MTNGRELIANS. 548 MINIMITES. ions, scttiii;; tlitiii cIduii as lazy and unprogres- sive. The ilingrt'lians, as are the other Georgi- ans, are more or less Christian. They have a folk-literature, consisting of legends, songs, etc., the people being fond of music, the dance, etc. Consult: Erckert, Der Kaithasiis und seine Viilkcr (Leipzig, 1887) ; Telfer, The Crimea and Transcaucasia (London, 1876) ; Chantre. Re- cherchcs unlhropoUxjiqucs dans le Caura.sv (Paris, 1S85-S7) : Bryce, Transcaucasia and Ararat (London, 1897). See Georgians. MINHO, mS'nyd. A river of the Iberian Pen- in>vila. Sec itixo. MINHO. A Province of Portugal. See K.NTKK-Doi ROE-MlNIIO. MINIATtJRE PAINTING. A late develop- ment cif tile art of manuscript illumination ap- plied to portraiture. (See M.NrscRirTS, Illumi- nation" OF.) The illuminators of the latter part of the sixteenth century, headed by Giulio Clovio, had made the art in its dying days far more transparent in coloring, more cameo-like. Ef- fects in (/risaiUe and camaieu led the way to miniatircs. When there were no longer any manuscripts to illuminate, the art turned to minute detached and framed pictures still paint- ed on vellum, and related to these were minute paintings on copper, especially by the Dutch School. The new branch of minute portraiture was essentially a creation of Xorth European art of the seventeenth, and especially the eighteenth, century. It was foreign to Italy. Spain, and Southern France and flourished in Germany, England, Northern France, and the Xctlier- lands. It was especially suited to portraying the Court costumes of the times of Louis XIV. and XV. The miniature portraits were usually of oval shape and only two to four inches high: they were usually painted on vellum or ivory. Imt sometimes on heavy glazed paper, wood, enamel, or porcelain. The forerunners of the true minia- turists had often painted in oils on copper or silver; vellum was the favorite material of the seventeeiitli century, and ivory was largely in- troduced during the eighteenth century. The normal method was to use opaque body- colors on the vellum, that is, colors mi.xed with white and other opaque pigments: but when ivory came into use. transparent colors were used large- ly on faces and all other nude parts, the opaque colors being confined to the draperies, hair, and accessories. Transparent effects gradually passed from the flesh tints even to the other parts of the picture, so that but little that was opaque re- mained. The practice up to about 17r>0 was first to lay the cohu's on in broad Hat tones and then to work over with dotting or stippling imtil an ex- quisite bit somewhat finical jewel-like effect was attained. But. toward 1700, a Swede named Hall utilized the naliral tones of the newly popular ivory ground in favor of new transpar- ent effects and textures, using flniiarhr water- color elTecIs with a manner at once bold and tender. Afterwards, the fireadth of possible ef- fects was increased by the use of hatching as a method. Among miniaturists, Isaac Oliver and his son Peter Oliver were among the earliest in Englaml. and were followed, later in the seventeenth cen- turj-, hy Snmuel Cooper, whose reputation spread to France an<l Holland, r!laerenl)crghc. of the Dutch School, was prominent under Louis XV. Ro.sahela Carriera. Isaljey. some pupils of Mass6, like Lebrun, Prevot. and Cherlier. nuule his deli- cate .style popular, until Francois Dumont in the time of Marie Antoinette combined it with the more transparent and free style of Hall and so set a new fashion. The name of Angelica Kauf- man is popularly well known in tliis connection. .fter a period of almost complete extinction during the greater part of the nineteenth cen- tui-y, tlie art has lately been revived with suc- cess. Museums have nuide collections; there are over two humlred in the Dresden Gallery. But private individuals own by far the larger number of extant miniatures. Consult: Bradley, Dictionarii of Miniaturists (London, 1887-80)"; Proport, Historii of Minia- ture Art (ill.. 1887) ; Williamson. Portrait Min- iatures from Holbein to lioss (ih., 1807). See also the authorities referred to under Manu- scripts, Ilujiixation of. MINIE, me'nya'. Claide Etiex.ve (1814-79). A I'^renrh soldier, ordnance expert. ;uid inventor. He was born in Paris, entered the army as a volunteer, and served in Algeria during several campaigns. He became eajitain in 1840, and superintendent of the school of ordnance at Vin- cennes in 1852. In 18:38 he was employed by the ICgyptian Government to superintend a manu- factory of arms, and a school of gininery at Cairo. He invented the Jlinie rille. which was brought out in 1840, and adopted by the French Government, and is especially notcwortliy in that it was the first practii-il inti<iiliiction of the principle of expansion in tlie manuf;icture of pro- jectiles, and gave a precision and range previous- ly unknown. The Miuic bullet was a conical projectile of lead, hollowed out at the base. When fired the base of the ball expanded, to take the riding. See Small Arms. See Mensurable I (in music). MINIM Music. MIN'IMITES (l.at. fratres minimi, least brellircn. so called, in token of still greater hu- mility, by contrast with the fratrrn minores, lesser brethren, the original name of the Fran- ciscans). A Roman Catholic religious Order, founded by Saint Francis of Paola (q.v. ). De- vout hermits began to gather round him as early as 14:!.'). and in 14.)4 a community life was begun. The Order received Papal confirmation in 1474. It spread first into Fraiue. when the founder was summoned tliither by Louis XI. lu Paris they were commonly known as Itons ntiiitines. ivom the ]>o]>ular name of an older comiminity to whose house at Vincennes they succeeded ; and in Spain, to which they next s])read. they got the name of Fathers of Victory, from the fact that the recov- ery of Malaga from the itoors was ascribed to their prayers. The Fmiieror Maximilian invited them to Germany in 1407. Their first definite rule was not drawn up by the founder until 1493; it was exceedingly austere, forbidding the use not only of meat', but of all animal products, such as butter, eggs, cheese, and milk. The Order at one time numbered 4.">0 houses, but later fell into decay and is now represented only by a few convents in Italy. The superior of a convent lias the title of corrector, the head of the whole Order being the corrector-general. Francis also
