CAUDEBEC-EN-CAUX

caudebec-en-caux, a town of france, in the department of seine-inferieure, 27 m. w.n.w. of rouen by the ouest-etat railway. pop. (1906) 2141. it is situated on the right bank of the seine, the tidal wave of which (_mascaret_) can be well seen at this point. the chief interest of the town lies in its church, a building of the 15th and the early 16th centuries. round its top run balustrades formed of gothic letters, which read as part of the magnificat. its west portal, the decoration of the spire of the tower, and its stained glass are among the features which make it one of the finest churches of the rouen diocese. the town also possesses several old houses. its industries include tanning and leather-currying, and there is trade in grain. the port has a small trade in coal, live-stock and farm produce. caudine forks (_furculae caudinae_), a pass in samnium, famous for the disaster which befell the roman army in the second samnite war (321 b.c.). livy (ix, 2) describes it as formed by two narrow wooded gorges, between which lay a plain, grassy and well-watered, but entirely enclosed by mountains. through this plain the road (later the via appia) led. the romans, marching from calatia to the relief of luceria, entered the valley unopposed, but found the exit blocked by the enemy; on marching back they saw that the entrance and the hills surrounding the plain were also occupied, and there was no way of escape. the plain which lies west of caudium (montesarchio) seems, despite the older views, to be the only possible site for such a disaster to an army of as many as 40,000 men; and there is no doubt that the romans wished to leave it by the defile on the east, through which later ran the via appia to beneventum. the existence of three ancient bridges on the line of the modern road renders it impossible to suppose that its course can be essentially different from that of the ancient, though hulsen makes the two diverge considerably after passing montesarchio. there are, however, two possible entrances--one on the north by moiano, and one on the west by arpaia; the former seems to answer better to livy's description (_via alia per cavam rupem_), while the latter is the shortest route, having been, later on, followed by the via appia, and bore the name furculae caudinae in the middle ages. see c. hulsen in pauly-wissowa, _realencyclopadie_, iii. (1802). (t. as.) caudle (through the o. fr. _caudel_, from the med. lat. _caldellum_, a diminutive of _caldum_, a warm drink, from _calidus_, hot), a drink of warm gruel, mixed with spice and wine, formerly given to women in childbed. caul (from o. eng. _calle_, fr. _cale_, a cap), a close-fitting woman's cap, especially one made of network worn in the 16th and 17th centuries; hence the membranous covering to the heart or brain, the _omentum_, or the similar covering to the intestines, and particularly, a portion of the _amnion_, which is sometimes found remaining round the head of a child after birth. to this, called in scotland "sely how," holy or lucky hood, many superstitions have been attached; it was looked on as a sign of good luck, and when preserved, was kept as a protection against drowning.