Giordano Bruno. See Bruno. Gir. See Chalk.
Giraldns Cambrensis (Sylvester), archdea- con of Brecon and titular bishop of IMenevia or St. David's, was born at Pembroke, Wales, ^n 114G. He finished his education in Paris, and in 1175 was appointed hy Ilichard, archbishop of Canterbury, as his legate for Wales, and was soon after made arch- deacon of Brecon. In the following year he was elected bishop of IMenevia, but king Henry II refused to confirm tlie election. He then returned to Paris, where, as he says himself, in his De rehtis a se gestis, he passed for the most learned person in jurisprudence, and was oflTered the professorship of canon law, Avhich he declined. He afterwards administered for a while the affairs of the bishopric of Menevia, and in 1184 be-
GIRDLE
876
GIRDLE
came court preacher of Henrj' II. He accompanied Henry's son John as adviser in tiie expedition aj^ainst Ireland, and in 1188 accompanied archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury on a tour tlirough Wales, for tiie pur- pose of organizin;^ a crusade. Kichard I appointed him legate of Wales, but at tiie fall of the latter he re- turned to his studies. He was again elected bishop of St. David's, but failed again to be recognised as such. He " passed the last seventeen j'ears of his life ill studv, revising his former literar^^ works and com- posing "others, of which he has himself given a copious index. In the niid^t of these occupations he received once more an offer of the bishopric of St. David's, and would liavc met with no opposition from the court ; but, from the dishonorable terms on which it was offered, he refused the ecclesiastical dignity whicii had so long been the object of his earnest wishes. He died at St. David's in the seventy-fourth year of his age, and was buried in the cathedral church, where his effigy still remains upon an altar-tomb beneath an ornamental arch. Giraldus appears to have been an upright and able man. As an ecclesiastic he was zealous, active, and fearless in maintaining the rights and dignities of his Church ; but he was, at the same time, honest and disinterested. As a scholar he was learned, and as a collector of historical materials diligent, f;ir beyond the measure of his age. As a historian, however, he was full of credulity, and as a man, as his works prove, one of the vainest upon record. Giraldus has himself given a catalogue of his works, as well as a long his- tory of his actions, both printed bj' Wharton. Other lists will be found in Fabricius, Bibliotheca Med. ct Inf. Latinilatis (edit. Patav. 4to, 1754), iii, G2, and in the notes to his lif?. in the Biogr. Britcm. (ed. 1778), i, G40; C42, G44. Sir Richard Colt Hoare has given a full account of such MSS. of his works as exist in the sev- eral libraries in the British Museum, in the Archiepis- copal Library at Lambeth, at Bene't (Corpus Christi) College, in the public library at Cambridge, and in the Bodleian. Those printed are, Itiner.irtum Ccnnbrice (Lond. 1585, 8vo), and in Camden's Ane/l. N'orm., (fc, Scrijjt. (Francof. 1002, fol.), p. 818-878 -.—TojwjrajMa Ilibernia (Camden, ut sup.), p. 092-754 : — Expugnntio Jlibernim (ibidem), p. 755-813: — DescripUo CambriuB (ibid.), p. 879-892. Several short pieces by Giraldus are printed in the second volume of Wharton's Anglla SacTit. The Gemma Ecclesiasiica, published at JNIcntz in 1549, witiiout the author's name, under the title of Gemma Animm^ is ascribed to Giraldus. Sir Richard Colt Hoare, in 180G, published the Ifinerari/ of Arch- lishop Balflidn through IFa/es, translated into English, and illustrated with views, annotations, and a life of Giraldus (2 vols. 4to)." A new edition, Giraldl Cam- brensis Opera, is now publishing, under the direction of the master of the rolls, edited by J. F. Dimock ; 5 vols, were issued up to 18G8. See Wharton, Anglia Sacra, ii, 457-51.3 ; Fabricius, Bibliotheca Mtd. et Inf. Latinitati.i ; Engl. Ci/clopadia, s. v. Barry ; Bif^g. Bri- tannica, s. v. Barri ; Herzog, Real-Enci/k!opddie, v, 1G4 ; Wright, Biog. Brit. Literaria, Anglo-Norman Period, p. 080-97.
Girdle, an essential article of dress in the East, and worn both by men and women. The correspond- ing Helirew and Greek words are: 1. TiriH, chagor' , or r:~";;:3 (fem-)) ehagorah' , girder (Prov. xxxi, 24 ; Ezck. xxiii, 15; Gen. iii, 7; 2 Sam. xviii, 11; Isa. xxxii, 11), which is the general term for a girdle of any kind, whether worn by soldiers (1 Sam. xviii, 4; 2 Sam. XX, 8; 1 Kings ii, 5; 2 Kings iii, 21), or by women (Isa. iii, 24). 2. *1TX, ezor' , something hoitnd (Isa. -xi, .5), especially used of the girdles worn bj' men ; whether by prophets (2 Kings i, 8 ; Jer. xiii, 1), soldiers (Isa. v, 27 ; Ezek. xxiii, 15), or kings in their military capacity (Job xii, 18). 3. 'n']'2,'meznch' , or n'Tj, mazi'ach, a band (" strength," Job xii, 21), used
of the girdle worn by men alone (Psa. cix, 19 ; Isa. xxiii, 1(1). 4. These, as well as the general term L,wvri, a belt, Matt, iii, 4 ; x, 9 ; ]Mark i,, G ; vi, 8 ; Acts xxi, 11; Rev. i, 13; xv, G, require no special elucidation. Besides these were the following peculiar terms : 5. U:3N;, abnet' (from the Sanscrit bandha, a hand^, the girdle of sacerdotal and state ofBcers (Exod. xxviii, 4, ;j9, 40; xxix, 9; xxxix, 29; Lev. viii, 7, 13; xvi, 4; Isa. xxii, 21). See Priest. It was especially worn bj' the priests about the close-fitting tunic (Exod. xxviii, 39: xxxix, 29), and is described hy Josephus {Ant. iii, 7, 2) as made of linen so fine of texture as to look like the slough of a snake, and embioidered with flow- ers of scarlet, purple, blue, and fine linen. It was of about four fingers' breadth, and was wrapped several times round the priest's body, the ends hanging down to the feet. When engaged in sacrifice, the priest threw the ends over his left shoulder. According to Maimonides (/>e Vus. Sanct. c. 8), the girdle worn both by the high-priest and the common priests was of white linen embroidered with wool; but that worn by the high-priest on the day of atonement was entireh' of white linen. The length of it was thirty-two cubits, and the breadth about three fingers. It was worn just below the arm-pits to avoid perspiration (comp. Ezek. xliv, 18). Jerome {Ep. ad Eabiolam, de Vest. Sac.) fol- lows Josephus. With regard to the manner in which the girdle was embroidered, the " needlework"' (n'u"'0 DJ2"!, Exod. xxviii, 39) is distinguished in the Mishna from the "cunning-work" (-'^'n iTC;![.""2, Exod. xxvi, 31) as being worked b}' the needle with figures on one side onlj^, whereas the latter was woven-work with fig- ures on both sides (Cod. Yoma. c. 8). So also Maimon- ides {De Vas. Sanct. viii, 15). But Jarchi, on Exod. xxvi, 31, 3G, explains the diff"erence as consisting in this, that in the former case the figures on the two sides are the same, whereas in the latter they are dif- ferent. See Embiioider. This abnet may be consid- ered as fairly represented by those girdles which we observe on such persons in the Egyptian paintings.