CODINUS

codinus, george [georgios kodinos], the reputed author of three extant works in byzantine literature. their attribution to him is merely a matter of convenience, two of them being anonymous in the mss. of codinus himself nothing is known; it is supposed that he lived towards the end of the 15th century. the works referred to are the following:-- 1. _patria_ ([greek: ta patria tes konstantinoupoleos]), treating of the history, topography, and monuments of constantinople. it is divided into five sections: (_a_) the foundation of the city; (_b_) its situation, limits and topography; (_c_) its statues, works of art, and other notable sights; (_d_) its buildings; (_e_) the construction of the church of st sophia. it was written in the reign of basil ii. (976-1025), revised and rearranged under alexius i. comnenus (1081-1118), and perhaps copied by codinus, whose name it bears in some (later) mss. the chief sources are: the _patria_ of hesychius illustrius of miletus, an anonymous (_c._ 750) brief chronological record ([greek: parastaseis syntomoi chronikai]), and an anonymous account ([greek: diegesis]) of st sophia (ed. t. preger in _scriptores originum constantinopolitanarum_, fasc. i., 1901, to be followed by the _patria_ of codinus). procopius, _de aedificiis_ and the poem of paulus silentiarius on the dedication of st sophia should be read in connexion with this subject. 2. _de officiis_ ([greek: peri ton ophphikion]), a sketch, written in an unattractive style, of court and higher ecclesiastical dignities and of the ceremonies proper to different occasions. it should be compared with the _de cerimoniis_ of constantine porphyrogenitus. 3. a chronological outline of events from the beginning of the world to the taking of constantinople by the turks (called agarenes in the ms. title). it is of little value. complete editions are (by i. bekker) in the bonn _corpus scriptorum hist. byz._ (1839-1843, where, however, some sections of the _patria_ are omitted), and in j. p. migne, _patrologia graeca_, clvii.; see also c. krumbacher, _geschichte der byzantinischen litteratur_ (1897). cod-liver oil (_oleum morrhuae_, or _oleum jecoris aselli_), the oil obtained from the liver of the common cod (_gadus morrhua_). in the early process for extracting the oil the livers were allowed to putrefy in wooden tubs, when oils of two qualities, one called "pale oil," and the other "light brown oil," successively rose to the surface and were drawn off. a third oil was obtained by heating the liver-residues to above the boiling-point of water, whereupon a black product, technically called "brown oil," separated. the modern practice consists in heating the perfectly fresh, cleaned livers by steam to a temperature above that of boiling water, or, in more recent practice, to a lower temperature, the livers being kept as far as possible from contact with air. the oils so obtained are termed "steamed-liver oils." the "pale" and "light brown" oils are used in pharmacy; the "brown" oil, the cod oil of commerce, being obtained from putrid and decomposing livers, has an objectionable taste and odour and is largely employed by tanners. by boiling the livers at a somewhat high temperature, "unracked" cod oil is obtained, containing a considerable quantity of "stearine"; this fat, which separates on cooling, is sold as "fish stearine" for soap-making, or as "fish-tallow" for currying. the oil when freed from the stearine is known as "racked oil." "coast cod oil" is the commercial name for the oil obtained from the livers of various kinds of fish, _e.g._ hake, ling, haddock, &c. the most important centres of the cod-liver oil industry are lofoten and romsdal in norway; the oil is also prepared in the united states, canada, newfoundland, iceland and russia; and at one time a considerable quantity was prepared in the shetland islands and along the east coast of scotland. cod-liver oil contains palmitin, stearin and other more complex glycerides; the "stearine" mentioned above, however, contains very little palmitin and stearin. several other acids have been identified: p. m. meyerdahl obtained 4% of palmitic acid, 20% of jecoleic acid,