CentoriatorB, the writen of the Cextubibs of IfAGDEBUBO (q. V.) are so called.
Centnrlea of Magdeburg (Centwria Magdebwy- efiMf), the name given to the first great work on Churdi History by Protestant writers. It was projected by Matthias Flacius, and prosecuted by him, in co^junc* tion with Joh.Wigand, Matt. Judex, Basilius Faber, Andr. Corvinus, and Thom. Holzhuter, of Hagdebuiip. Several of the Protestant princes joined to defray the
CENTURION
187
CERDO
•zpense inconed in the preparation of tlie work. " The oentnriatoirs thns deecribe the process employed in the composition of their work. Five directors were ap- pointed to manage the wliole design, and ten paid agents supplied the necessary labor. Seven of these were well-informed stodents, who were employed in making collections from the varions pieces set before them. Two others, more advanced in years, and of greater learning and judgment, arranged the matter tiiQs collected, submitted it to the directors, and, if it were approved, employed it in the composition of the work. As fiist as the various chapters were composed they were laid before certain inspectors, selected from the members of the directors, who careftiUy examined what had been done, and made the necessary altera- tbns ; and, finally, a regular amanuensis made a &ir copy of the whole. At length, in the 3rear 1559, ap- peared the first volume of their laborious undertaking. It was printed at Basle, where the thirteenth and final volume (fbl.) appeared in 1574; but, as it was pro- jected 1^ Magdeburg, that name was to remain on its title ; uid the first great Protestant work on Church History has been always commonly known as the Mag- deburg Centuries. It was in every point tiX view an extraordinary production. Though the first modem attempt to illustrate the history of the Church, it was written upon a scale which has scarcely been exceed- ed. It brought to light a large quantity of unpub- lished materials, and cast the whole subject into a fix- ed and regular form. One of its most remarkable fea- tures is the elaborate classification. This was strictly original, and, with all its inconveniences, undoubtedly tended to introduce scientific arrangement and minute accuracy into the study of Church History. Each cen- tury is treated separately, in sixteen heads or chap- ters. The first of these gives a general view of the history of the century ; then follows, 2. The extent and propagation of the Church ; 8. Persecution and tranquillity of the Church ; 4. Doctrine ; 5. Heresies ; 6. Rites and Ceremonies ; 7. Government; 8. Schisms ; 9. Councils; 10. Lives of Bishops and Doctors; 11. Heretics; 12. Martyrs ; 18. Miracles ; 14. Condition of the Jews; 15. Other religions not Christian; 16. Po- litical changes of the world*' (Hook, Church History, s. v.). "The work enlisted all the Protectant learning of the age. It was distinguished for its ikmiliarity with original authorities, for its frequent citations, for a criticism which paid no deference to earlier writers on the same subject, and for its passionate style of con- troversy. For more than a century afterwards, noth- hig was published but text-books formed from the ma- teriab supplied by the Centuries, and written in the same spirit" (Base, Chtrck Hittory, § 10). As a whole, the work is controversial rather than purely histori- cal; but its spirit, its thoroughness, and its method were {at in advance of any book in the same field that bad arisen in the Roman Church. The " Annals*' of Baronius were undertaken in order to counteract the influence of this great work.
The ** Centuries** do not reach beyond the 18th cen- tuy. The best edition is the original one {Eccluia$- tiea ffutorioy eicper aliquot Studiota et pio$ viros m wbe Magdebwrgica (Basil, 1559-74, 18 vols, in 8, fol.) ; 2d edit, by Lucius, with alterations (Basel, 1624, 18 vols, in 8) ; new e4Utumf to be extended to 1500, commenced by Baumgarten and Semler, but reaching only the 6th century CNamb. 1757-65, 6 vols.) ; Epiiome up to 1600, by Osiander (TQb. 1592-1604, 9 vols.) ; Germ, transl. t^ Count MUnnich (Hamburg, 1855). See BnddsBus, Itagoge, bk. ii, chap, vi, § iv, p. 787 ; Schaff, Ck. Bitt, Toli,§7; Scha^ i4/NM<. C%iirc&, § 29, p. 66.
Centn'xlon (butTovrapxtQ ^^nd iKarotrrapxoQ, a translation of the Latin ceiUurio, which also occurs in the Grncized form Kivrvpinw, Mark xv, 89, 44, 45), a Boman military officer in command of a hundred men, as the title implies. The number under him, how- ever, was not always uniform, being enlarged or less-
ened according to circumstances (see Smith's Diet, of Clem. Antiq. s. v.). Cornelius, the first Gentile con- vert to Christianity, held this rank (Acts x, 1, 22). See CoBMBLius. Other centurions are mentioned in Mattviii,5,8,18; Lnkevii,2,6; Actsxxi,82; xxii, . 25,26; xaiU, 17,28; xxiv,28; xxvii, 1, 6, 11, 81, 48 ; xxviii, 16. See Army. The centurion at our Sa- viour's cross (Matt xxvii, 54 ; Luke xxiii,47) is said to have been named Longinus (see the treatises on this point by Goetze and by Mdller, Obt$.philol. Bost 1696, p. 4 sq.). See Caftaih.
Ceolfrid, or Cbolfibth, a Saxon monk and wri- ter, was born about the year 642, In the kingdom of NiHrthumberland. In 674 he is mentioned by Bede as aiding Benedict Bisoop in building the monastery of St. Peter at Wearmouth ; and when Benedict founded the monastery of St. Paul at Jarrow, he made Ceol- frid the abbot. Benedict, on his death-bed, designa- ted Ceolfrid abbot of both the monasteries at Wear- mouth and at Jarrow. Bede describes him as ** a man of great perseverance, of acute intellect, bold in action, experienced in judgment, and zealous in religion." He died on his way to Rome, when he had nearly reached Langres, in France, on the 25th of Septem- ber, 716. His remains were carried to Wearmouth, but were subsequently removed to Glastonbury. His letter concerning Easter, addressed to Naitan, king of the Picts, and preserved by Bede, is distinguished by strength of reasoning and clearness of style. Bale attributes to him some homilies, epistles, and a tract, De ma Pertgrinatione.—Vfn^t, Biog. Brit, Li^. i, 284 sq. ; Bede, Hi$t. Eccles, bk. v, ch. xxi; Hook, Eedet, Biography, iii, 582.