G ! L 



Mty gild, or fraternity ; or fiich rents- as formerly belonged 

 to religious gilds, and came to the crown at the ge- 

 neral diflblution : beiirg ordered for fale by the ftat. 

 22 Car. II. 



GILDABLE, or Geldable, denotes a perfon tribu- 

 tar\', that is, liable to pay tax, or tribute. 



Camden, dividing Suffolk into tliree parts, calls the firil 

 gildable, becaufe liable to tax ; from wtiich the two othei- 

 parts were exempt, becaufe ecclefi£ donatK. 



GiLDABLEis alio explained in an ancient MS. to be that 

 land or lordfliip which isy>/i d'tJlriShne cur'ix •uicecom. 



GILDAS, in Biography, furnamed the Wife, a Britifh 

 monk, and the moil ancient Britifh \Triter now extant, was 

 boni in the year 520. He is known among many ai!thors by 

 the name of Badonius, by which he is dittinguKhed from 

 Gildas Albanius, who is faid to have lived at an eralier pe- 

 riod. His iumamc Badonius is derived from a memorable 

 viclory gained by the Britons over the Saxons, at the hill of 

 Badon, now Bath, about the time of his birth. Having 

 been carefully educated according to the manners of the 

 times he became monk of Bangor, where he diligently ap- 

 plied himfelf to the learning of that period, and particularly 

 to the Ihidy of the fcriptures, vviih a view of qualifying 

 himfelf for the duties of a public preacher. He is faid to 

 have vifited Ireland at the requeil of Amencus, afterwards 

 king of the country, where he diilinguiflicd himfelf by his 

 zeal and fuccefs in converting Pagans, confuting the herefies 

 of the age, ellablifhing monafteries, and in reforming the 

 corrupt Hate of principles and manners which h;-.d become 

 prevalent among the Chriftians in that ifiand. Upon his 

 return to liis native country he vifited the monaftery of Lhan- 

 carvan, lately founded by a pious nobleman of South 

 Wales, and endeavoured, by all the means in his power, to 

 engage other pcrfons, eminent for rank and fortune, to follow 

 his example. He Ipent fume time in the northern parts of 

 Britain ; vifited France and Italy, and then returned home, 

 where he acquired a high reputation as a moft indefatigable 

 preacher who never helitated to cenfure the prevailirig vices 

 of the age. He is fuppofed to have died at the abbey of 

 Bangor in the year 590 ; though, according to fome writers, 

 this event happened at Glaftonbiiry, full twenty years prior 

 to this. The chief work of this author is ; " Epiftola de 

 Excidio Britanniie, et Caftigatione Ordinis Ecclefiaftici," 

 containing lamentations over the miferies and almoft total 

 ruin of his countrymen, and very fevere reproofs of the cor- 

 ruption and profligacy of manners in which all ranks were 

 fiiarers, and of which lie drew a moft alarming pitlure. 

 This curious remain of Britifn ecclefiailical antiquities was 

 firft printed by Polydore Virgil in 1525, from an imperfecl 

 copy. It was afterwards publilhed in 1568 by John JofTe- 

 linefrom another, and a more perfett manufcript copy, but 

 the bed edition was publilhed by Dr. Thomas Gale, in the 

 firft volume of his " Hilloriie Britannic^, Saxonies, &c." 

 Gildas wrote feveral "Letters," of which there are nume- 

 rous fragments in an old ccllection of canons preferved among 

 the MSS. in the Cottoni; n library. Otlier pieces have been 

 afcribed to him, but thefe are conlldcred by the bed judges, 

 as not really his, among them is the " Hilloria de Geilis 

 BritonuH-..'' Moreri. 



Gil,n\s-d.s-Boij, St. in Geography, a town of France, in 

 tlie liepartment of the JLo'.ver JLoire, and chief place of a 

 canton, in the diilrict of Savenay. The place contains 859, 

 and the canton 5527 inhabitants, on a tcrritorj' of 235 

 kiliom.etres, in live communes. 

 GILDER. See GuLDER. 

 Gii-.DH--\LDA TtuioNiconcii was ui^ed for the fra- 



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tefnity of Eafterling merchants in London ; called alfo the 



Jlillyard. 



GILD-HALL, q. J. Gilda aula, the chief hall in the 

 city of London. See Cv\l.n-haU. 



GILD-MERCHANT, GiUa Mcrcatoria, wasa certai« 

 privilege, or liberty, granted to merchants, whcr -by they 

 were enabled, among other things, to hold certain pkai 

 of land within their own precincls. 



_ King John granted gildam mercatoricm to the bnrgeffes of 

 Nottingham. 



It is held, that if the king grants to a fet of men to have 

 "gildain raercatoriam," a mercantile meeting or aflembly, 

 this is jlone fulF.cient to incorporate and ellabliih them for 

 ever. 10 Rep. 30. I Roll. Abr. 513. 



GILDING, or GuiLDiNG, the art, or aft, of fpreading 

 or covering certain fubftances with gold, either in leaf or 

 powder, or in amalgam w itli quickClver. See an account 

 of thefe preparations of gold under Gold. 



The art of gilding was not unknown among the ancients, 

 tliough it never anived among them at the perfeflion to 

 which the moderns have carried it. For this purpofc 

 the gold was beat into plates, with which the walls of 

 apartments, dilhes, and other veffels were covered. In early 

 ages thefe plates were thick, fo that this mode of gilding « 

 was very expenfive. (See the procefs employed for gilding, 

 in thij manner, the horns of the ram brought by Neflor, as as 

 offering to Minerva, in Homer's Odyficy, 1. iii. v. 492. ) la 

 procels of time, however, the expence was muth leifened, 

 becaufe the art was difcovered of making thefe plate* 

 thinner, and of laying them on with a fize. 



Pliny aifures us, that the firft; gilding feen at Rome wai 

 after the deiiraftion of Carthage, under the cenforfliip of 

 Lucius Muramius, when they began to gild the ceilings of 

 their temples and palaces ; the Capitol being the firil place 

 on which this enrichment was bellowed. But he adds, that 

 luxury advanced on them fo haftily, tliat in a httle time you 

 might fee all, even private and poor perfons, gild the rery 

 walls, vaults, &c. of their houfes. " When we cover our 

 houfes with gold," fays Seneca, (Epiil. 115.) " Nvhat clfe 

 do we than rejoice in deception ? for we know, that coarfe 

 wood is concealed under that gold." We need not doubt 

 but that they had tlie fame method with us, of beating 

 gold, and reducing it into leaves ; though, it fliould feem, 

 they did not carry it to the fame height ; if it be true, 

 which Pliny relates, that they only made fcven hundred 

 and fifty leaves, four fingers fquare, of a whole ounce. In- 

 deed, he adds, that they could make more ; th.at the thickeft 

 were crJlcd hraclcx Prjne/Iine, en account of a (latuc of the 

 goddefs Fortune at Pra;nellc, gilt with fuch leaves; and 

 that thofe of the thinner fort were called braSte qusjiorie. 



The modern gilders alfo make ufe of gold leaves of 

 divers thicknefles ; but there are fome fo fine, that 4 

 thoufand do not weigh above four or five drachms. The 

 thickeft leaves are ufed. for gilding on iron, and ether 

 metals ; and the thinneft on wood. But we have anotlier 

 advantage above the ancients, in the manner of ufing and 

 a])pl}-ing the gold : the fccret of painting in oil, difcovered 

 of late ages, furnifhes us with means of gilding works that 

 (hall endure all the injuries cf time and weather, which to 

 the ancients was imprafticable. They had no way to laj 

 the gold on bodies that would not endi:re the fire but with 

 whites of eggs, or lize ; neither of which will endure the 

 water : fo that they could only gild fuch places as were 

 llieltercd from the moillurc of the weather. 



The Greeks called the compofition on which they «p. 



plied their gildi-ig on wood, leucophxmn, or Icucofhcruv! 1 



X i 2 wk.:h 



