Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/151

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LEO. 133 LEO V. ing race, addressing a touching letter ad Anglos in 1894; and the decision of the commission which in 1896 pronounced that Anglican ordina- tions were invalid had an important bearing on the attitude of the High-Church partly toward Rome. His recognition of the importance of this race, especially in the New World, was marked by the establishment of a permanent representative in the United States and one in Canada who were responsible immediately to him. He maintained unwaveringly the attitude of his predecessor toward the Italian Government, con- sidering it as a usurper in Rome and himself as a prisoner in the Vatican. Elsewhere his general policy was to support existing governments as representatives of law and order. Thus, though with some difficulty, he persuaded French Catho- lics to support the Republic ; and he condemned the Nationalist 'plan of campaign' in Ireland. The Kulturkampf (q.v. ) waged by the Prussian Gov- ernment against the Holy See was brought to a close in 1887, the Papacy issuing from it trium- phant. Leo XIII. reestablished the ancient hier- archy of Scotland in 1878. and also established one in India. His constant efforts were devoted to the promotion of peace in the temporal order throughout the world; in 1885 he was able to se- cure it in a definite case by acting as arbitrator in the dispute which arose between Germany and Spain concerning the Caroline Islands. His life was of the simplest and most abstemious descrip- tion, which doubtless had much to do with its prolongation. His interest in science and litera- ture was always great, and marked for example by the provision of large sums for the Vatican Observatory. In 1883 he threw open the Vat- ican archives to all properly qualified scholars, expressing the conviction that the Church had nothing to fear from the study of the facts of history. His Latin style is of a high order, both in prose and verse: the com- position of Latin poetry was one of his favorite relaxations. For his life, consult biographies by Bonghi (Citta di Castello, 1884), O'Reillv (Lon- don, 1887), Weinand (2d ed., Cologne," 1892), T'Serclaes (Lille, 1894), Hall (New York, 1899). Narfon (Eng. trans., London, 1899) : also Boyer d'Agen, La jeunesse de Leon XIII. (Tours, 1890) ; id.. La prelature de Leon XIII. (ib., 1902) ; Goetz. Leo XIII., seine Weltanschauung u>id seine Wirksamkeit (Gotha, 1899) ; Keller, Life and Acts of Leo XIII. (New York, 1887). An edition of his Carmina was published in 1883; also Poems, Charades, and Inscriptions of Pope Leo. XIII. (ed. Henry, Philadelphia, 1902). His encyclicals have been published in Latin and Ger- man (Freiburg, 1881 seq.). LEO I., FLA.VIUS (e.400-474). Byzantine Em- peror from 457 to 474. He was born in Thrace, and ascended the throne at the close of the peace- ful reign of ilarcianus, for, though only an obscure military tribune at the time, he was the favorite of the' all-powerful Aspar, commander of the guards. Having defeated the Huns in a battle in the Province of Dacia, in which a son of Attila was killed, he undertook together with Anthemius, Emperor of the West, an expedition to reconquer Africa, which at this time was held by the Vandals under Genscric (q.v.). The Roman fleet was destroyed by fire-ships. Aspar. being an Arian. was unpopular, and hence was suspected by the people of having had treason- able dealings with the Vandals, who were also Arians. Leo was glad of this opportunity to get rid of his too powerful subject, and had him treacherously murdered in 471. Leo has been generally called the Great, but this title was given to him merely on account of his orthodoxy. With more justice the Arians surnamed him ilarcellarius (butcher). In 473 he associated with liimself his grandson, Leo II., who, however, survived him only a few months. LEO IIL, Fl.vius (c.680-741). B.vzantine Emperor from 717 to 741. He was surnamed the Isaurian from his birthplace. Originally his name was Conon, which he dropped in later life. Early in life he had distinguished himself as a soldier. Anastasius II. appointed him in 713 commander of the troops in the East. On the deposition of Anastasius by Theodosius III., Leo remained faithful to the former, overthrew the usurper, and assumed the crown, ilarch 25, 717. He was scarcel.v seated on the Imperial throne when the forces of the Caliph Solyman laid siege to Constantinople by land and sea; this siege lasted for a whole year, but was finally raised through the energy of Leo. The governors of sev- eral provinces had meantime rebelled, and it cost Leo several years of warfare before peace was restored to the Empire. In the great battle of Acroinon, in 740, he destroyed a large Jloham- medan army and checked for many years the ad- vance of Islam. He made many administrative reforms, completed the organization of the themes, reconstituted the army, placed the finances upon a firmer basis, and published codes of law for the army, for agriculture, and for commerce, as well as the civil code, the Eclogn. He is best remembered, however, by his strife against the use of images in the churches. (See 1 MAGE- Worship. ) Leo's edict against the images caused insurrections in Greece, which were soon repressed; but in Italy the opposition, headed by the Pope, was more vigorous and could not be subdued. Leo retaliated by confis- cating the lands of the Papacy in the Greek Empire, and by placing the whole of Sicily. Cala- bria, Crete, and Illyricum, which had previously been under the authority of the Pope, under the Patriarch of Constantinople. This caused almost a complete rupture between the Pope and the Em- peror. Leo died June 18, 741. LEO v., FLAVirs (?-820). Byzantine Em- peror from 813 to 820. He was surnamed the Armenian from his native country. He rose to the rank of general, and was raised to the Im- perial oflice by the army. In 814 and 815 he decisively defeated the Bulgarians. He was an iconoclastic prince of the most pronounced type, caused the adoration of images to be abolished by the second synod of Constantinople in 810, and condemned to pimishment those who per- sisted in it, exiling the Patriarch Nicephorus for the same cause. The weight of puljlic sentiment was against him. In 817 he defeated the Bul- garians at Mesembria. He arrested Michael, sur- named the Stammerer, wliom he suspected of treason, notwithstanding his former valuable ser- vices, and condemned him to death : but on Christmas night in 820. while he knelt in the chapel of his palace, he was murdered by the adherents of ]iichael. His reign is remarkable chiefly for the strict discipline which was infused by him into the administration of the civil gov- ernment.