ROM
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ROD
The Roman Law is the Civil Law, or the written Law, as compiled by the Emperor Juflinian. See Cjvil Lain.
A Roman Charity, among Painters, is a Piflure of a Woman {adding an old Man — Raman Knight, &c. See Knight, &c.
, King of the Ramans, in our Age, is a Prince ele&ed, and de- fign'd Succefibr to the German Empire. See King, Empire, and Elector.
' Roman Games, Ludi Romani, were folemn Games held in an- .tient Rome. See Game.
They were thus call'd by way of Eminence, and on Account of their Antiquity; as having been inftituted by Romulus.— -They were alfo call'd, fometimes, Magni Ludi, from the great Pomp and Expence thereof; fometimes Confualia, becaufe perform'd in Honour of the God Neptune, who was alio call'd Cotifas, in his Quality of God of fecrct Councils. See Consualia.
They alfo bore the Denomination of Ludi Circenfes, becaufe held in the Circus. See Circenses Ludi, &c.
This Solemnity, Halicarnajfaius obferves, was originally infti- tuted by Evander, in Honour of Neptune under the Name of (ts-i^; whence the Feftival itfelf was call'd inmaK^rU; and was afterwards renew'd by Romulus in Honour of the feme Deitv, only under another Name.
For Romulus needing the Advice of a God to council him in the Defign he had to furhiflv h'is new Citizens with Wives, ap- plied to the God of fecrer Council himfclf, Covfus; pro- claimed the Confualia, and invited his Neighbours all a-round to the firft Celebration thereof— The Confequence was, the Rape of the Sabine Women, who came to beSpedt-rors thereof.
The great Ceremony in thefe Games conliftcd in the Caval- cade of Horfes and Aiies, adorn'd with Garlands; Neptune bein» reputed the firll Author of Horfe-riding.
Their Horfes, here, were of two Kinds, viz. rofomxa, or fuch as were merely led up and down for State ; and 4«f'*»s, which were for Race and Exercife.
The other Diverfions were Fencing, and that 'till one of the Combatants were kill'd on the Spot; fighting with Beads, and at Ceftus, or Whirlbats ; Wreilling, Running, Leaping, Sea- Fights, Horle-Races, Chariot-Races, &c. See Circus, Gladiator, &e.
Thefe Games, Livy tells us, were improved, and render'd much more magnificent by Tarquinius Prifcus.—Manutius feys, they were held on the Eve of the Nones of September, i. e. on the 14th Day of the Month.
Roman Order, in Architecture, is the more ufually called the Compofite. See Composite.
Roman Balance, or Statera Romana, the Steel-lard. See Balance and Steel- Yard.
Roman Indiclion, Roman Tear, &c. Roman Language, &c.
}{TnDICTION. See < Year, &c. (.Latin, &c.
ROMANCE, antiently Romaunt, and Romant, a fa- bulous Relation of certain Intriegues and Adventures in the Way of Love and Gallantry ; invented to entertain and inftrudt rhe Readers.. See Fable, Novel, &c.
M. Fontenelle, calls Romanies, Poems in Profe; and the great Baffii is not averfe to their being admitted as poetical Pieces. See Poem and Poetry.
Setting aiicie the Verfification, 'tis certain an Epic Poem, and a Romance arc almoft the fame thing.— The juft Notion, there- fore, of a Romance, is, that it is a Diicourfe invented with Art to ptatfe and improve the Mind and to form or mend the Man- ners, by Inftructions difguis'd under the Allegory of an Action or Series of Actions, related in Profe, in a delightful probable, yet furprizir.g Manner. See Epic.
A juft Romance conlifts of two Parts, viz. a Moral, as its Foundation and End; and a Fable, or Action, as the Super- itructure and Means. See Action, &c.
It mull have the Maimers; that is, the Characters muft be diffinguifhed, and the Manners muft be neceffary, and have all the other Qualities of Poetical Manners. See Manners.
The Incidents muft be delightful, and to that end rightly dif- poled and furprizing.— The Sentiments fall under the fame Rules as in the Drama, See Sentiment.
But the Diction is allow'd to be more lofty and figurative; as being a Narration ; and not having Terror or Pity, but Admira- tion for its End. See Narration, Passion, &c.
As thefe Kinds of Compolitions have a long Time been little elfe but Hiftories of amorous Adventures, and Feats of Knight- Errantry : The Origin of Romances is refer'd to that of Love- Hiftories : And accordingly Dearchus, a Difciple of Ariflotle, who firft wrote of thofe Matters, is ufually efteemed the Author of thefe — Though Photius is of Opinion that Anthonius Diogenes's Book on the Errors and Amours of Dinias and Deocyllis, gave •ira to moft of the Works of this Kind.
Be this as it will, 'tis certain the Antients have had their Ro- mances as well as we.— Such are the Amours of Rhodanis and
- inm,Ats, defcribed in Jambics : Such is the Romance of Leucippe
and Cluephm, compofed by Achilles Tatius, a Greek Writer, af- terwards a Bifiiop: Such are the four Books of incredible things,
wrote by Damafims : S uch are the Ethiopia, of Heliodorus, wherein he relatesthe Amours oiTheagenes and Chariclea.-L?l\ly, under the feme Clals may be rank'd the Fables of Parthenius, Nicenus, of Athenagoras, Theodoras Prodrotnus, Euftatbiut, and Longus.
Indeed Antiquity cou'd fcarce be reconciled to fuch Piecesi and always looked on them as abufes.-P&,.-i„, in his Bibiotheca Cod. LXXXVII. gives a frightful Account of that of Tatius ; and the Ethiopichs of Heliodorus, though one of the modefteft and moft rcferved Pieces of the Kind, met with very fevere Treat- ment.— That Author was Bifiiop of Tricca in the fourth Cenrury. Nicephorus tells us, that a Synod, confidering the Danger which might accrue to Youth from reading of his Romance, authorized as it was by the Dignity of its Author, propoied it to him, either to fupprefs nis Book, or renounce his Biilioprick; and that he chofe the latter— But this Hiftory is a little doubtful;
Be this as it will, Heliodorus has ferv'd as a Model to all the Romances wrote firice; the Marriage of Theagenes and Charhlea, has produced a very numerous Iffue; even all the Romances now extant in the World.
In Imitation of the Archbifhop Turpinm, who pafs'd for Au- thor of the Romance of the Feats of Charlemaign and Orlando, a greatNumbcr of Hiftories of the like Kind were wrote it Frjnrei in the Time of Philip the Fair; the Authors whereof fcem'd to improve on each other, contending who fbould go furtheft 111 the Mcrvei/lcex.— Thefe Books, being intended for ihe polite Peo- ple, were urate in the Court Language of that Age; which was call'd the Romans, Romant, or Roma»i whence theBooks tbem- felves were cali'd by thofe Names: And thus by Degrees &waot, &c. became the general Name of all Bocks of this Kind; whence at length our Romance. See Romans.
Others derive the Word from the Sp/mijh Romanfero, I invent as intimating Romances to be mere Fictions.— And hence it is that the antient Poets of Provence, who were the firft great Dea- lers in Romances, are call'd Troubadours, q. d. Finders or Inven- tors. See Troubadour.
The French, above all other Nations, have applied themfelvcs to this kind of Writing; whether it be from the natural Taite and Genius of the People, or from the freedom, &c wherewith they Converfe with the Women.— They begun chiefly with Ro- mances of Chivalry; hence their Amadis, in 34 Volumes; Pal- merin de Olhiaal England, King Arthur, &c. whereof we have an agreeable Critique in Bon gh/ixot. See Chivalry, &c.
The later are much more polite ; the beft of which are the Aftrea of D'Urfe; the Cyrus and Clelie of Madamoifelle de Scnde- ri; the Caffandra and Cleopatra of la Calprenede; Ariane, Franci- on; and the Adventures of Telemachus, of the late Archbifhop of Cambray, a Work never enough to be applauded.
The Germans, too, have their Romances; efpecially Hercules and Her culi feus ; the SyriacaArmena, Aramena, and Thutnelda, Or- - bert, &c.
The Italians have their Eromena, by 'Biondi; the Works of Loredano, Marino, &c— The Spaniards, their Diana, and Eon ghixot.— The Englijb their Arcadia, &c. The Argents of Bar- clay is rather a Satyr than a Romance. See Novel.
ROMAN-Catholich-Church. See Papist, Recusant, 6-c.
ROMANS, or Romaht, the polite Language formerly fpoke at the Court of France; in contradistinction to the Walloon ipoke by the common People. See Language.
The Romans having fubdued the Gauls, infinuated Part of their Language among them; a mixture then of half Lath:, half GauliflJ, conftkuted the Romans; whereof the modern French is only an Improvement. See French.
The vulgar Language was the Walloon, which was the original Gaulijh. See Gaulish.
Hence, to Enromance, was to write in Romans, See, See Romance.
ROME-W, ?,,<;„ „
ROME-Praay, S Se= i V " ER - Fem -
ROMPEE, 01 Rom.pu, in Heraldry, is ap- plied to Arms, or other Ordinaries, that are re- prefentcd broken; and to Chevrons whofe up- per Points are cut : As in the adjoining Figutc. — He beareth a Chevron rompee, between three Mullets, Or, by the Name of Sault.
RONDEL, in Fortification, a round Tower, fometimes erected at the Foot of a Baftion. See Tower, Bastion, ojre.
ROOD, a Quantity of Land, equal to the fourth Part of an Acre; and containing 40 fquare Perches or Poles. See Acre, Perch, &c.
ROOF, in Architecture, the uppermoft Part of a Building. See Building.
The Roof contains the Timber-Work, and its Furnirure of Slate or Tile, wherewith a Houfe is cover'd, or that which ferves it as a Cover. — Though Carpenters ufually reftrain Roof to the Timber-Work only. See Covering and Ridge.
The Form of the Roof is various ; fomerimes 'tis pointed, in which Cafe the moft beautiful Proportion is to have its Profile an equilateral Triangle,
Sometimes
