origin, gear, tackle, equipment in general, but early applied particularly to the body armour of a soldier, including the trappings of the horse; now the general term for the gear of an animal used for draft purposes, traces, collar, bridle, girth, breeching, &c. It is usually not applied to the saddle or bridle of a riding animal. The word, in its original meaning of tackle or working apparatus, is still found in weaving, for the mechanism which shifts the warp-threads to form the “shed,” and in bell-hanging, for the apparatus by which a large bell is hung. The New English Dictionary quotes an early use of the word for the lines, rod and hooks of an angler (Fysshing with an Angle, c. 1450).
HARO, CLAMEUR DE, the ancient Norman custom of “crying
for justice,” still surviving in the Channel Islands. The wronged
party must on his knees and before witnesses cry: “Haro!
Haro! Haro! à l’aide, mon prince, on me fait tort.” This
appeal has to be respected, and the alleged trespass or tort
must cease till the matter has been thrashed out in the courts.
The “cry” thus acts as an interim injunction, and no inhabitant
of the Channel Islands would think of resisting it. The custom
is undoubtedly very ancient, dating from times when there
were no courts and no justice except such as was meted out by
princes personally. The popular derivation for the name is
that which explains “Haro” as an abbreviation of “Ha!
Rollo,” a direct appeal to Rollo, first duke of Normandy. It
is far more probable that haro is simply an exclamation to call
attention (O.H.G. hero, hara, “here”!). Indeed it is clear
that the “cry for justice” was in no sense an institution of
Rollo, but was a method of appeal recognized in many countries.
It is said to be identical with the “Legatro of the Bavarians
and the Thuringians,” and the first mention of it in France is
to be found in the “Grand coutumier de Normandie.” A
similar custom, only observed in criminal charges, was recognized
by the Saxon laws under the name of “Clamor Violentiae.”
Thus there is reason to think that William the Conqueror on his
arrival in England found the “cry” fully established as far as
criminal matters were concerned. Later the “cry” was made
applicable to civil wrongs, and, when the administration of
justice became systematized, disappeared altogether in criminal
cases. It naturally tended to become obsolete as the administration
of justice became systematized, but it was long retained
in north-western France in cases of disputed possession,
and was not actually repealed until the close of the 18th
century. A survival of the English form of haro is possibly to
be found in the “Ara,” a cry at fairs when “settling time”
arrived.
HAROLD I. (d. 1040), surnamed Harefoot, the illegitimate
son of Canute, king of England, and Ælfgifu of Northampton.
On the death of his father in 1035, he claimed the crown of
England in opposition to Canute’s legitimate son, Hardicanute.
His claims were supported by Leofric, earl of Mercia, and the
north; those of Hardicanute by his mother, Queen Emma,
Godwine, earl of the West-Saxons and the south. Eventually
Harold was temporarily elected regent, pending a final settlement
on Hardicanute’s return from Denmark. Hardicanute,
however, tarried, and meanwhile Harold’s party increased
rapidly. In 1037 he was definitely elected king, and banished
Emma from the kingdom. The only events of his brief reign
are ineffectual inroads of the Welsh and Scots. Hardicanute
was preparing to invade England in support of his claims when
Harold died at Oxford on the 10th of March 1040.
HAROLD II. (c. 1022–1066), king of the English, the second
son of Earl Godwine, was born about 1022. While still very
young (before 1045) he was appointed to the earldom of the
East-Angles. He shared his father’s outlawry and banishment
in 1051; but while Godwine went to Flanders, Harold with his
brother Leofwine took refuge in Ireland. In 1052 Harold and
Leofwine returned. Having plundered in the west of England,
they joined their father, and were with him at the assembly
which decreed the restoration of the whole family. Harold
was now restored to his earldom of the East-Angles, and on his
father’s death in 1053 he succeeded him in the greater earldom
of the West-Saxons. He was now the chief man in the kingdom,
and when the older earls Leofric and Siward died his power
increased yet more, and the latter part of Edward’s reign was
virtually the reign of Harold. In 1055 he drove back the Welsh,
who had burned Hereford. In 1063 came the great Welsh war,
in which Harold, with the help of his brother Tostig, crushed the
power of Gruffyd, who was killed by his own people. But in
spite of his power and his prowess, Harold was the minister of
the king rather than his personal favourite. This latter position
rather belonged to Tostig, who on the death of Siward in 1055
received the earldom of Northumberland. Here, however,
his harshness soon provoked enmity, and in 1065 the Northumbrians
revolted against him, choosing Morkere in his place.
Harold acted as mediator between the king and the insurgents,
and at length agreed to the choice of Morkere, and the banishment
of his brother. At the beginning of 1066 Edward died,
with his last breath recommending Harold as his successor.
He was accordingly elected at once and crowned. The men
of Northumberland at first refused to acknowledge him, but
Harold won them over. The rest of his brief reign was taken
up with preparations against the attacks which threatened
him on both sides at once. William challenged the crown,
alleging both a bequest of Edward in his favour and a personal
engagement which Harold had contracted towards him—probably
in 1064; and prepared for the invasion of England.
Meanwhile Tostig was trying all means to bring about his own
restoration. He first attacked the Isle of Wight, then Lindesey,
but was compelled to take shelter in Scotland. From May to
September the king kept the coast with a great force by sea
and land, but at last provisions failed and the land army was
dispersed. Harold then came to London, ready to meet whichever
enemy came first. By this time Tostig had engaged Harold
Hardrada of Norway to invade England. Together they sailed
up the Humber, defeated Edwin and Morkere, and received the
submission of York. Harold hurried northwards; and on the
25th of September he came on the Northmen at Stamford
Bridge and won a complete victory, in which Tostig and Harold
Hardrada were slain. But two days later William landed at
Pevensey. Harold marched southward as fast as possible. He
gathered his army in London from all southern and eastern
England, but Edwin and Morkere kept back the forces of the
north. The king then marched into Sussex and engaged the
Normans on the hill of Senlac near Battle (see Hastings). After
a fight which lasted from morning till evening, the Normans had
the victory, and Harold and his two brothers lay dead on the
field (14th of October 1066).
HARP (Fr. harpe; Ger. Harfe; Ital. arpa), a member of the
class of stringed instruments of which the strings are twanged or
vibrated by the fingers. The harp is an instrument of beautiful
proportions, approximating to a triangular form, the strings
diminishing in length as they ascend in pitch. The mechanism
is concealed within the different parts of which the instrument
is composed, (1) the pedestal or pedal-box, on which rest (2) the
vertical pillar, and (3) the inclined convex body in which the
soundboard is fixed, (4) the curved neck, with (5) the comb
concealing the mechanism for stopping the strings, supported
by the pillar and the body.
(1) The pedestal or pedal-box forms the base of the harp and contains seven pedals both in single and double action harps, the difference being that in the single action the pedals are only capable of raising the strings one semitone by means of a drop into a notch, whereas with the double action the pedals, after a first drop, can by a further drop into a second and lower notch shorten the string a second semitone, whereby each string is made to serve in turn for flat, natural and sharp. The harp is normally in the key of C flat major, and each of the seven pedals acts upon one of the notes of this diatonic scale throughout the compass. The choice of this method of tuning was imposed by the construction of the harp with double action. The pedals remain in the notches until released by the foot, when the pedal returns to its normal position through the action of a spiral spring, which may be seen under each of the pedals by turning the harp up.
(2) The vertical pillar is a kind of tunnel in which are placed the seven rods worked by the pedals, which set in motion the mechanism situated in the neck of the instrument. Although the pillar apparently
