Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 1.djvu/606

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DOM

[ 240 ]

DOM

Order of Domefrich, inferior to any of thofe abovemen- tion'd, call'd 'Patriarchal Domefiicks.

Domestici was alfo a Body of Forces in the Roman Empire. 'PancirolluS takes 'em to have been the fame with thofe callM 'Protetlores ; who had the chief Guard of the Emperor's Perfon, in a Degree above the Tretorians ; and who under the Chriftian Emperors had the Privilege to bear the Grand Standard of the Crofs.

They are fuppofed to have been 5500 before Jufliniatz's Time, who added 2000 more to the Number. They were divided into feveral Companies, or Bands, which the Latins call'd Scholas, fome whereof are faid to have been inftituted by Gordian. Some of 'em were Cavalry, and fome Infantry.

Their Commander was call'd Comes Domefticorunu See Count.

DOM1FYING, Domification, in Aftrology, the dividing or diftributing the Heavens into twelve Houfes ; to erect a Theme, or Horofcope ; by means of fix great Circles, call'd Circles ofpojition. See Horoscope.

There are divers Ways of ' Domifying, according to divers Authors. That of Regiomontanus, which is the moft ufual, makes the Circles of Position pafs through the Interferons of the Meridian, and Horizon. Others make 'em pafs thro* the Poles of the World, or the Equator ; and others through the Poles oK the Zodiac.

DOMINATION, in Theology, the 4th Order of Angels, or blefled Spirits, in the Hierarchy ; reckoning from the Se- raphim. See Hierarchy, and Seraph.

DOMINICAL Letter, in Chronology, popularly call'd Sunday-Letter, one of the feven Letters of the Alphabet, A B C D E F G, us'd in Almanacks, Ephemerides, Sf c. to denote the Sundays throughout the Year. See Sunday.

The Dominical Letters were introduced into the Calen- dar by the Primitive Christians, in lieu of the Nunditial Letters in the Roman Calendar. See Letter.

The Word is form'd from Dominica, or DominicusDies, LordVDay, Sunday.

Thefe Letters, we have obferved, are feven : And, that in a common Year, the fame Letter fhould mark all the Sun- days, will eafily appear ; In as much as all the Sundays are feven Days a-part ; and the fame Letter only returns in every feventh Place.

But in BifTextile, or Leap-Tear, the Cafe is otherwife : For by means of the Intercalary Day, either the Letters mull be thruft out of their Places, lor the whole Year afterwards, fo, e.gr. as that the Letter, which anfwers to the firft of March, fhall likewife anfwer to the fecond, &c or elfe the Intercalary Day mutt be denoted by the fame Letter as the proceeding one. This latter Expedient has been judg'd the better, and accordingly the Sundays after the intercalary Day have another "Dominical Letter.

Hence, 1. As the common Julian, and Gregorian Year confifts of $<f5 Days, i.e. of 52 Weeks, and one Day. The Beginning of the Y ear, every common Year, goes backwards by'one Day ; ! thus, e.gr. if this Year the Beginning, or firfi Day fall on a Sunday, the next Year it will fall on Saturday, the next on Friday, &c. Confequently, if A be tlviDominical Letter of the prefent Year, G will be that of the next Year.

2. As the Julian, arid Gregorian Biffextile, orLeap-Year, confifts of 5<5tfDays, i. e. 52 Weeks, and 2 Days, the Begin- ning of the next Year after Biflextile gees back 2 Days. Whence, if in the Beginning of the BifTextile Year, the Do- minical Letter were A, that of the following Year will be F.

3. Since in Leap- Years the Intercalary Day falls on the 24th of February, in which Cafe the 23d, and 24th Days are de- noted by the fame Letter ; After rhe 24th Day of February the Dominical Letter goes back by one Place : Thus, if in the Beginning of the Year the Dominical Letter be A, it will afterwards be G.

4. As every fourth Year is BifTextile, or Leap-year, and as the Number of Letters is 7 ; The fame Order of Dominical Letters only returns in 28 Years ; which, without the Inter- ruption of Biffextiles, would return in 4 Years. See Bissex- tile.

5. Hence the Invention of the Solar Cycle of 28 Years; up- on the Expiration whereof the Dominical Letters are refto- red fuccefftvcly to the fame Days of the Month, or the fame Order of the Letters returns. See Cycle of the Sun.

"To find the Dominical Letter of any given Tear.

Seek the Cycle of the Sun for that Year ; as directed un- derCYCLE : And the Dominical Letter is found correfpond- ing thereto. Where there are two ; rhe propofed Year is Biflextile; and the firft obtains to the 24th of February '; and the laft for the reft of the Year.

By the Reformation of the Calendar under Pope Gregory, the Order of the Dominical Letters was again difturbed in the Gregorian Year : For the Year 1582, which at the Be- ginning had G for its Dominical Letter 5 by the Retrench- ment of 10 Days after the 4th ofOtJober, came to have C

for its Domini cal Letter ; by which means ^Dominical Letter of the ancient Julian Calendar is four Places before that of the Gregorian : The Letter A in the former an- fwering to D in the latter.

Dominical, in Church- Hiflory. The Council of Aitxerre held in 578, decrees, that Women communicate with their Dominical. Some Authors contend, that this Dominical ■ was a linnen Cloth, wherein they received the Species • as not being allowed to receive 'em in the bare jfand. Others will have it a Kind of Veil, wherewith they cover'd the Head. The moft probable Account is, that it was a Kind of linnen Cloth, or Handkerchief, wherein they re- cciv'd, and preferv'd the Eucharift in Times of Perfecution, to be taken on Occafion.

DOMINICANS, an Order of Religious, call'd in fome Places Jacobins, and in others, 'Predicants, or "Preaching Fryars. See Jacobins, Pr^dican^s, ZSc.

The Dominicans take their Name from their Founder Do- minic de Gufman, a Spanijb Gentleman, born in n 70, at Calarvega, in Old Cajlile. He was firft Canon and Arch- Deacon of Ofma ; and afterwards preach'd with a deal of Zeal, and Vehemence againft the Albige?ifes in Languedoc, where he laid the firft Foundation of his Order. It was ap- proval of in 1215, by Innocent III. and confirmed in 12. iff, by a Bull of Honorius III. under the Rule of St. Auguftin, and the Title of "Preaching Fryars.

The firft Convent was founded at 'Tholoufe, by the Bifhop thereof, and Simon de Montfort. Two Years afterwards they had another at 'Paris near the Bifhop's Houfe, and fome time after, a third in the Rue St. Jacques, St. James's Street, whence the Denomination of 'Jacobins.

St. Dominic, at firft, only took the Habit of the Regular Canons, that is, a black Soutanne, and Rochet ; But this he quitted in 1219, for that which they now wear, which, 'tis pretended, was /hewn by the bleifed Virgin herfelf to Re- naud at Orleans.

This Order is diffufed throughout the whole Earth. It has 45 Provinces under the General, who refides ax Rome , and 12 particular Congregations, or Reforms, govcrn'd by Vicars General.

They reckon three Popes of this Order, above 60 Cardi- nals, feveral Patriarchs, 150 Arch-Bifhops, and about 800 Bifhops. Betide Matters of the facred Palace, whofe Office has been conftantly difcharg'd by a Religious of this Order, ever fince St. Dominic, who held it under Honorius III. in 1 2 18.

The Dominicans are alfo Inquifitors in many Places. See Inqjuisition.

The Dogma's of the Dominicans are nfually oppofite to thofe of the Francifcans. See Franciscan.

There are alfo Nuns, or Sifters of this Order, call'd in fome Places, 'Preaching Sifters. Thefe are even more an- cient than the Fryars; St. Dominic having founded a So- ciety of Religious Maids, at 'Prouilles, fome Years before the Inftitution of his Order of Men, viz,, in iioff. . '

There is alfo a Third Order of 'Dominicans, both for Men and Women. See Third Order.

DOMINIUM, DOMINION, or DOMAINE, in ancient Cuftoms, is a Rent due to the Lord, where the Property is not his. With rerpe£t toSignory, he who pays Rent, has the Dominium utile of the Lands ; and the Lord he pays it to the Dominium directum.

Directum Dominwm is the Title alone c& Dominium - y And Dominium utile, the Profit redounding from it.

The Wife retains the Dominium direBim of her Jointure, and the Dominium utile paffes to her Husband.

DOMINLJS, in ancient Times, being prcfix'd to a Name, ufually denoted the Perfon to be either a Knight, or a Clergy- man. Tho' the Title was fometimes given to a Gentleman not dubb'd ; efpecially, if he were a Lord of a Manour. See Dom, Sir, and Gentleman.

DONATION, a public Act, or Contraa, whereby a Man transfers to another, either the Property, or the Ufe of the Whole, or a Part of his Effects.

A Donation to be valid, and compleat, fuppofes a Capa- city both in the Donor, and the Donatory; and requires Confent, Acceptance, Regiftring, and Delivery.

DONATISTS, ancient Schifmaticks in Africa, denomi- nated from their Leader, Donatus.

They had their Origin in the Year 3 1 r ; when, in the room of Afenfurius, who died the preceeding Year, on his Ret-urn to Rome, Cecilian was elected, whom the People refufed to acknowledge, and to whom they oppofed Majorinus, who, accordingly, was ordain'd by Donatus, Bifhop of Cafis ni- gris. They were condemn'd in a Council held at Rome y two Years after their Separation, and afterwards in another at Aries, the Year following.

The Errors of the Donatifts, befide their Schifm, were 1. That Baptifm conferr'd out of the Church, that is, out of their Seel:, was null. 2 . That there was no Church but in Africa; All the reft of the Churches they held as proftitute,

and