FIELD-MARSHAL 



3139 



FIESOLE 



Field-Marshal. The highest 

 title of rank in the British army, 

 equivalent to admiral of the fleet 

 T in the navy. 

 j It was insti- 

 | tuted in 1736 

 | when George 

 j II conferred 

 i the rank on 

 John, duke of 

 Argyll. Any 

 officer on 

 either the ac- 



Field-Marshal. tive or retired 

 Shoulder strap of the lists may be 

 highest rank in the promoted to 

 British Army field-marshal 



without reference to seniority, 

 but it is laid down that there 

 shall not be more than eight field- 

 marshals on the active list. 

 Colonels of the Royal Artillery, 

 Royal Engineers,King' s Royal Rifle 

 Corps, and the Rifle Brigade are 

 selected from the field-marshals, 

 who are also eligible for appoint- 

 ment as governors of the Tower 

 and Chelsea Hospital. The pay of 

 a field-marshal is dependent on the 

 appointment he actually holds, 

 his half-pay is 1,300 per annum, 

 and his gratuity for a serious 

 wound, 3,500. Actually, the title 

 is conferred on the most distin- 

 guished soldiers of the day, and 

 the holders carry a baton in ad- 

 dition to their swords when in full 

 dress. See Marshal ; also illus. pp. 

 968 and 2806. 



Field Mouse. Name errone- 

 ously given to several small rodents, 

 both mice and voles. It is correctly 



Field Mouse. Brown, long-tailed 



Mus sylvaticus 



applied only to M us sylvaticus, the 

 wood mouse, otherwise called the 

 long-tailed field mouse, a common 

 pest in most parts of England, in 

 gardens and hedgerows, and occa- 

 sionally in corn-stacks. 



Field Officer. Any officer below 

 the rank of general and above the 

 rank of captain. These officers were 

 mounted in days when other infan- 

 try officers marched on foot with 

 their companies. Field officers not 

 having the charge of companies, 

 etc., were assigned special duties, 

 such as presiding at courts-martial, 

 inspection of guards. A brevet 

 major, being a regimental captain, 

 would perform either class of duty 

 as required. Sentries pay compli- 

 ments to field officers by presenting 

 arms. See Colonel ; Major. 



Field of the Cloth of Gold. 



Term applied to the meeting-place 

 of Henry VIII and Francis I of 

 France, June 7-24, 1520. The 

 meeting took place near Guines, and 

 the name was given to it on account 

 of the magnificence displayed. 



Field Punishment. Punish- 

 ment authorised by the Army Act 



fleet-footed retainers of the chief 

 carried round among the Scottish 

 clansmen to call them together in 

 time of emergency. Disobedience 

 to the summons rendered any man 

 between the age of 16 and 60 liable 

 to the extreme penalties of fire and 

 sword, emblematically denounced 

 by the bloody and burnt marks 



Fiery Cross, from a painting by J. Drummond, R.S.A., depicting the bearer of 

 the fiery cross carrying bis summons by boat from village to village 



J. Cairti Inglis 



to be inflicted on private soldiers on 

 active service in consequence of the 

 lack of prisons or detention bar- 

 racks. Field punishment No. 1, 

 abolished in 1923, involved such 

 restraint as is usual in cases of im- 

 prisonment with hard labour, and 

 in addition the prisoner could for 

 three days out of four be " attached 

 to a fixed object," such as a tree or 

 a gunwheel, with straps or ropes, 

 for not more than two hours a day. 

 This mode of restraint could not, 

 however, be adopted for more than 

 21 days in all. See Court Martial. 



Field- train . Name given to the 

 transport allotted to fighting units 

 for the conveyance of the stores, 

 supplies, and baggage necessary for 

 their subsistence. The train is 

 divided into two sections, baggage 

 and supply, the latter being known 

 as first line transport, since it is an 

 integral part of the fighting unit, 

 without which the necessary tacti- 

 cal functions cannot be performed. 

 See Supply ; Transport. 



Fieri facias (Lat., cause thou 

 to be made). Term of English law. 

 It refers to a writ of execution 

 directed to the sheriff of a county, 

 ordering him to cause to be made 

 of the goods of A. B. a sum of 

 money due by A. B. on a judgement. 



Fiery Cross. Charred sticks 

 dipped in goat's blood and usually 

 joined in the form of a cross, which 



upon the signal. During the "Forty- 

 five" the fiery cross made many 

 circuits. A fine description of the 

 custom is given in Scott's Lady of 

 the Lake, Canto III. 



Fiery Serpent. Name given to 

 the serpents sent to the Israelites 

 in the wilderness (Num. 21). They 

 were probably sand snakes, called 

 fiery because of the effect of their 

 bite. See Snake. 



Fiescherhorn. Mt. of Switzer- 

 land. In the Bernese Oberland 

 (q.v. ), near Grindelwald, its height 

 is 13,286 ft. The ascent from the 

 Bergli Hut by the Monch-Joch 

 should not be attempted without 

 the help of a guide. 



Fiesole (anc. Faesulae). City of 

 Italy, in the prov. of Florence. It 

 stands on an eminence overlooking 

 the valley of the Arno, 3 m. N.E. of 

 Florence. It was one of the 12 

 Etruscan cities, and is enclosed by 

 crumbling cyclopean walls. Its 

 cathedral, founded early in the 

 llth century, contains many inter- 

 esting paintings and sculptures. 

 Straw-plaiting is carried on by the 

 inhabitants. Here in 225 B.C. the 

 Gauls defeated the Romans, and 

 Sulla's veterans formed a colony, 

 later the headquarters of Catiline. 

 For long an opulent city, its 

 prosperity waned as Florence grew 

 in power. Pop. 10,434. Pron. 

 Feeay-zoly. 



