Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/562

Popery. An account of the covenanting cause as a religious and political movement belongs to the history of Scotland. There were several successive Covenants, similar in spirit and expression, the most important historically being the National Covenant of 1638 and the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643. These were both based upon earlier documents. In 1581 the General Assembly of Scotland adopted a confession of faith, or national cove nant, drawn up by John Craig, condemning Episcopal government, under the name of hierarchy. This covenant was signed by James I. and enjoined on all his subjects. It was again subscribed in 1590 and 1596. The subscription waa renewed in 1638, and the subscribers engaged by oath to maintain religion in the same state in which it existed iu 1580, and to reject all innovations introduced since that time. This oath annexed to the confession of faith of 1581 received the name, of the National Covenant. The additional matter was prepared by Johnston of Warriston and Alexander Henderson, and was intended to suit the document to the special circumstances of the time. It was adopted and signed by a large gathering in Greyfriars Churchyard, Edinburgh, on the 28th February, and copies were sent next day throughout the country for additional signatures. The Solemn League and Covenant was estab lished in the year 1643, and formed a bond between Scotland, England, and Ireland for the united preservation of the Reformed religion in the Church of Scotland, there- formation of religion in England and Ireland " according to the Word of God and the example of the best Reformed churches," and the extirpation of Popery and Prelacy. It was sworn and subscribed by many in both nations, approved by the Parliament and Assembly at Westminster, and ratified by the General Assembly of Scotland in 1645. King Charles I. disapproved of it when he surrendered himself to the Scottish army in 1646 ; but in 1650 Charles II. by a solemn oath declared his approbation buth of this and of the National Covenant ; and in August the same year he made a further declaration at Dunfermline to the same purpose, which was renewed on the occasion of his coronation at Scone in 1651. In the same year also the covenant was ratified by Parliament, and subscription to it required from every member, it being declared that without such subscription the constitution of the Parliament was null and void. It was afterwards renounced by Charles, and declared illegal by 13 and 14 Car. II. c. 4

(1662).

The two Covenants are usually published along with the Westminster Confession of Faith, though they are not now included among the authoritative symbols of any Presbyterian church. See M Crie s Sketches of Scottish Church History, Cunningham s Church History of Scotland, Grub s Ecclesiastical History of Scotland, and Burton s History of Scotland.

Arms of Coventry.

COVENTRY, an ancient city and municipal and parlia mentary borough of England, in the county of Warwick, 18 miles E.S.E.of Birmingham. It stands on a gentle eminence, and is watered by the Sherbourne and the Rad- ford Brook, which unite within the town. Of its ancient fortifications two gates and some portions of the wall are still extant, and several of the older streets present a picturesque appearance, from the number of half-timbered houses projecting over the footways. In the course of the present century, and more especially since 1850, great improvements have been made in various quarters. The most remarkable buildings are the churches ; and of theee the oldest are St Michael s, one of the finest specimens of Perpendicular architecture in England, with a beautiful steeple rising to a height of 303 feet; Holy Trinity Church, a cruciform structure iu the Later English style, with a steeple at the intersection 237 feet high; and "St John s, or Bablake Church, which is nearly a parallelogram on the ground plan, but cruciform in the clerestory with a tower in the centre. All three have been restored under the direction of Sir G. Gilbert Scott. Christ Church only dates from 1832, but it is attached to the ancient spire of the Grey Friars Church. Of secular edifices the most interesting is St Mary s Hall, erected by the united guilds in the early part of the 15th century. The principal chamber, situated above a fine crypt, is 76 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 34 feet high ; its roof is of carved oak, and in the north end there is a large window of old stained glass, with a curious piece of tapestry beneath nearly as old as the building. In the treasury is preserved a valuable collection of ancient muniments. Among the other public buildings of the city may be mentioned the new corporate offices and police court, the county hall, the drapers hall, the hospital, the corn-exchange, the market hall, the self-supporting dispensary, the free library, the institute, the baths, the theatre, and the barracks. The cemetery is one of the most beautiful in the kingdom. The educational institutions include a well-en dowed free grammar school, founded in the reign of Eliza beth, and held in the disused church of the hospital of St John, a school of art, seven endowed charity schools, and a county reformatory for girls ; and among the charitable foundations, which are numerous and valuable, Bond s hospital for old men and Ford s hospital for old women are remarkable as fine specimens of ancient timber work. Coventry was early celebrated for its manufactures, and had numerous guilds or trading companies. It was noted for its woollens in the 15th century, and subsequently acquired such a reputation for its dyeing that the expres sion " as true as Coventry blue " became proverbial. The weaving of tammies, camlets, shalloons, &c., succeeded ; but these branches of industry no longer exist. At present the staple trades are ribbon and trimming weaving, elastic web manufacturing, dyeing, and watchmaking ; to which may be added the weaving of woollens, carpets, and carriage-lace, the spinning of cotton, the manufacture of sewing machines and bicycles, art metal-work, and iron- founding. The fairs are numerous and well attended. The borough returns two members to Parliament. In 1871 the population of the municipal borough was 37,670 (1 7,750 males, and 19,920 females), and of the parliamentary borough, which comprises an area of 6448 acres, 41,348.

Coventry derives its name (Conventre, or convent town),

from a Benedictine priory, founded in 1043 by Earl Leofric and his wife Lady Godiva, who were afterwards buried within the priory church. According to a well- known popular tradition, exquisitely related in Tenny son s poem, the inhabitants were freed from the earl s excessive taxation by the romantic devotion of the lady, who rode through the streets of the city " clothed on with chastity," and thus compelled her husband to keep his oath. A procession, instituted in the time of Charles II. in com memorative imitation of the event, continued for many years to be annually celebrated ; and an effigy called Peeping Tom is still pointed out projecting from an upper wirdow at the corner of Smithford Street, popularly reputed to represent an inquisitive tailor, who was struck blind for having peered at the lady as she passed, while every other eye was averted in thankful reverence. Car melite, Franciscan, and Carthusian monasteries were early established in the city, which was not long in acquiring a high position in the country. Gosford Green, outside

its eastern walls, was chosen in 1837 for that great wager