beyond dispute. He was surnamed Cursor from his swiftness of foot.
Livy viii., ix.; Aurelius Victor, De viris illustribus, 31; Eutropius ii. 8. 9.
His son of the same name, also a distinguished general, completed the subjection of Samnium (272). He set up a sun-dial, the first of its kind in Rome, in the temple of Quirinus.
Livy x. 39-47; Pliny, Nat. Hist., vii. 60.
CURSOR MUNDI, an English poem in the Northern dialect dating from the 13th century. It is a religious epic of 24,000 lines “over-running” the history of the world as related in the Old and New Testaments. “Cursur o werld man aght it call, For almast it over-rennes all.” The author explains in his prologue his reasons for undertaking the work. Men desire to read old romances of Alexander, Julius Caesar, Greece, Troy, Brut, Arthur, of Tristram, Sweet Ysoude and others. But better than tales of love is the story of the Virgin who is man’s best lover, therefore in her honour he will write this book, founded on the steadfast ground of the Holy Trinity. He writes in English for the love of English people of merry England, so that those who know no French may understand. The history is treated under seven ages. The first four include the period from the creation of the world to the successors of Solomon, the fifth deals with Mary and the birth and childhood of Jesus, the sixth with the lives of Christ and the chief apostles, and with the finding of the holy cross, and the seventh with Doomsday. Four short poems follow, more in some MSS. The bulk of the poem is written in rhyming couplets of short lines of four accents, and maintains a fair level throughout. The narrative is enlivened by many legends and much entertaining matter drawn from various sources; and the numerous transcripts of it prove that it was able to hold its own against profane romance.
The chief sources of the compilation have been identified by Dr Haenisch. For the Old Testament history the author draws largely from the Historia scholastica of Peter Comestor; for the history of the Virgin he often translates literally from Wace’s Établissement de la fête de la conception Notre Dame; the parables of the king and four daughters, and of the castle of Love and Grace, are taken from “Sent Robert bok” (1.9516), that is, from the Chasteau d’Amour of Robert Grosseteste, bishop of Lincoln; other sources are the apocryphal gospels of Matthew and Nicodemus, a southern English poem on the Assumption of Our Lady, attributed by the writer of Cursor mundi to Edmund Rich of Pontigny, the Vulgate, the Legenda aurea of Jacobus de Voragine, and the De vita et morte sanctorum of Isidore of Seville. The original of the section on the invention of the holy cross is still to seek. In its general plan the work is similar to the Livre de sapience of Herman de Valenciennes.
Of the author nothing is known. In the Cotton MS. Vespasian (A III.) the name of the owner William Cosyn is given (for particulars of this family, which is mentioned in Lincolnshire records as early as 1276, see Dr H. Hupe in the E.E.T.S. ed. of Cursor mundi, vol. i. p. 124 *). The date of the book was placed by Dr J. A. H. Murray (The Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland, 1873, p. 30) in the last quarter of the 13th century, and the place of writing near Durham. Dr Hupe (loc. cit. p. 186 *) gives good reasons for believing that the author was a Lincolnshire man, who wrote between 1260 and 1290, although the Cotton MS. probably belongs to the late 14th century. In the Göttingen MS. there are lines (17099–17110) desiring the reader to pray for John of Lindbergh, “that this bock gart dight,” and cursing anybody who shall steal it. Lindberg is probably Limber Magna, near Ulceby, in north Lincolnshire. Dr Hupe hazards an identification of the author with this John of Lindberg, who may have been a member of the Cistercian Abbey of Lindberg; but this is improbable.
Cursor mundi was edited for the Early English Text Society in 1874–1893 by Dr Richard Morris in parallel columns from four MSS.:—Cotton Vespasian A III., British Museum; Fairfax MS. 14, in the Bodleian library, Oxford; MS. theol. 107 at Göttingen; and MS. R. 3.8 in Trinity College, Cambridge. The edition includes a “Preface” by the editor, “An Inquiry into the Sources of the Cursor mundi” (1885), by Dr Haenisch, an essay “On the Filiation and the Text of the MSS. of Cursor mundi” (1885), by Dr H. Hupe, “Cursor Studies and Criticisms on the Dialects of its MSS.” (1888), by Dr Hupe and a glossary by Dr Max Kaluza.
CURTAIN, a screen of any textile material, running by means of rings fixed to a rod or pole. Curtains are now used chiefly to cover windows and doors, but for many centuries every bed of importance was surrounded by them, and sometimes, as in France, the space thus screened off was much larger than the actual bed and was called the ruelle. The curtain is very ancient—indeed the absence of glass and ill-fitting windows long made it a necessity. Originally single curtains were used; it would appear that it was not until the 17th century that they were employed in pairs. Curtains are made in an infinite variety of materials and styles; when placed over a door they are usually called portières. In fortification the “curtain” is that part of the enceinte which lies between two bastions, towers, gates, &c.
The word comes into English through the O. Fr. cortine or courtine from the Late Lat. cortina. According to Du Cange (Glossarium, s.v. “Cortis”) this is a diminutive of cortis, an enclosed space, a court. It is used in the various senses of the English “curtain.” Classical Latin had also a word cortina, meaning a caldron or round kettle. It was very rarely applied to round objects generally. In the Vulgate cortina is used of the curtains of the tabernacle (Exodus xxvi). There is some difficulty in connecting the classical and the Late Latin words. The earliest use in English is, according to the New English Dictionary, for the hangings of a bed.
CURTANA (a latinized form of the A.-Fr. curtein, from Lat.
curtus, shortened), the pointless sword of mercy, known also as
Edward the Confessor’s sword, borne at the coronation of the
kings of England between the two pointed swords of temporal
and spiritual justice (see Regalia).
CURTEA DE ARGESH (Rumanian, Curtea de Arges; also
written Curtea d’Argesh, Curtea d’Ardges, Argish and Ardjish),
the capital of the department of Argesh, Rumania; situated
on the right bank of the river Argesh, where it flows through
a valley of the lower Carpathians; and on the railway from
Pitesci to the Rothenthurm Pass. Pop. (1900) 4210. The city
is one of the oldest in Rumania. According to tradition it was
founded early in the 14th century by Prince Radu Negru,
succeeding Câmpulung as capital of Walachia. Hence its name
Curtea, “the court.” It contains a few antique churches, and
was created a bishopric at the close of the 18th century.
The cathedral of Curtea de Argesh, by far the most famous building in Rumania, stands in the grounds of a monastery, 1½ m. N. of the city. It resembles a very large and elaborate mausoleum, built in Byzantine style, with Moorish arabesques. In shape it is oblong, with a many-sided annexe at the back. In the centre rises a dome, fronted by two smaller cupolas; while a secondary dome, broader and loftier than the central one, springs from the annexe. Each summit is crowned by an inverted pear-shaped stone, bearing a triple cross, emblematic of the Trinity. The windows are mere slits; those of the tambours, or cylinders, on which the cupolas rest, are curved, and slant at an angle of 70°, as though the tambours were leaning to one side. Between the pediment and the cornice a thick corded moulding is carried round the main building. Above this comes a row of circular shields, adorned with intricate arabesques, while bands and wreaths of lilies are everywhere sculptured on the windows, balconies, tambours and cornices, adding lightness to the fabric. The whole is raised on a platform 7 ft. high, and encircled by a stone balustrade. Facing the main entrance is a small open shrine, consisting of a cornice and dome upheld by four pillars. The cathedral is faced with pale grey limestone, easily chiselled, but hardening on exposure. The interior is of brick, plastered and decorated with frescoes. Close by stands a large royal palace, Moorish in style. The archives of the cathedral were plundered by Magyars and Moslems, but several inscriptions, Greek, Slav and Ruman, are left. One tablet records that the founder was Prince Neagoe Bassarab (1512–1521); another that Prince John Radu
