LANCASTER. 729 LANCE. LANCASTER, House of. The name of the dynasty which occupied the throne of England from l.J'J!) to l-llil, and again in 1470-71. The title originated during the reign of Henry III., who in 1207 made his second son, Edmund Crouchback. Earl of Lancaster. On the failure of male lieirs, John of tiaunt, fourth son of Ed- ward III., married Blanche, the Lancastrian heiress, and in 1302 was created Duke of Lan- caster. His older brother Lionel was at the same time created Duke of Clarence, and in this manner originated the rival houses of Lancaster and Vork. John of tiaunt's son, Henry IV., seized the crown, dethroning Richard II. (q.v.). Hen- ry's u.surpation could be justified on heredi- tary principles only upon the assumption that the inheritance to the crown could not pass through females, or that his ancestor, Henry Crouchback, was really older than Edward II.. having accord- ing to llie legend been set aside on account of a physical deformity, though in fact he was called Crouchback from having won the Crusader's cross. Henry's rule was really based uijon the accept- ance by Parliament of his defective title, and he is the first English king who ruled by Par- liamentary right. Henry IV, ( 1399-1413) and Henry V. (1413-22) maintained their position through the support of Parliament and the Church, which they were careful to conciliate, and tlirough the brilliant victories of Henry V. in France, but the long minority and inefficient rule of the last Lancastrian. Henry VI., which began in 1422, was a time of violence, ending in the Wars of the Roses. Consult : Stubbs, The Constitutional History of Enyhind. vol. iii. (5th ed., Oxford, 1895) ; Gairdner, The Houses of Lanraster and York (London, 1886); Ramsay, Lancaster and York (2 vols., Oxford, 1890) ; and the bibliographies under the separate kings. See England; Jonx of Gavxt: Henry IV., V., VI. LANCASTER, Sir .James (c.1550-1618). An Englisli navigator. Of his early life, which was spent among the Portuguese, little is known. He first comes into prominence as commander of one of the English vessels under Drake in the attack on the Spanish Armada in 1588. and in the same vessel, with two convoys, he sailed from Plym- outh in 1591, and, after a voyage to India full of exciting adventures, returned in 1594 with rich Portuguese spoil. Another profitable prize-seek- ing expedition oflT the .frican coast, and the damage inflicted on the Spanish-Portuguese trade, resulted in the organization of the East India Company, and his appointment as com- mander of an expedition of four vessels which sailed from Torbay in ICOl. Warmly received by the kings of .tchin and of Bantam, as an enemy of the Portuguese, he established most favorable commercial relations with them, and on his return to England in 1C03 was knighted. The rest of his life was spent in England as a director of the East India Company, He inter- ested himself in the project for discovering the Xorthwest Passage, and on his advice the Gov- ernment sent out an expedition. BafTin named a strait, opening into Baffin Bay. Lancaster Sound, in his honor. Consult Markham (ed.). The Voi/nfjes nf ffir Jnwes hnnrnstcr (London, 1877), published by the Hakhiyt Society. LANCASTER, .Tosepii (1778-1838). The founder nf llu' Lancastrian system of instruction, one of the rival sy.stems of monitorial instniction (q.v.). Lancaster was born in London, and served as a seaman, but, inspired by philan- thropy, began the work of teaching without anj' previous training, and before the age of twenty had more than a thousand pupils under his care. This was made possible by his adoption and im- provement of the plan of instruction first fornm- lated by Dr. Andrew Bell of Madras, and hence also called the Madras system of instruction. Lancaster soon gained the support of some of the nobility, and the Royal Lancastrian Society was formed, schools were established, and build- ings erected. From this grew the British and Foreign School Society, supported by the non- conforming churches, which continues to exist and supports many of the public schools of Eng- land, although the Lancastrian ideas have long since been outgrown, Lancaster's ideas had a great vogue in England, and for a time in Hol- land, France, and Germany; but, quarreling with his patrons, he came to the United States, where he lectured with success. His ideas were very popular throughout the Eastern and Northern States. In Xew York, Baltimore, and Phila- delphia, as well as in smaller communities, this system was generally adopted. After the death of Lancaster, which occurred as the result of an accident in Xew York City, his family removed to Mexico, where this educational system was re- ceived with great favor, and legislative aid was granted under the control of a national Lan- castrian system. The plan was also received with favor in some South American countries. The characteristics of the Lancastrian system are given under Monitorial St.stesi. Con- sult: Lancaster, Improvements in Education (Xew York, 1833); Gill, Si/stem of Education (Boston. 1899). LANCASTER SOUND. A channel connect- ing Baffin Bay with Barrow Strait. l)etween Xorth Devon and Cocklnirn Island, in latitude 74° X. (Map: Xorth America, K 2). Discovered in ICIO bv Baffin, it was first explored bv Parrv in 1819. LANCASTER, or LANCASTRIAN, SYS- TEM, See Monitorial System, LANCE (OF., Fr. lance, from Lat. lancea, from Gk. lrtxny louche, light spear). The Holy. (1) The name applied in the Greek Church to the knife with which the priest cuts the bread at communion. This knife is formed like a lance, designed to imitate the spear by which Christ was pierced. (2) A lance which is claimed by tradition to be the one employed by the Roman soldier to thrust into the side of Christ on the cross. It was discovered by Helena, the mother of Constantine, and long preserved in the portico of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Thence the head was carried to Antioeh. There by a' vision it was discovered by the Crusaders in 1098. pawned by Baldwin II. to the Venetians, from whom Louis IX. of France obtained it in 1239 and carried it to Paris. It was seen there as late as 1796. hut now it has disappeared. The shaft of the lance was in Constantinople until 1492. when the Sultan sent it to Innocent VITL, on< it is now preserved in Rome, . other lanee, also in Rome, is considered by some to be the tnie original. LANCE, George (1802-64). .
English
painter of still life. He was born at Little Easton. Es.sex, March 24, 1S02. Intending to lie a manufacturer, he was sent to Leeds, but, feeling
