TEST ACTS 



5766 



TEUTONIC KNIGHTS 



electrical devices, was born in Smiljan, in Aus- 

 trian Croatia. His studies at the Gratz Poly- 

 technic School aroused an interest in engineer- 

 ing and electricity, and when he went to Prague 

 and Budapest he continued work in these, while 

 pursuing courses in languages and philosophy. 

 After being employed in the government tele- 

 graphic engineering department of Austria, he 

 became an engineer in Paris, then set out for 

 America, and for a time was under the direction 

 of Thomas A. Edison. 



For purposes of independent research Tesla 

 established electrical laboratories in New York 

 City, and resulting inventions have been dis- 

 tinguished alike for their brilliance and for 

 their practicability. He was the first to substi- 

 tute the alternating current for the direct cur- 

 rent a simpler and more economical method 

 of converting electrical into mechanical energy. 

 His principle of the rotary magnetic field is now 

 in use in transmitting the power of Niagara 

 Falls to near-by cities. His other inventions 

 include improvements in dynamos, arc lights 

 and incandescent lamps, condensers and induc- 

 tion coils. 



TEST ACTS, the general name given to 

 certain religious acts passed by the English Par- 

 liament, which were intended to prevent any 

 but members of the Established Church from 

 holding public office. Among the principal test 

 acts were the Corporation Act of 1661, which 

 decreed that all magistrates must take oaths of 

 allegiance and supremacy, and must receive 

 communion according to the Church of Eng- 

 'land; and the Test Act of 1673, which pre- 

 scribed the same tests for the holders of public 

 offices. These laws were repealed in 1828. 



TETANUS, 

 let' a nus, the 

 medical term for 

 lockjaw (which 

 see). 



TETRAZZINI, 

 ta traht se' ne, 

 LuiSA(1874- ), 

 one of the great- 

 est coloratura so- f| 

 pranos of the 

 modern operatic 

 stage, possessing 

 a voice remark- 

 able for its great 

 range, and for the 

 purity of its high staccato notes. She received 

 her musical education in her native city, Flor- 

 ence, making her professional debut in 1895. 



TETRAZZINI 



Although she attained considerable success in 

 Italy, Russia, South America and Mexico, it is 

 San Francisco which claims the honor of having 

 "discovered" Tetrazzini, and of having first ac- 

 claimed her a second Patti. In 1908 she re- 

 peated her triumphs at the Metropolitan Opera 

 House in New York, singing there the part of 

 Violetta in La Traviata, and thereafter was an 

 established favorite in grand opera and concert 

 work in various American cities. Her repertory 

 consists of about forty roles, including the lead- 

 ing soprano parts in Rigoletto, La Sonnambula, 

 Lucia di Lammermoor, Lakme and The Cob- 

 bler and the Fairy. 



TETZEL, tet'sel, JOHANN (1460-1519), a 

 German monk of the Dominican Order, famous 

 as the opponent of Martin Luther at the begin- 

 ning of the Reformation. Tetzel was born in 

 Saxony and was educated at the University of 

 Leipzig. Soon after his graduation he joined 

 the Dominican brotherhood, and speedily be- 

 came known as an eloquent preacher. In 1516 

 he appeared in the vicinity of Wittenberg, 

 where he preached to the people concerning the 

 granting of indulgence to those who would con- 

 tribute to the fund for building Saint Peter's,' 

 at Rome. Luther's famous ninety-five theses 

 were directed against Tetzel's methods, and 

 they caused intense excitement throughout Ger- 

 many. Tetzel himself published a series of 

 theses answering Luther, but his course had 

 been such as to offend the authorities of the 

 Church, and a few months before his death he 

 was summoned to appear before the Papal 

 legate and was rebuked for extravagant lan- 

 guage and improper conduct. See REFORMA- 

 TION, THE. 



TEUTONIC KNIGHTS, tuton'ik nites, one 

 of the three great military and religious orders 

 which was founded during the Crusades, the 

 others being the Knights Templars and the 

 Knights Hospitalers of Saint John. The year 

 of its establishment was 1190; the organizers 

 were German merchants of Bremen and Liibeck, 

 who were moved by the sufferings of the Cru- 

 saders to found a hospital for them at Acre. 

 Like the other orders, it consisted originally of 

 knights or nobles only, but later admitted 

 priests and lay brothers of lower rank. All 

 wore the distinctive white robe with a black 

 cross, and took the vows of poverty, chastity 

 and obedience. 



In 1225 the Teutonic Knights, having fought 

 against the infidels in Palestine and acquired 

 considerable land and many special privileges, 

 undertook a crusade against the Prussians, who 



