SERGEANT 345 SERIES most complete surrender of their personal liberty. There were two classes of la- borers, the villeins and the serfs proper. The former occupied a middle position between the serfs and the freemen. A serf could not be sold, but could be trans- ferred along with the property to which he was attached. The revival of the cus- tom of manumission counteracted the rapid increase of serfs. A serf could also obtain his freedom by purchase, or by residing for a year and a day in a bor- ough, or by military service. By these various means the serf population grad- ually decreased. In most parts of the Continent they had disappeared by the 15th century. The extinction of serfdom in England and Scotland was very gradual. Serfdom in Russia was abol- ished by a manifesto of Alexander II. on March 17, 1861. SERGEANT, THOMAS, an American jurist; born in Philadelphia, Pa., Jan. 14, 1782; was graduated at Princeton College in 1798, and admitted to the bar in 1802. He was made associate justice of the Philadelphia District Court in 1814; was Secretary of State in 1817- 1819, and associate justice of the Penn- sylvania Supreme Court in 1834-1846. He resumed practice in 1847. He was the author of a "Treatise upon the Law of Pennsylvania Relative to the Proceedings of Foreign Attachment" (1811) ; "Reports of Cases adjudged in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania" (with William Rawle, Jr., 17 vols., 1814-1829) ; "Sketch of the National Judiciary Powers exercised in the United States Prior to the Adoption of the Present Federal Constitution" (1838) ; etc. He died in Philadelphia, Pa., May 8, 1860. SERGEANT, or SERJEANT, a sher- iff's officer, a bailiff; a title given to cer- tain officers of the British sovereign's household, serjeant; a police officer of superior rank to a private. Sergeant-at- arms, an officer appointed by a legisla- tive body, whose duties are to enforce the orders given by such bodies, generally under the warrant of its presiding officer. In military language, the second perma- nent grade in the non-commissioned ranks of the army. In the United States ser- vice there are regimental as well as com- pany sergeants. Their duties are mainly indicated by the title, which is a com- pound of sergeant with the superior of- ficer or the department they are intended to serve; as, sergeant-major, quarter- master-sergeant, color-sergeant, commis- sary-sergeant, ordnance-sergeant. SERGINSK, Upper and Lower, indus- trial settlements in the government of Perm, east Russia. Both were founded by Demidoff in the middle of the eigh- teenth century and are situated 43 miles S. W. of Ekaterinburg. There are large iron ore mines in the vicinity and these with the iron works, give occupation to most of the inhabitants. Annual produc- tion of iron and steel quoted at 20,000 tons. Pop. (Upper Serginsk) about 17,000; (Lower Serginsk) about 14,0uu. SERGITJS, the name of several popes. Sergius I.; born in Syria, about 630, succeeded Conova in 687. He opposed the canons of the Council of Constantinople, whereupon Justinian II. sent his general- in-chief to arrest Sergius; but the exarch of Ravenna protected the Pope, who hu- manely interposed to save the life of Jus- tinian's _ envoy. He instituted several ceremonies and established various churches at Rome. He died in Rome in 701. Sergius II., was a native of Rome, and succeeded Gregory IV. in 844. He was elected without the authorization of the Emperor Lothaire, who dispatched an army into Italy, under the command of his son Louis. But the Pope succeeded in inducing that prince to retire, after having crowned him King of Italy. Shortly afterward, the Saracens from Africa ascended the Tiber, and ravaged the environs of Rome, but were unable to enter the city. He died in 847. Sergius III., became Pope in 904, through the influence of the Marquis of Tuscany and of the notorious Roman lady, Marozia. These personages were at the head of a powerful party which had deposed Christopher. A son of Sergius, by Marozia, afterward became Pope by the title of John X. The character of this pontiff has been variously repre- sented. He died in 911. Sergius IV. was elected Pope in suc- cession to John XVIII. , in 1009. Under his rule, and in consequence of his ex- hortation, the Italian princes combined to drive out the Saracens from the coun- try. In his time, also, the Normans began to enter Italy. He died in 1012. SERIEMA (Dicholophus cristatiis) , a grallatorial bird of the size of a heron inhabiting the open grassy plains of Bra- zil and other parts of South America. Its feathers are of a gray color, and a kind of crest rises from the root of the beak, consisting of two rows of fine feathers curving backward. The eye is sulphur-yellow, the beak and feet red. The seriema is protected in Brazil on account of its serpent-killing habits and is often domesticated. SERIES, a continued or connected succession of things in the same order, and bearing the same relation to each
