in the island of Walcheren, off the coast of Holland, abt. 12 m. S.E. of Zirick-see and 8 m. N.E. of Flushing. In Ford's Trial i. 2, Futella speaks of one Dame Fustibunga, "who, troubled long time with a strangury, vented at last salt water so abundantly as drowned the land between Zirick-see and Vere, where steeple-tops are only seen." For these floods see under ZIRICK–SEE.

VERE STREET

Lond., running from the W. corner of Clare Market to Duke St. It was named after Elizabeth V., daughter of Lord V. of Tilbury, who died 1683. Gibbon's Tennis Court was in V. St. and was converted into a theatre by Thomas Killigrew and so used from 1660 to 1669. In Davenant's Playhouse i., the Musician says, "There is another playhouse to let in V.-st "

VERGE

or, more fully, The V. of the Court. The dist. around the palaces of Whitehall and St. James's in Lond. within which arrests could not be effected. It extended from Charing Cross down Whitehall to the river, and included also Hyde Park, St. James's Park, and the Green Park. Its privilege from arrests made it a favourite resort of insolvent debtors and members of the criminal classes. In Jonson's Cynthia iv. 1, Moria says, "There should not a nymph or a widow be got with child in the V. but I would guess within one or two who was the right father." In Randolph's Muses' iv. 4, Colax says, "Flattery, that was wont To be confined within the V. is now Grown epidemical."

VERLAME

See VERULAM.

VERONA

A city in N. Italy, picturesquely situated in a sharp bend of the Adige, abt. 65 m. W. of Venice, 40 W. of Padua, 25 N. of Mantua, and 90 E. of Milan. It was a Roman Colonia, and the great Amphitheatre and some parts of the walls date from Roman times. Here the poet Catullus was born in 87 B.C. It was one of the chief residences of the Lombard Kings in the 6th, 7th, and 8th cents. It reached its greatest splendour under the rule of the Della Scala family, 1260 to 1387. It was then annexed to the territories of Milan by the Visconti, but in 1405 it was conquered by the Venetians, who held it till the end of the 18th cent. It contains many fine examples of ecclesiastical and domestic architecture.

In Cockayne's Trapolin iii. 3, Horatio describes it as "Worthy V., old Catullus' city." The scene of Davenant's Albovine is laid at V., in the Lombard Court, about A.D. 570. The scene of R. & J. is laid mostly at V. in the early part of the 14th cent. The rival families of the Montagues and Capulets (Montecchi and Cappelliti) are mentioned by Dante (Purg. vi. 107). The house of the Capulets, now an Inn, is still shown in the Via Capello. The original tomb of Juliet has long since been destroyed; but a modern substitute has been provided for the tourist in the Orfanotrofio. The scene of Two Gent. is laid at first in this city, but afterwards shifts to Milan, where the Court of the D. is held. The date is the beginning of the 15th cent. In ii. 3, 40, Panthino says to Launce: "Away, ass! you'll lose the tide"; a curious error. In Shrew ii. 1, 47, Petruchio says, "I am a gentleman of V.," and his country house, in which some of the later scenes take place, was probably in its neighbourhood. In Jonson's Case i. 2, Ferneze, describing the attack on Vicenza, says, "Happy was that foot that first could press The flowery champain bordering on V." Vicenza is abt. 40 m. E. of V. In Oth. ii. 1, 26, one of the gentlemen describes "a noble ship of Venice" as "a Veronesa," i.e. a ship furnished by V. to the Venetian fleet. The date is about 1570, when V. formed part of the Venetian territory. Other plays the scene of which is laid at V. are Davenant's U. Lovers and Brome's Cunning Lovers, in which Prospero, D. of V., plays a prominent part.

VERULAM

An ancient Roman town in Herts., close to St. Alban's, from which it is separated by the river Ver. Lord Bacon took his title, Baron V., from this town. See further under ALBAN'S, SAINT. In Fisher's Fuimus i. 2, Cassibelaunus says, "I must to V.'s fenced town repair." Drayton, in Polyolb. viii. 273, tells how "brave Boadicia [i.e. Boadicea/Boudicca] made with her resolved'st men To Virolam, whose siege with fire and sword she plied Till levelled with the earth." In W. Rowley's Shoemaker i. 1, 169, Maximinus says to Albon: "Go to thy barony of Verrolam"; and later, iv. 2, 18. calls him "Lord of Varlome"; in line 28, he says, "I will drag them hence in chains to Holmhurst Hill, 3 miles from Verolome." and Albon's martyrdom there is the subject of the latter part of the scene. Spenser, F.Q. iii. 4, 52, tells of a victory won by K. Uther over the Paynims Octa and Oza "Beside Cayr Verolame"; and in his Ruines of Time, he introduces "Verlaine" as an example of the passing away of human glory; "Verlaine I was; what boots it that I was, Sith now I am but weeds and wasteful grass?"

VERVINS

A town in N. France, abt. 100 m. N.E. of Paris. It was taken by Henry VIII in 1544; and a treaty between France and Spain was made there on May 2nd, 1598. In Chapman's Trag. Byron i. 1, Janin speaks of "The discontent the Spaniard entertained, With such a threatening fury, when he heard The prejudicial conditions Proposed him in the treaty held at V."

VESAEVUS

See VESUVIUS.

VESTA, TEMPLE OF

At Rome, in the S.W. corner of the Forum Romanum, just S. of the present ch. of San Maria Liberatrice. It was circular in shape, and in its neighbourhood the Vestal Virgins had their lodging. The circular building now shown as the T. of V. in the Piazza della Boccadella Verita was not the T. of V., but was probably the Aemilian Temple of Hercules In Richards' Messallina iv. 1980, Lepida says, "A vault I have Which near adjoins the Vestals' T." In Tiberius 714, Nero says, "Did we not both, at Vestaes sacred shrine, Pray for the safety of his Majesty?" Some of the scenes in B.&F. Corinth take place in an imaginary temple of V. in that city.

VESUVIUS

A volcano on the E. side of the Bay of Naples, abt. 4000 ft. high. The first record of an eruption in historic times is that of August 24th, A.D. 79, when Pompeii and Herculaneum were overwhelmed. For the next 15 cents. it remained quiescent, which accounts for the very few references to it in our dramatic literature, in which Aetna (q.v.) is the typical volcano. In 1631 there was another outburst, and since then the mtn. has been more or less active. In Fisher's Fuimus iv. 2, Eulinus says, "His ruddy flesh boiled in flame like an Aetnaean or Vesuvian salamander." In Nabbes' Hannibal iv. 1, the Messenger pictures Nature's Archeus seeking "an Aetna or Vesaevus out Where he might dry himself." Chaucer spells it "Vesevus." Barnes, in Parthenophil lxxv. 11, asks of Cupid who his father was, that he is so cruel: "V. else? or was it Etna rather?"

VIANO

An ancient city of Navarre, lying a little N. of the Ebro, 160 m. N.E. of Madrid. In Barnes' Charter v. 5, Guicchiardine says, "Caesar Escaped into the kingdom of Navarre Where in an ambush at Viano slain Just Nemesis repaid his treachery."

VIA SACRA

A street in ancient Rome, beginning on the Esquiline Hill near the Coliseum and running under the arch of Titus through the Forum up to the Capitol. It was the road along which the Roman generals went in triumph to the Capitol. In Jonson's Poetaster, the scene of iii. 1, which is a free imitation of Horace, Sat. i. 9, is given as "The Via Sacra (or Holy Street)."

VICENZA

A city in N. Italy on the Bacchiglione, 40 m. W. of Venice. It has a fine Gothic cathedral, and is specially celebrated for its palaces, many of which were the work of Palladio, who was a native of the city. At first a free city, it fell successively under the power of Ezzelino di Romano and of Verona; then it became subject to Gian Galeazzo, Visconti, of Milan, and so remained till 1404, when the citizens called in the aid of Venice and accepted her lordship. It continued to be part of the Venetian dominions till 1797. It had a considerable trade in silk and wine. In Jonson's Case, there is a war between the French and the Milanese; the supposed date is fixed by certain allusions in the play to 1460 (see under MILAN); but the war was probably suggested by the attack of Francis I on Milan in 1515, In i. 1, we are told that Maximilian of V. is leader of the Milanese troops. In i. 2, Count Ferneze describes the surprise and storming of V. by Chamont, the French general; and in iii. 1, he says, "First in V. lost I my first son." Jonson calls it indifferently V. and Vincenza. Another form, perhaps due to a misprint, is found in Cockayne's Trapolin v. 1, where the hero says, "Vienca wine and Padua bread are the best." Coryat, in Crudities 305, quotes the proverb: "The wine of V., the bread of Padua, the tripes of Treviza, the courtesans of Venice."

VIENCA

See VICENZA.

VIENNA

The capital of the Austrian Republic on the right bank of the Danube at its confluence with the Wien. Originally a Celtic town, it was seized and fortified by the Romans under the name of Vindobona. It was long the outpost of European civilisation against the Turks and Slavs. In 1276 it became the capital of the Hapsburgs, and, whilst they held the title of Holy Roman Emperor, it was the capital of the Empire. In 1477 it was besieged by the Hungarians, and in 1485 was taken by Matthew Corvinus. In 1529 the Turks besieged it, but were repelled by the valour of Nicholas von Salm. A later siege in 1683 was equally unsuccessful.

V. is the scene of Measure for Measure, in which it is represented as under the rule of a Duke. In its source, Whetstone's Promos, the scene is in Julio (q.v.). In Ham. iii. 2, 248, Hamlet says of the play which is to be presented before the K.: "The play is the image of a murder done in V.; Gonzago is the D.'s name." He is afterwards called the K. In Marlowe's Tamb. B. i. 1, Orcanes says to Sigismund: "I am he That with the cannon shook V. walls." Sigismund replies, "V. was besieged and I was there, Then County Palatine, but now a K." This is quite unhistorical; Orcanes (Orkhan) was never near V. In Barnes' Charter iii. 3, Frescobaldi boasts: "At V. I did unhorse 3 Turkic Janizaries." This was at the siege of 1529. In Jonson's Ev. Man. I. ii. 2, Brainworm claims to have been shot "at the relief of V." He is thinking of the same siege. In Glapthorne's Wallenstein v. 2, Leslie says, "V. is the capital city, which does hold The true and lawful Caesar."

VIMIE

Probably a misprint for VIENNE, an ancient city in France in the department of Isère, on the left bank of the Rhône, some 20 miles south of Lyons. It was taken by Montmorency in conjunction with the D. of Lorraine in 1594; Biron was acting with Montmorency in this campaign, and it is most likely that the gift of a horse to him by the D. was made at this time. In Chapman's Trag. Byron iv. x, the Capt. reminds Byron of the death of "the horse the D. of Lorraine sent you at Vimie."

VIMINAL

One of the hills upon which ancient Rome was built. It lies E. of the city between the Quirinal and the Esquiline. Spenser, in Raines of Rome iv., describes Rome as lying buried under her 7 hills, and says, "Both her feet Mt. V. and Aventine do meet."

VINCENT, CAPE ST.

The extreme S.W. point of Portugal. In Hycke, p. 88, the hero says, "I have been at Cape saynt Vincent, and in the New found iland."

VINCENT'S (SAINT) STREET

Seville. In Tuke's Five Hours ii. 1, Ernesto says, "Here's a key of the apartment that opens on St. Vincent's st. "

VINCENZA

See VICENZA.

VINE

A tavern sign in Lond. Taylor, in Carriers Cosmography, mentions a Vine Inn in Bishopsgate St In T. Heywood's Lucrece iii. 5, Valerius sings: "The drunkard [goes] to the Vine."

VINE COURT

A range of buildings in the Middle Temple, London. Strode's Float. Isl. was "Printed by T.C. for H. Twyford in Vine-Court Middle Temple. 1655."

VINTNERS' HALL

The Hall of the Vintners' Company in Lond., at No. 68 on the S. side of Upper Thames St. The Company received its 1st charter from Edward III and the Hall was built on a site presented to them by John de Stody, who was Lord Mayor in 1357, It was burnt down in the Gt. Fire and rebuilt by Wren; but of this second Hall only the Council Chamber remains, the rest having been rebuilt in 1820. Dekker, in Jests, says, "Serjeants are good benefactors to V.-H." In Massinger's Virgin ii. 1, Spungius speaks of Bacchus as "head-warden of V.-H." In Nabbes' Bride i. 4, Rhenish says, "There's that will make the crookedest horner in the lane speak Latin with the Beadle of Vintiners-H." To speak Latin means to gabble unintelligibly, like a drunken man.

VINTRY

A wharf on the N. bank of the Thames just above the present Southwark Bdge., between Queen Hythe and the Stillyard. It was set apart in the reign of Edward I for the use of the Bourdeaux wine merchants and was furnished with 3 cranes for the unloading of their vessels; from them the famous tavern "The Three Cranes" (q.v.) derived its name. The heading of one of Scogan's Ballads (circ. 1450) is "At a supper of feorthe merchande in the vyntre in Lond." Skelton, Works I 208 (1529), says, "They judge themselves able to be doctors of the chair in the Vyntre at the Three Cranes." In Edwardes' Damon xv., Aristippus says, "In him there is as much virtue, truth, and honesty, As there are true feathers in the three cranes of the v." In the list of taverns in News Barthol. Fair, we find "three Cranes in the Vintree." The name is still preserved in the Ch. of St. Martin V. See also THREE CRANES.

VIRGINIA

(Vn.=Virginian). A name given to the dist. on the E. coast of N. America the colonisation of which was commenced by Raleigh in 1584. It included the present States of Florida, Georgia, S. and N. Carolina, and V. The name was bestowed on it in honour of the Virgin Q., Elizabeth. In 1606 James I granted V. by patent to the Lond. Company; and in May 1607 a body of 105 colonists founded Jamestown on the James river. Capt. John Smith assumed the management of the infant colony; he was captured by the Indians, but saved by the intercession of Pocahontas, the daughter of the chief Powhatan. Two years later she again saved the town from an Indian plot; and in 1611 she was married to an Englishman, John Rolfe, and later visited England, where she was the object of much curiosity and admiration.

The dramatists represent it as an almost unknown land, the refuge of desperate adventurers, and inhabited by savages who worshipped the devil. Its chief products are swine and tobacco. The quotations that follow are arranged in chronological order and show the growth in the knowledge of the country during the 1st half of the 17th cent. Spenser, F.Q. ii. prol. 2 (1590), asks, "Fruitfullest V. who did ever view?" Hall, in Satires (1597) v. 1, says that Furius would "dislodge whole colonies of poor And ship them to the new-named Virgin-lond." In Middleton's Blurt (1602) iii. 3, Lazarillo speaks of "any new-found land, as V., or so." In Jonson's Eastward (1605), Sir Petronel Flash bestows all he has "on a ship now bound for V."; Seagull describes it in iii. 3: "A whole country of English is there, bred of those that were left there in '79. They have married with she-Indians and make 'em bring forth as beautiful faces as any we have in England." He goes on to speak of the wealth of the country in gold, diamonds, and rubies; its delightful climate, and its freedom from serjeants, lawyers, courtiers, and intelligencers; "only a few industrious Scots, who indeed are dispersed over the face of the whole earth." It is 6 weeks' voyage thither; but the expedition gets no further than Cuckolds Haven in the Thames, where the whole party is shipwrecked. Drayton, in Ode to the Virginian Voyage (1606), calls it "V., Earth's only Paradise." In Cooke's Greene's Tu Quoque (1609) i. 2, Staines says, "I dare not walk abroad to see my friends, for fear the serjeants should take acquaintance of me. My refuge is Ireland or V." In Jonson's Epicoene (1609) ii. 3, Morose says of his nephew's fortune: "It shall not have hope to repair itself by Constantinople, Ireland, or V." In the early part of the 17th cent. a Virginian chief, called Nomentack, was brought over to England. In Jonson's Epicoene (1609) v. 1, La-Foole says that Daw drew maps (i.e. portraits) of "Nomentack, when he was here, and of the Prince of Moldavia." William Crawshaw, in a sermon preached in 1610, says that V. has been ridiculed on the stage for the reason that no players or other idle persons are tolerated there. Donne, in Verse Letter to Countess of Bedford (1610), says, "We've added to the world V." In Middleton's R. G. (1610) ii. 2, Moll advises Sebastian not to marry in a hurry; "take deliberation, sir; never choose a wife as if you were going to V."; the idea being that those who go there go on a sudden impulse to escape the law. In Dekker's Match me (1611) ii., Bilbo says, "The beard-brush is flexible as you will; the very bristles of the same swine that are fattened in V." In Field's Weathercock (1612) ii. 1, Scudmore says that Worldly can have no conscience unless "wild V., black Afric, or the shaggy Scythia" send him one over. In Tailor's Hog Hath Lost (1613) iii., Haddit says of his scheme: "This goes better forward than the plantation in V." In Chapman's Anti-masque at the wedding of the princess Elizabeth (1613), the masquers are Vn. priests, called Phoebades, and the scene is a refulgent mine of gold. In Jonson's Barthol. (1614) Ind., the Stage-keeper sarcastically says of the play: "When it comes to the Fair once, you were e'en as good go to V., for anything there is of Smithfield." Chapman, in Inns of Court Masque (1614), describes some of the actors as "having on their heads high-sprigged feathers, compassed in coronets, like the Vn. princes they presented." In Trades Increase (1615), the author says, "For V., we know not well what to do with it." In B.&F. Subject (1618) iii. 2, Honora says, "If there be such stirring things among them, such travellers into V. as Fame reports, if they can win me, take me." The meaning is "brave adventurers." Middleton, in Love and Antiquity (1619), Bullen vii. 321, speaks of "that kind savage, the Vn." In Massinger's Madam (1619) v. 1, Sir John Frugal says, "A deep magician appeared to me in V. and commanded I should provide, against the next great sacrifice, 2 Christian virgins." A play entitled "A Tragedy of the Plantation of Virginia" was licensed in 1623, but is entirely lost. In Jonson's Staple (1625) ii. 1, Pennyboy Canter says, "The blessed Pokahontas, as the historian calls her, and great k.'s daughter of V., hath been in womb of tavern." In B.&F. Gentleman (1626) i. 1, Clerimont says of his wife: "Sir, I had rather send her to V. to help to propagate the English nation" than to Court. Drayton, in Ep. to Sandys (1627), says, "I put not thus to sea For 2 months' voyage to V." The author of Discourse on Leather (1627) says, "We can live without the smoke of V." Taylor, in Works (1630), says, "The barbarous Brasilians, Americans, and Vns do adore the devil." In T. Heywood's Traveller (1633) ii. 2, Reginald says, "I'll make this supposed gaol to you as safe as you were i' the Low Countries, V., or i' the Indies." In Shirley's C. Maid (1637) ii. 1, Close says, "V. tobacco grows here," i.e. in Lond. In Cockayne's Obstinate (1638) i. 3, Lorice says, "I came at last to V., where I saw nothing more worthy mention than an honest woman who cast herself into the sea because nobody would lie with her."

VIROLAM

See VERULAM.

VISION, LAND OF

Mt. Moriah, the hill E. of Jerusalem on which tradition said that Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac, and where afterwards the Temple of Solomon, and later still the Mosque of Omar, were built. Mori-Jah means Revelation of Jehovah; and in Gen. xxii. 2, the Vulgate translates it "Terra Visionis." In York M. P. x. 71, the Angel says to Abraham, "To the land of Vyssyon wend in fear And there of him make thou offering."

VITERBYE

(i.e. VITERBO). A city of Italy, at the base of Monte Cimino, 40 m. N.W. of Rome. It was a favourite Papal residence in the Middle Ages, and the conclaves for the election of the Popes were often held there. It possesses a fine cathedral and episcopal palace of the 13th cent. In Bale's Laws iii., Ambition says, "The Pope for whoredom hath in Rome and V. Of gold and silver a wonderful substance yearly."

VOLGA

The longest river in Europe. It rises in Lake Seligher, abt. 200 m. S. of Petrograd, and flows through Russia, first in an E., then in a S. direction, until, after a course of 2325 m., it falls through a huge delta into the Caspian Sea at Astrakhan, by some 200 mouths. With its tributaries it forms a waterway of over 14,000 m.; and being connected by canals with the Neva, it forms a continuous line of traffic from the Caspian to the Baltic. For about a third of the year, however, it is blocked by ice, and so closed to navigation.

Heylyn, Microcos., says, "Vulga, which with no less than 70 mouths dischargeth it self into the Mare Caspium." Greene, in Never too Late (Works viii. 45), speaks of "the V., a bright stream, but without fish." In his Friar ix., Bacon says, "Persia down her V. by canoes [shall] Send down the secrets of her spicery." In his Orpharion (Works xii 34), he calls it "the swift-running V. that leadeth into Persia." The V. is not a Persian river; but much of her merchandise came into Russia by way of the V.; so that Mr. Lettsom, in a note on this passage, is hardly justified in saying: "This is much as if France were to send Claret and Burgundy down her Thames." In Greene's Orlando i. 1, Madrecarde says, "I, Leaving fair Voya, crossed up Danuby As high as Saba." In Marlowe's Tamb. A. i. 2, Tamburlaine says, "My martial prizes, Won on the fifty-headed V.'s waves, Shall we all offer to Zenocrate." In Tamb. B. iv. 1, the Soldan of Egypt calls Tamburlaine "the rogue of V."–not quite accurately, for he came from Turkestan, on the shore of the Caspian opposite to the mouth of the V. In Dekker's London's Tempe, Oceanus says, "I could swift V. call, whose curled head lies On 7 rich pillows, but in merchandise The Russian him employs." In his Seven Sins, Dekker says, "V. that hath fifty streams falling one into another never ran with so swift and irresistible a current." In B.&F. Subject i. 3, Archas, the Russian General, says, "I yet remember when the V. curled, The aged V., when he heaved his head up And raised his waters high to see the ruins, The ruins our swords made." In iv. 5, he tells how, at the coming of the Tartar chief, Olim, "The V. trembled at his terror And hid his 7 curled heads." In their Shepherdess i. 3, Alexis speaks of the icy wind "That, as he passeth by, shuts up the stream Of Rhine or V.'' In Valentin. v. 2, Valentinian, after being poisoned, cries: "Danubius I'll have brought through my body . . . And V., on whose face the N. wind freezes." In their Lover's Prog. iv. 4, Lisander says, "Can all the winds of mischief from all quarters, Euphrates, Ganges, Tigris, V., Po, Make it swell higher?" The sturgeon is common in the V. Giles Fletcher, in Russe Commonwealth (1591), p. 41, mentions 4 varieties of the sturgeon, and says, "These 4 kinds of fish breed in the Wolgha and are catched in great plenty . . . Of the roes of these 4 kinds they make very great store of scary or caveary."

VOLQUESSEN

A dist. in Normandy, lying round Gisors, N.W. of Paris. Originally known as Pagus Velocassinus, the name was gradually shortened to V., Vulxin, and finally Vexin, by which it is now (in 1925) known. There are 2 Vexins: Le Vexin François round Pontoise, and Le Vexin Normand, which is the one intended in the passages quoted. In Trouble. Reign, Haz., p. 250, Philip demands of John "V., Torain, Main, &c." In K. J. ii. 1, 527, John says to Philip, "Then do I give V., Touraine, Maine, Poictiers, and Anjou."

VOLSCIANS

A tribe of Central Italy, in the S. of Latium, in the valley of the Liris. Their chief city was Antium. Vergil represents Camilla, the Princess of the V., as taking the side of Turnus in his war against Aeneas. For 200 years, from 500 to 300 B.C., the V. were constantly at war with the Romans, but were finally absorbed in her growing dominions. The date of the war in which legend made Coriolanus the principal figure was 490 B.C. Jonson introduces Camilla in his Queens: "Swift-foot Camilla, q. of Volscia" (see Vergil's description of her in Aen. vii. 803). The background of Cor. is the war between the V. and Romans, under the leadership of Tullus Aufidius and Coriolanus respectively. The story is purely legendary, but doubtless reflects the fact that the V. were too strong for the Romans in those early days, for which the Roman historians endeavoured to account by pretending that an exiled Roman was their leader. Shakespeare uses the forms Volce and Volcian, which the modern editors change to Volsce and Volscian.

VOYA, VULGA

See VOLGA.

VUTHEK

(i.e. ST. BUDOCK). A vill. in S. Cornwall, abt. 1 m. S. of Falmouth. In Cornish M. P. i. 2463, K. Solomon says to the mason, "Ha rag bos agas whey! tek My a re thyugh plu V."; i.e. "And because your work is fair, I will give you the parish of V."

VYSSYON, LAND OF

See VISION, LAND OF.