NUN
235
NUN
Gold Coin of Justinian II (A.D. 705), bearing on the re- verse the bust of the Saviour, witii the cross hehiiid the head, tlie books of the Gospels iu the hand, aud the legend " Vn. IHS rex regiiantium."
Coin of Leo VI, "the Wise" (A.D. SS6), bearing on the reverse the bust of the Virgin Mary, the hands extended, with the letters MR inscribed on one side of the veiled head aud ev on the other, aud the legend '■^ Maria."
IV. Literature. — In addition to the works above no- ted, and those cited under Coin and Money, see Bayer, De munis Hebrceo-Samar. (Valen. 1781 ; with supplem. Viiidicice, 1790) ; Hardouin, De nummis Herodianis (Par. 1G93) ; Walsh, Notice of Coins illustrating Christianity (Loud. 1827) ; Ziebich, De nuniis antiquis sacris (Viteb. 1745) ; King, Early Christian Numismatics (Lond. 1873) ; De Saulcy, Numismatique de la Tei-re Sainte (Par. 1874) ; Knight, Nummi veteri in Museo Britiinnico (Lond. 1830) ; Madden, Jewish Coinage (ibid. 18G4) ; Eckhel, Doctriiia NumorumVeterum (yianna., 1795-1826) ; Miou- net. Description des Medailles antiques Grecs et lio- mai?ies (Par. 180G-1839) ; Henin, Numismatique An- cienne (ibid. 1830) ; Grasset, A Ite Numismatik (Leips. 1852, 1853); Prime, Coins, Medals, and Seals (N. Y. 1861); Vaillant, Numismata Imperaiorum Romanorum (Par. 1674); Ackerman, Numismatic Illustrations of the N. T. (Lond. 184G) ; Cavedoni, Numismatica Biblica (1850-1855; transl. in German, with additions by Werlthoff, 1855, 1856) ; Levy, Jiidische Miinzen (Bres- lau, 1862); Humphreys, The Coin Collecto7-'s Manual (Lond. 1869).
Nun (Heb. id. "(^IS [once Nm, "jID, 1 Chron. vii, 27, A. V. "Non"], having branches or descendants; in the Syriac and Chaldee, a Jish, because of its prolificness ; Sept. Nay/; v. r. Na/3»;, Na/Ss), an Israelite of the tribe of Ephraim (B.C. cir. 1630) ; father of Joshua, the great leader of Israel, who is usually called Joshua Bin-Nun (■|1D~'|3, not ""iS), the son of Nun, e. g. Numb, xi, 28 ; xiv, 6. Of the life of Nun no account is given. Some of the early English versions write the name Naue, after the Sept. 'Savl], which Gesenius (Thes. ii, 864) thinks an error of transcription for Naun tiavv ; but Ewald (/sr. Gesch. ii, 226) thinks to be taken from another pointing in the Hebrew ("1^3, »;«?/«?«), or perhaps it is an omission of the final N. See Joshua.
Nun (Latin, nonna; Greek, fovif) is not exclusively used for females, for we find it used in Latin, in the Middle Ages, both under the masculine and the femi- nine form, as Nonnus, Nonna. Ducange furnishes many instances of the use of the masculine form. The word may be considered as equivalent to sanctus, castus. Arnobius, junior, on Psa. cv, says: "Si ille qui sanctus vocatur et Nonnus sic agit, ego quis aut quotus sum, ut non agamV" In the Liber usuuni Cisterciensium, cap. 98, we find : " I. Augusti obiit N. Nonnus de N. sa- cerdos et monachus eiusdem monasterii." Occasionally, yet only in rare instances, the monks and superiors of convents were designated as Nonni. We find also dif- ferent forms of the word, as Nonnanes, Nunnones, i. q. monarhi et sanctimnniidcs, nonnaicus habitus, in the place of monachicus habitus. The origin of the word
is uncertain. Ilospinian states it to be an Egyptian term denoting a virgin. It is probably derived from a Coptic or Egyptian root. This much is certain, that the term was already used in the time of Jerome (see his Ep. ad Eustochium, ep. xxii, cap. 6).
Ancient Nuns. — -At an early period women devoted themselves to the service of the Church. As there were ascetics in the Church long before there were anj^ monks, so there were virgins who made public and open profes- sion of virginity before the monastic life or name was known (see Ludlow, iro?«aj«'A- Work in the Churxh [Lond. 1866, 12mo], ch. ii, 1 sq.). Before monasteries existed, Cyprian and Tertullian speak of virgins dedicating them- selves to Christ. These are sometimes called ecclesias- tical virgins, to distinguish them from such as embraced the monastic life. The ecclesiastical virgins were com- monly enrolled in the canon of the Church — that is, in the catalogue of ecclesiastics — and hence they were sometimes called canonical virgins. They lived pri- vately at home, and were maintained by their parents, or, in cases of necessity, by the Church, instead of liv- ing in communities and upon their own labor, as did the monastical virgins or nuns confined to cloisters in after- ages. Whether these ecclesiastical virgins indicated their intentions to remain in that state all their lives by a solemn vow, or a simple profession, is not clear; but it appears from ancient writings that the profession of virginity was not so strict as to make after-marriage a crime worthy of ecclesiastical censure. Ecclesiastical virgins were enrolled in the canon or matricula of the Church [see Canon; Maxkicula], and from this were sometimes called canonical virgins. It does not seem that they were absolutel}' forbidden to marry. But gradually it became a subject of censure, and by the 4th and 5th centuries the Church became decided and rigorous in its treatment of the marriage of professed virgins, condemning such to severe penance, though such mairiages " were not rescinded" or pronounced null. Indeed, the law gave great liberty and indulgence to all virgins that were consecrated before the age of forty. Eor though some canons allowed them to be consecrated at twenty-five, and others at sixteen or seventeen, other canons required virgins to be forty years old before they were veiled ; and the law not only prescribed that age in consecrated virgins, but fur- ther decreed that if any virgin was veiled before that age, either by the violence or hatred of her parents (which was a case that often happened), she should have libert}'' to marry. There appears, therefore, a verj' wide difference between the practice of the ancient churches and that of the Church of Kome in this mat- ter (see Lea, Hist. Sacerdotal Celibacy, p. 101 sq. et al.). The Council of Ancyra first decreed nuns to the pen- ance of digamists, shoidd any of them marr}^ (see Celi- bacy), and the Council of Chalcedon doomed them to excommunication. (Monastic virgins, of course, lived in seclusion, and none of these laws were necessary enactments for their guidance and control.)