670 



MAN TC HOO8 MANUEL. 



duchy of CoUw, May 26, 1759, and died June C-, 

 1826, in Breshui, where lie Imd been, since 17'JO, 

 pro-rector, and since 1793, rector of the Mary M:i<i- 

 dalen gymnasium. He wrote a good deal in prose 

 and poetry, but his most important works are, His- 

 tory of the Prussian State since the Peace of Hub- 

 ertsburg (Frankfort on the Maine, 1819 et seq., 3 

 vols.), and a History of the Ostrogothic Empire in 

 Italy (Breslau, 1824), both in German. 



MANTCHOOS, or MANTCHEVVS. See Hand- 

 thures. 



MANTEGNA, ANDREW, one of the most cele- 

 brated of the early painters, was born at Padua, in 

 1431. His master, Squarcioue, was induced by the 

 talents which he displayed to adopt him as a son. 

 The youth employed himself principally in drawing 

 from antiques, and, at the age of sixteen, painted a 

 picture for the grand altar in the church of St 

 Sophia, at Padua. Mantegna soon after entered the 

 service of Lodovico Gonzaga, at Mantua, where he 

 opened a school. Here he painted his great picture, 

 the Triumph of Julius Caesar, for the exhibition of 

 which a palace was erected in Mantua. It consists 

 of several pictures, which have since been transfer- 

 red to Hampton court. Gonzaga conferred on him 

 the honour of knighthood in reward for his merit. 

 Innocent VIII. invited the artist to Rome, to paint 

 in the Belvedere, and he afterwards executed a 

 number of capital works. One of the latest and best 

 was the Madonna delta Vittoria, now in the Louvre 

 at Paris, in which Giovanni Francesco Gonzaga is 

 seen returning thanks for the victory gained by him 

 over the forces of Charles VIII. (1490). There are 

 several other of his works in the Louvre, and an 

 Annunciation in the Dresden gallery. He died at 

 Mantua in 1506. Mantegna excelled in perspec- 

 tive, which was then a rare merit. His manner was 

 stiff and dry, and IIB imitation of the ancient is every- 

 where manifest. His son. Francesco, was also a 

 painter. 



MANTELETS, in the art of war ; a kind of mov- 

 able parapets, made of planks about three inches 

 thick, nailed one over another, to the height of al- 

 most six feet, generally cased with tin, and set upon 

 little wheels, so that in a siege they may be driven 

 before the pioneers, and serve as blinds to shelter 

 them from the enemy's small shot. 



MANTINEA ; one of the most ancient, and, with 

 Tegea, most important cities of Arcadia, on the 

 frontier of Argolis, on the little river Ophis. The 

 modern Tripoli zza (q. v.) is built on the ruins of the 

 ancient cities of Megalopolis, Tegea, Mantinea, and 

 Pallantium. Mantinea was known for its wealth, 

 and famous for the battles fought near it, one B.C. 

 418, in the fourteenth year of the Peloponnesian war, 

 the result of which battle was, that Argos seced*d 

 from Athens, and joined Sparta; the other, fought 

 B. C. 363, by Epaminondas, against the Pelopon- 

 nesians. Epaminondas (q. v.) was victorious, but 

 fell. A third battle was fought near Mantinea, B.C. 

 206, between Machanides, tyrant of Lacedaemon 

 and Philopoemen, general of the Achaean league. 

 The latter was victorious, and slew the tyrant with 

 his own hand. 



MANTIS. Few of the insect tribe have attracted 

 more attention than these curious productions of 

 nature, from their singular forms, and still more 

 singular habits. From the manner in which they 

 stretch out their fore legs, they have acquired the 

 reputation of diviners, and because they often rest 

 on their hind legs, folding the anterior pair over 

 their breast, the superstitious have supposed them in 

 the act of prayer; hence they are called, in Langue- 

 doc, where they are common, by the name of prie- 

 dieu. The genus mantis has been separated, by 



modern entomologists, into several distinct genera, 

 viz. mantis, spectruin, phasma,&nAphy Ilium. The 

 first of these contains the celebrated soothsayer (M. 

 religiosa), which, as has been said, is vulgarly con- 

 sidered as possessing miraculous powers. This super- 

 stition appears to extend to almost every part of the 

 world in which these insects are found. The Turks 

 regard them as under the especial protection of 

 Allah, and the Hottentots pay divine honours to 

 them. The dry leaf mantis (phyllium siccifolia), in 

 its shape and colour, is remarkable, invariably sug- 

 gesting the idea of a dry and withered leaf. Their 

 manners, also, in addition to their structure, aid in 

 the delusion. They often remain on trees, for hours, 

 without motion; then, suddenly springing into the 

 air, appear to be blown about like dry leaves. The 

 Indians of South America, where these insects are 

 very common, believe that they really are attached 

 to the tree at first, and that when they have arrived 

 at maturity, they loosen themselves, and crawl or fly 

 away. In some parts of the East Indies, a species of 

 mantis is kept, like game cocks, for the purpose of 

 fighting, which they do with great ferocity. 



MANTISSA. See Logarithms. 



MANTUA; a delegation of Austrian Italy, in the 

 government of Milan, lying on the north of the 

 duchies of Modena and Parma; population, 239,436; 

 square miles, 886. The Po passes through it, and it 

 is also watered by the Oglio, Mincio, Secchia, &c. 

 The surface is very level; the soil of great fertility; 

 the principal product grain; others rice, hemp, flax, 

 fruit, and vines. The late duchy of Mantua, or the 

 Mantuan, was of larger extent than the present pro- 

 vince. It was annexed to the Cisalpine republic 

 (q. v.) in 1797, and formed a department of the 

 kingdom of Italy until 1814, when it was ceded to 

 Austria, as a part of the Lombardo- Venetian king- 

 dom. See Lombardy. 



MANTUA (Italian, Mantova); a city of Austrian 

 Italy, an episcopal see, and capital of a delegation, 

 formerly a duchy of the same name ; seventy miles 

 S.W. of Venice, seventy S.E. of Milan; Ion. 10 

 46' E.; lat. 45 9' N.; population, 25,000, among 

 which are about 2000 Jews. It is situated on two 

 islands formed by the expansion of the waters of the 

 Mincio, one about a mile square, the other a little 

 more than half that size : on this is the most closely 

 built part of the city. The extensive suburb of 

 Cerese is on the mainland. Mantua is well fortified, 

 and is, by nature and art, one of the strongest places 

 in Europe. Most of the streets are broad, regular, 

 and well paved; the houses of stone, and generally 

 well built; and the public squares spacious and ele- 

 gant. It contains a magnificent cathedral, numerous 

 churches, convents, and hospitals, a public library, 

 an academy of arts and sciences, a gallery of anti- 

 quities, and several valuable collections of paintings. 

 Other public objects of interest are the palaces of 

 justice, of Gonzaga, and of T, so called from its 

 form; the church of St Andrew; the Corte, with its 

 halls; the famous bust of Virgil; and the buildings of 

 the university, which was founded here in 162o. 

 The silk manufactures were formerly flourishing, 

 and are still considerable ; those of leather and 

 woollen are also important. In the summer and 

 autumn, the city is unhealthy, on account of the 

 marshes in its neighbourhood. (See Mai' Aria.) It 

 is a place of great antiquity, said to be older than 

 Rome, and, a century ago, contained about 50,000 

 inhabitants. Virgil was born at Andes (now Pietola), 

 in the vicinity. 



MANUEL, JACQUES ANTOINE, one of the most 

 eloquent and intrepid defenders of French liberty, 

 was born in 1775, at Barcelonette, in the depart- 

 ment of the Lower Alps, and was educated at the 



