A I E
A I R
the Norman Lords were antiently created knights, with certain ceremonies, which depended on the king. Having obferved that Francis I, Henry II, and Henry III. levied this Aid in favour of their eldeft fons ; and that in the age of the two former of thofe princes, the order of St. Michael, and in the age of the laft, the order of the Holy Ghoft, were the king's orders, they concluded that the form of creation of knights, which gave a title to this Aid, was variable ; that the form of the two orders juft mentioned had been fubftituted to the more antient one ; and confcquently, that the Aid of chi- valry was only now due, where the lord was made a knight of the king's order.
A later writer has overturned this origin, and fhewn, that the orders of knighthood now in vogue bear no relation to the Aid of chivalry, mentioned in this cuftom. This Aid is, in reality, a feudal right, and derives its origin from the pri- mitive law of feuds, which is much prior to any order of knighthood. Chivalry, according to this author, amounts to little other than what we commonly call military fervice, or the profeflion of arms. To make a fon a knight, was only to fit him out with the arms and acouterments proper for a miles, or horfeman ; to put him into the military rank, and make him, like other knights of fees, fit for ferving in war. The occafion of this Aid then was, to defray the expence of the new equipage. What confirms this account is, that it is plain, from antient cuftom, that the making a fon a knight depended altogether on the father, not on the king, as the dubbing, or creating of knights of orders eflentially does. De Jort has a difTcrtation exprefs on the capital Aid of Nor- mandy. This Aid is well known in the Englifh law books, under the name of Aid pur /aire fitz chevaler ; by which, as De Jort rightly fays, no particular order was meant. V. Diff. fur les Aides Chevels de Normandie, appellez Aides Coutu- mieres, Rouen 1706. i2mo. An extract of it is given in Jour, des Scav. T. 36. p. 71. feq.
1 here were alfo Aids for the king's, or lords going the firft time to the war, Auxilia pro militia domini, or pro militia. Aids for maintaining the lords war, Auxilium ad gucrram do- mini manutenendam ; fometimes alfo called, pro expeditione, paid on the king's undertaking an expedition abroad, and fometimes denominated Ayde de I'oji.
Aid for attending the emperor, Auxilium pro eundo ad im- peratorem, was paid in fome provinces of France and Ger- many.
The bifhops alfo received Aids, Auxilia epifcopi, fometimes alfo called confuciudines epifcopales, denarii pajchales, fynodales , C5" pcntccojlales. Some were to be paid at the time of their confecration, called Auxilia pro confecratione ; others, when they had a king to entertain, Auxilium pro corredo fuo ; others, when they were called by the pope to his court, to a council, or by the king to his army ; others, when they went to receive the pallium called Auxilium pallii. A kind of feudal Aids are ftill levied in Germany, &c. under the title of colletta. V, Jour, des Scav. T. 65. p. 450. In Congo, an Aid is levied for the queen, the firft night of her marriage j the fubjects are all rated by their beds, with one mealured in jjpahs for the purpofe. V. Bibl, Univ. T, 2. P- 37.4-
Aids, in French laws, denote a duty paid on all goods fold and tranfported either out of, or into the kingdom. In this feme, Aids anfwer to what the Latins call veftigalia, a •vehendh merdbus, and are paid by all kinds of perfons, privileged, or non-privileged; by which they differ from tallies, taxes, which arc only paid by the peafants, being a fort of capitation, anfwering to what the Latins call tributum. The farm of the Aids was formerly diftinct from, but now united to, that of the gabclles, and other impofts. Trev. Diet. Univ. T. 1. p. 216. feq.
Court of Aids, a foverelgn court eftablifhed in feveral cities of r ranee, for the management and direction of the taxes, ga- bellcs, and Aids, impofed on feveral forts of commodities, efpccially wine ; and to which belongs the cognizance and jurifdidtion of all caufes relating thereto. There are thirteen courts of Aids feated at Paris, Rouen, Bourdeaux, Aix, Montpellicr, &rc a . The principal is that at Paris. It was firft erected by king John I. in 1355, when it only confuted of one chamber. Henry II. in 1551, added afecond chamber; and Lewis XIII. in 1635, a third. This court is compofed of preiidents, counfellors, advocates, and procureurs-general b . Jacqu'in has a treatife on the court of Aids of Paris c . Chevillard d has alfo publifhed a draught of the court of Aids. Corbin and Philippi give edicts and regu- lations relating to the court of Aids—[* V. Vallem. Elem. de PHift. T. 1. p. 226. b Mem. de Trev. 1707. p. 1228. Works of Learn. T. 4. p. 376. c Mem. de Trev. 1707. p. 1226. feq. " Le Long, Bibl. Hift. p. 733.]
Aids, in the manege, are otherwife called, by fome writers, cberifo'tngs.
A1EREBA, in zoology, the name of a fifh of the pajlinacha manna kind, but differing from all the others, in that the form of its body is regularly round, or oval, and its head placed far within the verge of its thin pait. It is common in the weftern ocean ; but is not much efteemed for the table,
being more kofe and flabby in its flefh than the other kinds. Margr. Hift. Braf. p. 123.
AIGHENDALE, a liquid meafure in Lancafhire, containing feven quarts. Nought. Collect. T. j. p. 132.
AIGITHALUS, "AiyiSoAos, in zoology, a name by which fome of the old authors called the parus, or titmoufe. See Parus.
AIGRETTA, in zoology, a name ufed by fome. authors, as the name of a diffcinct fpecies of heron, but feerning to be no other than a fynonym of the gaza giovane, or ardea alba mi- nor, the fmall white heron, hellonius, deAvibus. See Gaza giovane.
AILERONS, in natural hiftory, petty-wings, a French term, expreffing two fmall fhelly fubftances, refembling parts of wings, or young and juft growing wings, and found in the two-winged flies, fituated at the root of the larger wings. Reaumur, Hift. Infect. T. 4. p. 218. The word is a diminutive of the French, AUe, wing.
AILES vitrees, in natural hiftory, a French term, ufed to ex- prefs the wings of a feries of infects, which feem of a middle nature, between the fly and the butterfly kind, and are there- fore called papilion moucbes by thefe writers. The wings of thefe infects are in part covered with duff, or fcales, and in part free from it, and tranfparent. In thefe free parts they look glafly ; whence their name, fignifying glajfy wings.
AIPIM1XIRA, in zoology, the name of an American fifh, more ufually known by the name of pudiano. It is a final! fifh, of the fhape of a pearch, with a purple back, and yellow fides and belly. Margrave, Hift. Brafil. See Pudiano.
AIR {Cycl.) — By the ingenious experiments of the reverend Mr. Hales, it appears, that Air is infpired by vegetables, not only at their roots, but alfo through feveral parts of their trunk and branches; and this Air may be feen afcending, in great plenty, through the fap of the vine, in tubes affixed to them at the bleeding feafon.
Mr. Boyle made many experiments on the Air, and found, that a quantity of this fluid was producible, from feveral forts of vegetables, by putting them into exhauftjd and un- exhaufted receivers, where they continued, for feveral days, emitting great quantities of Air. Some account of this is given in the Cyclopaedia.
Mr. Hales fince attempted to find more exactly the quantity of Air that might be obtained from different fubftances. And this he affected, by making hydroftatical gauges of retorts and boltheads, in the manner defcribed in his excellent Vege- table Statics, chap. 6.
From thefe experiments it appears, that a very considerable quantity of permanent Air was produced by diftillation from animal fubftances; not only from the blood and fat, but alfo from the horns, and other folid parts of animals. In parti- cular, it was found, that half a cubic inch of fallow deer's horn, weighing 241 grains, contained 33 grains of factitious Air ; which is near one feventh part of the whole horn. In thefe experiments it was obfervable, that the particles of new Air were detached from the blood and horns, at the fame time with the white fumes, which conftitute the volatil fait ; and that this volatil fait, which mounts with great activity in the Air, is fo far from generating true elaftic Air, that, on the contrary, it abforbs it. It appears, in particular, that a dram of volatil fait offal armoniac abforbed two cubic inches and an half of Air. Phofphorus alfo was found to abforb Air.
Vegetable fubftances produce Air in great plenty. Indian wheat, for inftance, produced one fourth of its weight of Air. Peafe produced fomething more than one third of their weight. But camphor neither generated nor abforbed Air ; agreeable to what Mr. Boyle found, when he burnt it in, vacuo.
Brandy gives very little Air ; but well water gives about a fiftieth part ; and Pyrmont water double that proportion. The quantity of Air in nitre is about one eighth part. From Rhenifh tartar there arofe about one third of the whole in Air ; and fait of tartar gave nearly one ninth of its weight. A good part of the Air thus raifed from feveral bodies, by the force of Fire, is apt gradually to lofe its elafticity, by Handing feveral days. The reafon of which is, that the acid fulphureous fumes raifed with that Air, reforb and fix the elaftic particles. But Mr. Hales obviated this inconvenience, by making the Air raifed in diftillation pafs through water to the top of the receiver, in the manner defcribed chap. 6. exper. 77. of his Vegetable Statics. By this means, the acid fpirit, and fulphureous fumes, were intercepted, and retained in the water ; in confequence of which, the new generated Air continued in a more permanently elaftic ftate, fo as not to lofe above one fifteenth, or one eighteenth of its elafticity, and that chiefly the firft twenty-four hours. After this, the remainder continued in a conftantly elaftic ftate ; excepting the Air of tartar, which, in fix or eight days, loft conftantly above one third of its elafticity, after which, the remainder was permanently elaftic.
That the great quantities of this fluid, thus obtained, are true Air, and not a mere flatulent vapour, Mr. Hales afl'urcd himfelf by feveral experiments ; by which it appeared, that
there
