BEN 



and compliments, both from thoft: who give and thofe wlio 

 reci.ive tliem. 



Benediction, Nupilcl, the external ceremony p^'rformed 

 hj the pried in the office of matrimony. Tlie nrptial bene- 

 diction is not ciTential to, but tlie conilrmation of a maniajre 

 in tl'.e civil law. 



BenIiDiction, leal'ic, bentSd'io hnilicn, is the v'wt'icum 

 given to dying perfons. The pope bigins all his bulls with 

 this form : " Salutein et apoftolicam bcnediiiiioncm." 



Benediction, regular, that conferred by abbots on their 

 monks, or by a fenior monk on a junior. 



Benediction E /'/•/Wr/, to be deprived of benediftion, 

 was a kind of punilhincnt inflicted on monks, whereby, when 

 the reft received the abbot's bltfling, the offenders were dif- 

 niiffed without it. 



Benediction is alfo ufed for an ecclcfiallical ceremony, 

 whereby a thing is rendered facred or venerable. In this 

 fenfe bcnediflion differs from confecration, as in the latter 

 unftion is applied, which is not in th.e former. Thus the 

 chalice is coiifecrated, and the pix bleffed, as the former, 

 rot the latter, is anointed ; though in tlie common ufigc 

 thcfe two words are' applied promifcuoully. The fpirit of 

 piety, or rather of fupcrllition, has introduced into the 

 Komifli church benedicilions for almoft evtry thing. We 

 read of forms of beneciftions for wax-c?.ndles, f()r boiigiis, 

 for afhes, fur church-veflch:, and ornaments ; for flags or en- 

 figno, arms, firft-fniits, houfes, (hips, pafchal eggs, c!/ii:i/m, 

 or the hair-cloth of penitents, church-yards, horlec, mules, 

 &c. which are fprinkled with holy water. 



Benediction of ylrms, w-as a fort of public confecration 

 of the weapons and enfigns, before the entering on a war, 

 by a formula of word.;, and circraoiiics appointed for that 

 purpofe. 



BENEDICTIONALIS Liber, an ancient church book, 

 containing the forms of the divers forts of benediftions given 

 by bifhops, priefls, &c. Such was the benediflionalis liber 

 of Gregory the Great, defcribed by Lambecius. 



BENEDICTUM, an epithet formerly given to lenient 

 or gentle operating mtdxines, more cfpeciaily rhubarb. In 

 this fenfe we find, in fume difpcnfatory writers, bcnediclum 

 Idsalkjum ufed for lenitive cleftary. Though in others, Le- 

 tifilicta liixiit'ivc), or x\it Hrffld Lisaliv:', denotes another eafy 

 purge, made up of turbith, diagrydium, fpurgcs, hermo- 

 daftyls, anife-feeds, fenncl-leed', fal gemmae, and honey. 

 Schroder alfo gives the appellr.tion aqna hcsud'icla to his eme- 

 tic ; and Mynfieht dees tiie fame to his ajua frpyHi, or wa- 

 ter of wild thyme. Some have called the pliilofopher's 

 ftone lapis bcnetllclus. 



BeNEDICTUM ViNUM. SccVlNUM. 



BENEDICTUS C.\rduus. See Thistle. 



BENEDITTO Sacco. See S.\n Benito. 



BENEFACA, in Geography, a town of Spain, in the 

 province of Valencia, lo leagues from Valencia. 



BENEFICE, Benkficil'M, in the Feudal S'Jem, is a 

 term apphed to thofe portions of land which the kings and 

 chieftains bellowed on th.cir adherents. As long as tliey had 

 no fixed property in land, they could only beflow an horfe, 

 a iuit of armour, or fueh lijce rccompences, on thofe wlioiu 

 pence or war were attached to their perfons, and devoted to 

 their fervite. But upon their fetthag in the countrie'S which 

 they coiiquered, and wiien the value of property came to 

 be tinderllood among them, they conferred upon their fol- 

 lowers the more fubllantial recompence of land. According- 

 ly tlie term benefice was ttie primitive name, and moll liir.i'le 

 form of the feudal polfcffions. Thefe grants were called 

 " bcnelicia," btcaufe tliey were gratuitous donations ; and 

 they were alfo called "honorcs," bceaufe they wcic regarded 



BEN 



a? marks of diftin£lion. What were the fei-viec3 originally 

 exaftcd in return for tUcfe " beiieficia," cannot be deter- 

 mined with abfolnte precilion ; btcaufe there ate no record.' 

 fo ancient. M. de Monttfiiuieu (Sp. of Laws, b.iii. c. \ 

 & l6.) confiders thefe "benefieia" a;; ficfs, which originally 

 fubjtfted thofe who held them, to military tenure. M. dc 

 Mably (Obferv. fur I'Hiftoire de I'rance, i. 356.) conttntls, 

 tliat fuch as held them were at lirft fubjeclcd to no oth<*i 

 fervice than what was incumbent on every free man. But 

 when it is confidered, tliat allodial property fubjeclcd thofe 

 who poffeffed it to ferve the cojjimunity, it is reafonablc t» 

 conclude, that "benefieia" fubjee^ed fuch as held them to 

 perfonal fervice and fidelity to him from whom they receiveet 

 thcfe lands. I'liey were granted originaliy only during 

 pleafure. (See Montefq. ubi fupra, and Du-Cange voc. 

 Belief eium and Faidum.) But the pofkffion of beneiices did 

 not continue long in tins ftate. A precarious tenure during 

 pleafure was not fufficlent to fatisfy thofe who held it, aid 

 to attach them to ijieir fuperior lord ; and, therefore, tliey 

 foon obtained the confirmation of their benefices during life. 

 (Du-Cange Gloff. voc. Bemfeiiim-) Aftcrthis it was cafy 

 to obtain or extort charters rendering •' benelicia" heredi- 

 tary, firll in the dired line, then in ilie collateral, and at 

 laft in the female line. Leg. Longeb. hb. iii. tit. viii. Dti- 

 Cange. 



It is -not eafy to afccrtain the preeife period whc.i each of 

 thefe changes took place. M. de Mably (ubi fupiM, torn. i. 

 p. 103 — 160. 429.) conjeftures, with fome probability, that 

 Charles Martel lirll introduced the practice of granting "be- 

 nefieia" for life ; and that Louis le Debonnaiic was among 

 the firll who rerdcred them hereditary. Mabillon, however, 

 (De Re Diplomatica, 1. vi. p. 353.) has publiflied a placi- 

 tiim of Louis le Debonnaire, A. D. ^Go, by which it ap- 

 pears, that he ftill continued to grant fome '' benefieia" 

 only during life. And in 889, Odo, king of France. 

 granted lands to Ricaliodo " fideli fuo jure beneficiario et 

 frucliiario," during his own life ; and if he flrould die, and 

 a fon were born to him, that right was to continue during 

 the life of his fon. Tliis was an intermediate (lep between 

 ficfs merely dur'ng Hfe, ar.el fiefs hereditary to peipctnity. 

 While " benefieia" continued under their firll form, and 

 were held only duiing pleafure, he who giantcd them not 

 only exercifed the " dominium," or prerogative of fuperior 

 lord, but he retained the property, giving his vaffal only 

 thc ufufiudl. But under the latter form, when they became 

 hereditary, although feudal lawyers continued to define a 

 " benelicium" agieeably to its original nature, the property 

 was in efTtiEl taken out of the hands of the fuperior lord, 

 an<l lodged in thofe of the vaffal. At length the word 

 " feudum" came to be fubllituted in the room of " beneli- 

 cium ;" but Muratori obferves (Antiq. Med. yEvi, v. i. 

 p. 594), that no inllance of this kind occurs in any au- 

 thentic charter previous to the eleventh centurj- : and 

 Dr. Roaertfon (Hill. Ch. v. vol. i. p. 269) informs us, 

 that a charter of king Robeit of France, A. D. icoS, 

 is the earliefl deed in which he has met with the word 

 " feudum." 



BeneuCE, Relief ch:ti:, in Jn Ecdtfiafiital fcrfc, a churcli 

 endowed witli a revenue for the performance of divine fer- 

 vice ; or the revenue ilfclf, alligued lu an tcclefiaftital pci- 

 fon for life, in return for his performing the fervice of the 

 church. 



All cluirch preferments, except biil'.oprics, arc called It- 

 nefces ; but they nuill be given for life, not for years, or at 

 will : and all benefices are, by the canoniils, lonutiinc* 

 called digmtie-. But we now urdinanly dillinguiili between 

 benefice and dignity, by appKing the word cTjn/Vj' to bifhop- 

 A a 2 titSj 



