112 



MKDAL 



MEUELLIN 



Of the German school, Allx-rt Ditrcr wan the most 

 famoiifi of the early ex|K>nents. In Holland a 

 remarkable series al jetton* or medalets were issued 

 in the Itiili and early jmrt of the 17th centime-, 

 which give a reconl ol the ini)H>rtant events of 

 which that country wa- tlirn tin- iheatic. In the 



liitli century tin -1 im|Mirtant medals of French 



origin were produced liy Jaci|iiw Primavera and 

 Ccrmain 1'iloii. mid in tin- succti-ding century 

 Kriiit anil Duprc wen- the great mcdallic poitra\ei> 

 of contem|M>rary |>er-onage- ami event-. English 

 me.lal- U-u'in (inly with Henry \ 111., and from 

 Edward VI. onward- there is an unbroken succes- 

 sion of cm .mat ion medals. The earlier medaU are 

 cast in a very inferior manner, and are certainly 

 not the work of native artists ; indeed, it is not till 



the period of Elizabeth that we find native talent 

 developed in the direction of medal-working, and 

 even thereafter it was largely to Dutch, French, 

 and Italian artists that the principal English 

 medal- were due. The Scotch coroiiiition medal 

 of I 'hai le- I. is the lir-i medal si nick in Britain 

 with a legend on the edge. The medal is the work 

 of Itrii.t. and around the edge it reads, Ks .lnm ul 

 in Srntiii rr/H-ntur. The medals of the Common- 

 wealth and Charle- II. are principally liy Itawlins 

 and the brother- Simon, and under Charles II. the 



three In-other* lintiier diil important i lallic work 



in England. In tin- ISth century J. A. I >a-sier, a 

 native of (lem-va. executed a series of medal- of 

 English monarch* from the time of William I., and 

 other iiniMirtnnl works were the production of 

 Croker. Itiehanl Vi-o, and Thomas I'ingo. Of 

 I'.Hh century English medals the best are due to 

 the Italian I'i-trueci ami to Thomas and William 

 Wyon and their successors. 



(Mlicial medal- at the present day are prin- 

 cipally i tied for naval or military services. 

 Tire lirxt war initial given in England was the 

 Ark in Hood medal ' lies towed by Queen Eli/.a- 

 lieth in 15K8 on naval heroes. The lirst Eng- 

 lish military meilal wan granted by Charles 7. 

 in ltii:|. and in IK.VI an oval medal was executed liy 

 order of parliament for distribution amongst Crom- 

 well'* officer* and soldiers engaged in the battle of 

 Miinbar. Medal* have U-n distributed to the 

 lroo| in every victorious engagement and cam- 



|wi(tn ii I7!':i till the pre-ent time. but. previous 



to the iciirn .,f if -I, Victoria the Waterloo medal 



wm tin- only one of thin series struck. It was 

 iwmivl by order of the Prince Itcgent in IHIU. and 

 conferred on every ollicer and soldier present at the 

 (attic. The initial i* of silver, with the head of 

 the Prince Regent on the obverse, and on the 

 reverse a figure of Victory seated on a pedestal, 

 bucriljed ' Waterloo,' with', beneath, the date June 



18, 1815, and above, ' Wellington.' The Penin- 

 sular medal, for military sen ice- lictween 17!*.'t 

 and 1814, was issued only by the Queen in 1847, 

 and conferred upon every surviving officer and 

 private present at any battle or siege during these 

 years. It carries no fewer than twenty-eight 

 clasps for as many separate engagements, the lirst 

 of which is Egjpt, 1801. Long-service and good- 

 conduct medals of silver were instituted in |s;io 

 anil 1831, and rules then formed for their distri- 

 bution among meritorious soldiers, sailors, and 

 marines. On the edge of each of these medal- i- 

 engraved the name, rank, and regiment or ship of 

 it- n-cipient. The Victoria Cross dj.v. twas insti- 

 tuted in Is.lt'i. Similar medals for military and 

 naval services are is-ued by foreign powers. 



See A. \ii'inK t fas Mf'tl'iil- 

 leun de la Renautanee 

 (vol. viii 1S!K1|; (ini.-)nT's 

 QvvteMlirKivilishMnlalt 

 h .('., l.il.ftni. Jlritif/l 

 Mtueum ( 1881 ) ; Cocliran- 

 Pat rick's Catalogue of the 

 Medah .,/.* 

 1/onbnt's Miiliil/ir li 

 of the Unitrd Slattt ( 2 vols. 

 1878); 1 ' Irwin".- 



lirilifh Il'iir Mrdalt and 

 MW i IV.IO); T. 

 Carter's Britinh II " 

 illfW t-d. IK'XI); 

 and a two-page illustra- 

 tion of medals of die 

 preceding fifty years in 

 i-liir lor I4th June 



Mfllo'H. in Creek 



legend, a famous MUCC- 

 F| 8- 2- t, the daughter ..I 



./Ee'tet-, king of Colchis, 



and of the Oceanid Idyia, or of Hecate. When 

 .la-on. the leader of the Argonauts, came to 

 Col. 'his in search of the (iolden Fleece, she fell 

 in love with the young hero, helped him to obtain 

 the Fleece, and lied with him. She prevented 

 her father from pursuing by killing her brother 

 Absyrtiis and strewing the sea with his limbs. 

 She uvcngi-d her husband upon the aged Pclias 

 by penOMing his daughtei> to cut him in ]iii-ces 

 and lM.il him in order to make him young apiin. 

 lleing deserted by .lason for (dance or Creiisa. 

 daughter of Creon, king of Corinth, she revenged 

 her wrongs by sending to her rival a |Kiisoned 

 robe or diadem which destroyed Uitli her and her 

 father. Medea then slew the children she had 

 Inline to .la-on, and lied to Athens in a chariot 

 drawn by dragons, which she obtained from Helios. 

 There sfie was received by .Fgeus, to whom she 

 liore Medos ; but, uftei wards U-ing compelled to 

 flee from Athens, she tmik Medos to Aria, the 

 inhabitants of which were thenceforth called 

 Medes. She finally became immortal, and the 

 spouse of Achilles in the Elysian Fields. The 

 story of Medea was a favourite theme of the 

 tiagcdhins, but only the ma-teipiece of Enripide- 

 has come down to us. It was treated by Corneille 

 and (irillparzer, and gave Cherubini the theme for 

 an opera. 



Mrdrllin. ( 1 ) a town (pop. 1250) of Spain, on 

 the (iuadiami, (Hi miles by rail I., of Itadajo/.. It 

 is worth mention as the birthplace of Cortes. 

 C2) The second city of Colombia, capital of the 

 dciiartment of Antioi|iiia, lies in a lovely mountain- 

 valley. 



t'eei above the sea. and 150 miles N \\ . 

 of Itogota. It is a handsome town, and possesses 

 a cathedral, college, seminary, technical school, 

 four printing establishments, and manufactures of 

 jHittery, porcelain ware, and jeweller} 1 . It has a 

 considerable trade, exporting gold and silver. Pop. 

 40,000. 



