GENEVA

geneva, lake of, the largest lake of which any portion belongs to switzerland, and indeed in central europe. it is called _lacus lemannus_ by the old latin and greek writers, in 4th century a.d. _lacus lausonius_ or _losanetes_, in the middle ages generally _lac de lausanne_, but from the 16th century onwards _lac de geneve_, though from the end of the 18th century the name _lac leman_ was revived--according to prof. forel _le leman_ is the proper form. its area is estimated at 223 sq. m. (swiss topographical bureau) or 2251⁄2 sq. m. (forel), of which about 140 sq. m. (1341⁄2 sq. m. forel) are politically swiss (1231⁄2 sq. m. belonging to the canton of vaud, 111⁄2 sq. m. to that of geneva, and 5 sq. m. to that of the valais), the remainder (83 sq. m.) being french since the annexation of savoy in 1860--the entire lake is included in the territory (swiss or savoyard) neutralized by the congress of vienna in 1815. the french part takes in nearly the whole of the south shore, save its western and eastern extremities, which belong respectively to geneva and to the valais. the lake is formed by the rhone, which enters it at its east end, between villeneuve (e.) and st gingolph (w.), and quits it at its west end, flowing through the city of geneva. the only important tributaries are the drance (s.), the venoge (n.) and the veveyse (n.). the form of the lake is that of a crescent, of which the east end is broad and rounded, while the west end tapers towards the city of geneva. the bird's eye length of the whole lake, from chillon to geneva, is 391⁄2 m., but along its axis 45 m. the coast-line of the north shore is 59 m. in length and that of the south shore 443⁄4 m. the maximum depth is 10151⁄2 ft., but the mean depth only 500 ft. the surface is 12311⁄4 ft. (swiss topog. bureau) or 1220 ft. (forel) above sea-level. the greatest width (between morges and amphion) is 81⁄2 m., but the normal width is 5 m. the lake forms two well-marked divisions, separated by the strait of promenthoux, which is 2161⁄2 ft. in depth, as a bar divides the grand lac from the petit lac. the _grand lac_ includes the greater portion of the lake, the _petit lac_ (to the west of the strait or bar) being the special genevese portion of the lake, and having an area of but 301⁄2 sq. m. the unusual blueness of the waters has long been remarked, and the transparency increases the farther we get from the point where the rhone enters it, the deposits which the river brings down from the alps gradually sinking to the bottom of the lake. at geneva we recall byron's phrase, "the blue rushing of the arrowy rhone" (_childe harold_, canto iii. stanza 71). the limit of visibility of a white disk is 33 ft. in winter (in february 1891 prof. forel observed an extreme of 701⁄2 ft.) and 211⁄4 ft. in summer. apart from the seasonal changes in the level of the lake (which is highest in summer, no doubt because of the melting of the alpine snows that feed the rhone), there are also the remarkable temporary disturbances of level known as the _seiches_, in which the whole mass of water in the lake rhythmically swings from shore to shore. according to prof. forel there are both longitudinal and transverse _seiches_. the effect of the longitudinal _seiches_ at geneva is four times as great as at chillon, at the other end of the lake, while the extreme duration of this phenomenon is 73 minutes for the uninodal longitudinal _seiches_ (351⁄2 minutes for the binodal) and 10 minutes for the transverse _seiches_ (5 minutes for the binodal). the maximum height of a recorded _seiche_ at geneva is rather over 6 ft. (october 1841). the currents in the water itself are irregular. the principal winds that blow over the lake are the _bise_ (from the n.e.), the _vaudaire_ or _fohn_ (from the s.e.), the _sudois_ or _vent de pluie_ (from the s.w.) and the _joran_ (from the n.w.). the storm winds are the _molan_ (from the arve valley towards geneva) and the _bornan_ (from the drance valley towards the central portion of the lake). the lake is not as rich in fish as the other swiss lakes, one reason being the obstacle opposed by the perte du rhone to fish seeking to ascend that river. prof. forel knows of but twenty indigenous species (of which the _fera_, or _coregonus fera_, is the principal) and six that have been introduced by man in the 19th century. a number of lake dwellings, of varying dates, have been found on the shores of the lake. the first steamer placed on the lake was the "guillaume tell," built in 1823 at geneva by an englishman named church, while in 1873 the present compagnie generale de navigation sur le lac leman was formed, and in 1875 constructed the first saloon steamer, the "mont blanc." but despite this service and the railways along each shore, the red lateen sails of minor craft still brighten the landscape. the railway along the northern shore runs from geneva past nyon, rolle, morges, ouchy (the port of lausanne), vevey and montreux to villeneuve (561⁄2 m.). that on the south shore gains the edge of the lake at thonon only (221⁄4 m. from geneva), and then runs past evian and st gingolph to le bouveret (20 m. from thonon). in the harbour of geneva two erratic boulders of granite project above the surface of the water, and are named _pierres du niton_ (supposed to be altars to neptune). the lower of the two, which is also the farthest from the shore, has been taken as the basis of the triangulation of switzerland: the official height is 376.86 metres, which in 1891 was reduced to 373.54 metres, though 376.6 metres is now said to be the real figure. of course the heights given on the swiss government map vary with these different estimates of the point taken as basis. for all matters relating to the lake, see prof. f.a. forel's monumental work, _le leman_ (3 vols. lausanne, 1892-1904); also (with fine illustrations) g. fatio and f. boissonnas, _autour du lac leman_ (geneva, 1902). (w. a. b. c.) genevieve, or genovefa, st (c. 422-512), patroness of paris, lived during the latter half of the 5th century. according to tradition, she was born about 422 at nanterre near paris; her parents were called severus and gerontia, but accounts differ widely as to their social position. according to the legend, she was only in her seventh year when she was induced by st germain, bishop of auxerre, to dedicate herself to the religious life. on the death of her parents she removed to paris, where she distinguished herself by her benevolence, as well as by her austere life. she is said to have predicted the invasion of the huns; and when attila with his army was threatening the city, she persuaded the inhabitants to remain on the island and encouraged them by an assurance, justified by subsequent events, that the attack would come to nothing (451). she is also said to have had great influence over childeric, father of clovis, and in 460 to have caused a church to be built over the tomb of st denis. her death occurred about 512 and she was buried in the church of the holy apostles, popularly known as the church of st genevieve. in 1793 the body was taken from the new church, built in her honour by louis xv., when it became the pantheon, and burnt on the place de greve; but the relics were enshrined in a chapel of the neighbouring church of st etienne du mont, where they still attract pilgrims; her festival is celebrated with great pomp on the 3rd of january. the frescoes of the pantheon by puvis de chavannes are based upon the legend of the saint. bibliography.--the main source is the anonymous _vita s. genovefae virginis parisiorum_, published in 1687 by d.p. charpentier. the genuineness of this life was attacked by b. krusch (_neues archiv_, 1893 and 1894) and defended by l. duchesne, _bibliotheque de l'ecole des chartes_ (1893), _bulletin critique_ (1897), p. 473. krusch continued to hold that the life was an 8th-century forgery (_scriptores rer. merov_. iii. 204-238). see a. potthast, _bibliotheca medii aevi_ (1331, 1332), and g. kurth, _clovis_, ii. 249-254. the legends and miracles are given in the bollandists' _acta sanctorum_, january 1st; there is a short sketch by henri lesetre, _ste genevieve_, in "les saints" series (paris, 1900). genevieve, genoveva or genovefa, of brabant, heroine of medieval legend. her story is a typical example of the widespread tale of the chaste wife falsely accused and repudiated, generally on the word of a rejected suitor. genovefa of brabant was said to be the wife of the palatine siegfried of treves, and was falsely accused by the majordomo golo. sentenced to death she was spared by the executioner, and lived for six years with her son in a cave in the ardennes nourished by a roe. siegfried, who had meanwhile found out golo's treachery, was chasing the roe when he discovered her hiding-place, and reinstated her in her former honour. her story is said to rest on the history of marie of brabant, wife of louis ii., duke of bavaria, and count-palatine of the rhine, who was tried by her husband and beheaded on the 18th of january 1256, for supposed infidelity, a crime for which louis afterwards had to do penance. the change in name may have been due to the cult of st genevieve, patroness of paris. the tale first obtained wide popularity in _l'innocence reconnue, ou vie de sainte genevieve de brabant_ (pr. 1638) by the jesuit rene de cerisier (1603-1662), and was a frequent subject for dramatic representation in germany. with genovefa's history may be compared the scandinavian ballads of _ravengaard og memering_, which exist in many recensions. these deal with the history of gunild, who married henry, duke of brunswick and schleswig. when duke henry went to the wars he left his wife in charge of ravengaard, who accused her of infidelity. gunild is cleared by the victory of her champion memering, the "smallest of christian men." the scottish ballad of sir aldingar is a version of the same story. the heroine gunhilda is said to have been the daughter of canute the great and emma. she married in 1036 king henry, afterwards the emperor henry iii., and there was nothing in her domestic history to warrant the legend, which is given as authentic history by william of malmesbury (_de gestis regum anglorum_, lib. ii. § 188). she was called cunigund after her marriage, and perhaps was confused with st cunigund, the wife of the emperor henry ii. in the _karlamagnus-saga_ the innocent wife is oliva, sister of charlemagne and wife of king hugo, and in the french carolingian cycle the emperor's wife sibille (_la reine sibille_) or blanchefleur (_macaire_). other forms of the legend are to be found in the story of doolin's mother in _doon de mayence_, the english romance of _sir triamour_, in the story of the mother of octavian in _octavian the emperor_, in the german folk book _historie von der geduldigen konigin crescentia_, based on a 12th-century poem to be found in the _kaiserchronik_; and the english _erl of toulouse_ (c. 1400). in the last-named romance it has been suggested that the story gives the relations between bernard i. count of toulouse, son of the guillaume d'orange of the carolingian romances, and the empress judith, second wife of louis the pious. see f.j. child, _english and scottish popular ballads_, vol. ii. (1886), art. "sir aldingar"; s. grundtvig, _danske kaempeviser_ (copenhagen, 1867); "sir triamore," in _bishop percy's folio ms._, ed. hales and furnivall, vol. ii. (london, 1868); _the romance of octavian_, ed. e.m. goldsmid (aungervyle soc., edinburgh, 1882); _the erl of toulous and the emperes of almayn_, ed. g. ludtke (berlin, 1881); b. seuffert, _die legende von der pfalzgrafin genovefa_ (wurzburg, 1877); b. golz, _pfalzgrafin genovefa in der deutschen dichtung_ (leipzig, 1897); r. kohler, "die deutschen volksbucher von der pfalzgrafin genovefa," in _zeitschr. fur deutsche philologie_ (1874).