cou
C 341 )
cou
begins and ends, when he who beats the Meafure falls tr ar) d • in contradiftinflion from the Saraband, which dinarily ends when the Hand is rais'd.
U'ith regard to Dancing, the Conrmt is the molt com- f all the Dances praclis'd in England : It confifts, ef- ?°!| a lly,.of a Time, a Step, a Balance, and a Coupee j tho • »ifn admits of other Motions.
Formerly they leap'd their Steps
Cmir"'"
in which Point, the dhfer'd from the low Dances and Pavades. There
efimplt Courants, andfigur'd Co Ar ants, all dane'd by 1
The Term is French, and properly fignifies running. See
COURIER, or CURRIER, a Meffenger fern Pott, or r -prefs, to carry Difpatches. See Post.
Antiquity, too, had its Couriers ; we meet with three Kinds, «2>. thofe who ran on foot, call'd by the Greeks He- mtrodromi, q. d. Couriers of a i)ay. 'Pliny, Corn. Nepos, and C<?fe r > mention fomeof thefe, who would run 20, ;o, 56, an[ j j in the Circus, even 40 Leagues per Day. And Rtdiug Couriers, who chang'd Horfes, as the modern Couriers do.
Xenophon attributes the firit Couriers to Cyrus. Herodo- tus fays, they were very ordinary among the Pcrfians, and ihat there was nothing in the World more fwift than thefe kind of Meffcngers. ' That Prince, fays Xenophon, cxa 1 min'd how far a Horfe would go in a Day 3 built Equcries, 1 or Stables, at fuch Diftances from each other, where he 1 lodg'd Horfes, and Perlbns to take care of 'em 5 and at ' each Place kept a Perfon always ready to take the Packet, ' mount a frem Horfe, ?nd forward it to the next Stage : ' and this quite thro' his Empire.
But it does not appear, that either the Greeks or Romans had any regular fix'd Couriers, till the Time of Augufttts : Under that Prince they travell'd in Cars ; tho it appears from Socrates, they afterwards went on Horleback.
Under the Weftcrn Empire, they were call'd Viatores ; and under that o{Confantinoplc, Curfores : whence the mo- dern Name.
COURSE, in Navigation, the Point of the Compafs, or Coaft of the Horizon, on which a Ship fleers. See Point, and Compass.
When a Veffel begins its Ccttrfe, the Wind wherewith it is given makes a certain Angle with the Meridian of the Place ; and, as 'tis here fuppofed, the Veffel follows exacfly the Dircflion of the Wind, it makes the fame Angle with the Meridian which the Wind makes. See Wind.
The Wind is farther fuppofed always the fame ; and be- caufe each Point or Inltant of a Courfe may be regarded as the firft ; every Moment of the Courfe it makes the fame Angle with the Wind.
Now a Wind that is North-Ealt, v. g. here, (and by con- fcquence makes an Angle of 4.5 Degrees with our Meridian) is North-Ealt wherever it blows, and makes the fame An- gle of 45 Degrees with all the Meridians it meets.
The Courfe of a Veffel therefore, driven by the fame Wind, makes the fame Angle with all the Meridians on the Surface of the Globe.
If the Veflel run North and South, it makes an Angle infinitely final! with the Meridian, i. e. is parallel to it, or never goes from it : If it run Eatt and Weft, it cuts all the Meridians at right Angles. In the firft Cafe it defcribes a great Circle ; in the fecond, either a great Circle, which is the F.quator, or a Parallel. But if the Courfe be between the two, it does not then defcribe a Circle 5 becaufe a Circle drawn in fuch a manner, would cut all the Meridians at un- equal Angles. It defcribes, therefore, a Spiral or Curve, the elTential Condition whereof, is to cut all the Meridians under the fame Angle ; call'd the Loxododromic Curve, or Zoxodromy, popularly Rhumb. See Rhumb. _ The Ship's Courfe, therefore, except in the two firft Cafes, ■* always a Loxodromic Curve 3 and the Hypothenufe of a Rectangle-Triangle ; the two other Sides whereof, are the chip's Way in Latitude and Longitude.
The Latitude is ufually had by Obfervation. See Lati- tude.
The Rhumb, or Angle of the Courfe, is had by the Com- Pais, together with the one or other of the two Sides ; and
- nat remains to be calculated in Sailing, is the Quantity of
>ne Longitude, and of the Rhumb, or Courfe. Sec Sail- 1ij 0; fee alfo Chart.
Course of a River. See River.
Cour 5E ^ ; n Architecture, a continued Range of Stones, th'-R ™ 0i t ' le *~ ame k e '8 nt ' throughout the whole iength of
e building 5 without being interrupted by any Aperture.
« " 1LDINC > Wall, Masonry, &c.
A Courfe of 'Plinths, is the Continuity of a Plinth of «°ne, or Planter, in the Face of a Building ; to mark the fceparatmn of the Stones. '
COUR
See Plinth. •~se, is alfo us'd for a Collection, or Body of Laws, J-anons, 0r the like. The Civil Courfe, is the Coition of • Roman Laws, compiled by Order of Juflinian. See
The Canonical Cowrfe, is the Collodion of the Cancn taw
made by Gratian. See Canon. '
Course, again, is ufed for the Time ordinarily fpent in
learning the Principles of a Science, or the ufual Points and
Questions therein.
Thus, a Student is faid to have finiflfd his Courfe in the Humanities, in Philofophy, £J>c.
Hence, Courfe is alio us'd ior the Elements of an Art ex* hibited and explain'd, either in Writing, orby actual Experi- ment : Hence ouvCourfes of PhilofoLihyjAnatomy^hymiilry Mathematicks, &c. prob^biy fo call'd, as going throughout, or running the whole Length or Cou fe of the Art, \$c.
COURT, an Appendage ro a Houfe, or Habitation j con- fiftiDg of a piece of Ground inclos'd with Walls, but open upwards. See House.
That before the Houfe is properly call'd the Avant-Court$ that behind, the Arriere-Court : That where Country- Af- fairs, t^c are manag'd, i. e. where Cattel* &c. come, the Bafje-Court.
Nicod derives the Word from the Latin Cobors ; Menage from Cortis. See Cohort.
Court is alfo ufed tor the <Palace, or the Place where a King or Sovereign Prince rcfides j in which Suife, the Je- fuit Gratian derives the Word from Corns, or Curtis, of ace™, lent 5 whence Courtcfy, in the Senfe of Civiaty. See Palace.
In the Laws of the Germans, there is one Article, de eo qui ?'/;curte Regis fur turn commiferit j and another, deeoqui in curte ditcis hormncm occiderit. Others derive it from the Gauli/b Cars, form'd of Cobors, and Cobors from x c $ *-
Court, Curia, in a Law Senfe, is the Place where the Judges diitributc Jufticc, or exercife their Jurifdi&ion ; as alfo, the Affcmbly of Judges, Jury, &c. in that Place.
In this Senfe, Courts are divided into Sovereign, or Supe- rior, and Subaltern, or Inferior : And, again, into Courts of Record, and Safe Courts.
Crampon defcribes 32. Courts in England, moft of 'em Courts of Record. See Record.
Again, Courts are either fuch as are held in the King's Name 5 as all the ordinary Courts : or thofe held by his Au- thority, where the Precepts are iffu'd in the fudge's Name t Virtute Magi fir atu s fui ; as the Admiral's Court.
In England we have four principal Courts fubfifting ; all efiiblifh'd by ancient Cuttom of the Realm, rather than by any Statute ; tho their Eftabliihments have been from time to-time fincc confirm'd by Acts of Parliament. Thefe are, the Courts of Kings-Bench, the Common-Bench or 'Pleas, the Exchequer, and the Court of Chancery. See each in its Place, King's-B-zxiCH, CoMuoa-Pleas, Exchequer, and Chancery.
Court of Admiralty, is a Court for the Decifion of Ma- ritime Controversies. See Admiralty Court. Court of Arches. See Arches Court. CovRTs-Baron, are Courts that all Lords of Manors, who were antiently call'd Barons* have within their refpeflive Precincts. See Baron.
This Court is twofold 5 as, if a Man having a Manor in a Town, grants the Inheritance of the Copyholds thereto belonging to another j this Grantee may keep a Court for the Cuftomary Tenants, and accept Surrenders to the Ufe of others, and make both Admittances and Grants.
The other Court is of Freeholders, which is properly call'd a Court-Baron, wherein the Free-holders are Judges : where- as of the other, the Lord or his Steward is Judge. See Peer, Freeholder, Steward, &c.
Court of Chivalry, or the MarfbaCs Court 5 a Court whereof the Judges are the Lord High Conltable, and the EarlMarfhal at England. See Constable, and Marshal., This Court is the Fountain of Martial Law ; and the Earl Marfhal is not only one of the Judges, but alfo to fee Exe- cution done. See Chivalry, Martial, ££?c.
Court of 'Delegates, is a Court where Delegates or Commiffioners are appointed by the King's Commifiion, up- on an Appeal to him, to fit in the Court of Chancery, or elfewhere. It is granted in three Cafes; firit, when a Sentence is given in an EccIefiaiUcal Caufe, by the ArchbiHiop, or his Official : Secondly, when a Sentence is given in anEccle- fiatiical Caufe, in Places exempt : Thirdly, when Sentence is given in the Admiralty Court, in Suits Civil or Marine, by Order of the Civil Law. See Delegates.
Court of 'Peculiars, is a Spiritual Court, held in fuch Parishes as are exempt from the Jurifdiftion of the Bifhops, and are peculiarly belonging to the Archbiihop of Canter- bury. See Peculiars. Court of 'Pye-^ouders. See Pye-fouders. Court of Prerogatives. See Prerogative Court* Court of Reqttefts, was a Court of Equity, of the fame Nature with the Court of Chancery, but mferiorto it 5 be- ing principally inftituted for the Help of fuch Petitioners, as in confcionable Cafes, deal by Supplication to his Majefty.
Of this Court the Lord Privy-Seal waschief Judge ; affif-
ted by the Matters of Requefts. It had its Beginning about
T 1 1 1 o He?i„
