ABBEY, Henry (1842 — ). An American poet and merchant, born at Rondout, N. Y. He is the author of May Dreams, Ralph and Other Poems, Stories in Verse, Ballads of Good Deeds, The City of Success, and Phaëton. His works are collected in Poems of Henry Abbey, of which there are three editions.
ABBIATEGRASSO, ab-bya'ta-griis'so. A city
in north Italy, 394 feet above the sea, on the
Grande and Bereguardo canals, and 16 miles
west of Milan (Map: Italy, C 2). It manufactures fertilizers and markets rice. It was captured in 1167 by Emperor Frederick I., and in 1245 by Emperor Frederick II. In 1313 Matteo Visconti vanquished the Guelphs here, and in 1524 Giovanni de' Medici the French. Pop., about 5000 (commune, about 10,000).
AB'BITIB'BIE, or ABBITIBBE. A Canadian river and lake. The river flows northward to James Bay in Hudson Bay, and is the outlet of the lake which is situated in latitude 49° N., with a trading station of the same name upon its shores.
AB'BO OF FLEURY, flere (Abbo Floriacensis) (945?-1004) . A French theologian.
He studied at Rheims and Paris, and at the request of Oswald, Archbishop of York, taught in 985-987 in the English abbey of Ramsey. When he returned to France he was chosen Abbot of Fleury, whose school he developed. He was sent by King Robert upon a diplomatic mission to Pope Gregory V., and was killed at the priory of La Réole, Gascony, in an uprising against his reforms in monastic discipline. He wrote an Epitome de Vitis Romanorum Pontificum, Desinens in Gregorio I. (printed in 1602). His biography was written by his pupil Aimoin in the Vita Abbonis abbatis Floriacensis.
AB'BOT (through Lat. abbas, Gk. ἀββᾶς,
abbas, from Syriac abbā, father). A name orig-
inally given as a term of respect to any monk,
especially to one noted for piety, but afterward
ordinarily applied to the superior of a monastery
or abbey. The first abbots were laymen, as the
monks were, but in the Eastern Church priestly
abbots appear in the fifth century, and in the
Western Church in the seventh, and such
ordained abbots are now the rule. After the
second Niecene Council (787) , abbots were empow-
ered to consecrate monks for the lower sacred
orders; but they remained in subordination
under their diocesan bishops until the eleventh
century. They exercised absolute authority over
their monasteries. As abbeys became wealthy,
abbots increased in power and influence; many
received episcopal titles; and all were ranked
as prelates of the Church next to the bishops,
and had the right of voting in Church councils.
Even abbesses contended for the same honors
and privileges, but without success. In the
eighth and ninth centuries, abbeys began to come
into the hands of laymen, as rewards for military
service. In the tenth century many of the chief
abbeys in Christendom were under lay-abbots
(abbates milites, or abba-comites), while subor-
dinate deans or priors had the spiritual over-
sight. The members of the royal household
received grants of abbeys as their maintenance,
and the king kept the richest for himself. Thus,
Hugo Capet of France was lay-abbot of St.
Denis, near Paris. Sometimes convents of nuns
were granted to men, and monasteries to women
of rank. These abuses were, in great measure,
reformed during the tenth century. After the reformation of the order of Benedictines, monasteries arose that were dependent upon the mother-monastery of Clugny and without abbots, being presided over by priors or pro-abbates. Of the orders founded after the eleventh century, only some named the superiors of their convents abbots; most used the titles of prior, major, guardian, rector. Abbesses have almost always remained under the jurisdiction of their diocesan bishop; but the abbots of independent or liberated abbeys acknowledged no lord but the Pope. In the Middle Ages, the so-called abbates mitrati frequently enjoyed episcopal titles, but only a few had dioceses. Before the period of secularization in Germany, several of the abbots in that country had princely titles and powers. In England there were a considerable number of mitred abbots who sat and voted in the House of Lords. The election of an abbot belongs, as a rule, to the chapter or assembly of the monks, and is afterward confirmed by the Pope or by the bishop, according as the monastery is independent or under episcopal jurisdiction. At the time he must be at least twenty-five years of age. From early times, the Pope in Italy has claimed the right of conferring abbacies, and the Concordat of Bologna (August 18, 1516) between Francis I. and Pope Leo X. gave that right to the king of France. Non-monastic clergy who possessed monasteries were styled secular abbots; while their vicars, who discharged the duties, as well as all abbots who belonged to the monastic order, were styled regular abbots. In France, the abuse of appointing secular abbots was carried to a great extent previous to the time of the revolution of 1789 (see Abbé); indeed, often monasteries themselves chose some powerful person as their secular abbot, with a view of "commending" or committing their abbey to his protection, and such lay-abbots were called abbés commendataires. In countries which joined in the Reformation of the sixteenth century the possessions of abbeys were mostly confiscated by the crown; but in Hanover, Brunswick, and Württemberg several monasteries and convents were retained as educational establishments. In the Greek Church, the superiors of convents are called hegumeni or mandrites, and general abbots, archimandrites.
ABBOT, Benjamin, LL.D. (1762-1849). A New England teacher, who had among his pupils Jared Sparks, Daniel Webster, George Bancroft, Edward Everett, and others who became famous. For nearly fifty years (until 1838), he was at the head of Phillips Academy, Exeter, N. H.
ABBOT, Charles, first Baron Colchester (1757-1829). A Speaker of the House of Commons. He was born at Abingdon and was educated at Christ Church. After he had occupied numerous positions under the Government he became Speaker of the House (1802) and held the office until 1816, when ill health compelled him to resign. He was one of the ablest Speakers that ever occupied the chair, and also rendered valuable services as a trustee of the British Museum. His valuable Diary and Correspondence was published by his son in 1861.
ABBOT, Ezra (1819-84). An American biblical scholar. He was born at Jackson, Waldo Co., Me., and died at Cambridge. Mass. After graduation at Bowdoin College (1840) he taught
