necklace, reaching to the girdle, and composed of dia- monds or other precious stones, which is called lihldt/i. Some women form a long necklace of this kind with Venetian sequins, or Turkish or Egyptian gold coins (Lane, Modern Egyptians, ii, 405). The Arab females of Palestine at the present day are especially given to wearing necklaces composed of strings of gold coin, which are their own property, and cannot be taken even for debt (Thomson, Land and Boole, i, 185). See Orna- ment.
Neco'dan (NfKoj^av, Vulg. Neckodaiais), given (1 Esdr. V, 37) as the name of the head of one of the Israelitish families who had lost their pedigree in Baby- lon ; in place of the Nekoda (q. v.) of the Heb. text (Ezra ii, 60).
Necrodeipnon (Gr. v(Kp6c, dead, and ^htzvov, a meal) was the name of a funeral feast among the an-
NECROLOGY
912
NECROPOLIS
cient Greeks. It commonly took place at the house of 1 tlie nearest relative of the deceased, and was usually i attended by all tlie friends and relatives, it being re- ] garded as a sacred duty to be present on the mourn- \ ful occasion. See Moiusing.
Necrology (from Gr. vtKpoc, dead, and Xoyor, dis- course, or f numeration) is the name given in the Roman Catholic Church to a book anciently kept in churches j and monasteries, wherein were registered the names of | benefactors of such establishments, the time of their death, and tlie days of their commemoration ; as also the deaths of the priors, abbots, religious canons, etc. Tliis record was also called Cdleixlur and Obituanj. The name of Necrology was anciently given sometimes to what is now designated generally as Murtjirolofjy (ii.v.).
AVhen the di|)tychs fell into desuetude, necrologies, obituaries, books of the dead, books of annals or anni- versaries, and books of life took their place as records in cathedrals and collegiate cluirches and minsters of the names of the deceased. The Benedictines adopted them at the beginning of the Gth century. When an abbot or distinguislied monk died, a messenger, carrying a brief or roll, a kind of encyclical letter, rode to the various associated abbeys or churches to apprise them of his decease, and left a schedule containing his own name and that of the dead, and tlic date of liis arrival. The new name was then inserted in the several obit- uaries. These were read after the martyrology at prime, but in a monastery after the rule. The names were recited on their several anniversaries, and in the case of a benefactor the I)e jn'o/undis and a special prayer were sung. The abbot was commemorated by the words, "The deposition of lord abbot N." All oth- ers had the simple affix " obiit," i. e. he died. First were read out the names of abbots, then monks, provosts, precentors, and in succession those of sacristans, bish- ops, priests, sovereigns, and soldiers. Saints were also included ; and for convenience a single volume gener- ally comprised the monastic rule, the martyrology, and obituary. The gifts of benefactors were often recited ; but sometimes only a general commemoration of all lirothren and familiars of the order was made, followed by the words, " Hequiescatinpace" — may he rest in peace — uttered by the president, and closed by an " amen" chanted by the whole chapter. Cowell says that at the prayer of the prothesis the Greeks had their names in- serted in the catalogue, and deposited a present in money, which formed a considerable portion of a country priest's income. See Walcott, Sacred A rchaolorjn, p. 396, 397 ; INIartigny, Diciionnaire des Antiquifes (Jhretiennes, p. 432, 433 ; Martene, ])e A ntiq. Monach. ritib, vol. i, pt. i, ch. V.
Necromancer (Ileb. cnSJl'^X TIJ'^^, one v;ko inquires of the dead; Sept. tTrsputrujv Tovg viKpovc). In many ancient nations there wore jugglers who pro- fessed to be able by incantations to call up the dead from the under world, chiefly to consult them on the mysteries of tlie present or future. Already in Homer's time this practice had been introduced (see Odiis. xi, 24 sq.) ; and the belief in such enchantments, notwithstand- ing the mockery of the better instructed few (Cicero, Tusc. i, IG, 37), kept its ground among the common peo- ple in pagan lands down to the latest times (comp. Plin. XXX, 5 sq. ; Ilerodian, iv, 12, 8; Dio Cass. Ixxvii, 15; TertuUian, Apol. xxiii; I)c Anima,\\'i\.). Partic- ular places were commonly supposed to be, as it were, entrances to Orcus {vtKvonavTiict'), where, on invoca- tion, the shades would actually appear ; for example, at Lake Aornos in Epirus and Lake Avernus in Lower Italy (Cicero, Tiisc. ut sup.; Heync, Kxrnr. ii sq., ad Virg. jf^n. vi); and at Heraclea on the I'ropontis (He- rod. V, 92, 7 ; Diotl. Sic. iv, 22 ; Pausan. ix, 30, 3 ; Plu- tarch, Cinu vi; Strabo, v, 244). The Kastern Magi were especially famed for necromantic skill (Ilerodian, ut sup. ; com]). Strabo, xvi, 702). Necromancy (Pl^iX ; Talm. Dirnan bx l-^'IJ-n; see Othonis Lex. liabb. p.