GURNALL

gurnall, william (1617-1679), english author, was born in 1617 at king's lynn, norfolk. he was educated at the free grammar school of his native town, and in 1631 was nominated to the lynn scholarship in emmanuel college, cambridge, where he graduated b.a. in 1635 and m.a. in 1639. he was made rector of lavenham in suffolk in 1644; and before he received that appointment he seems to have officiated, perhaps as curate, at sudbury. at the restoration he signed the declaration required by the act of uniformity, and on this account he was the subject of a libellous attack, published in 1665, entitled _covenant-renouncers desperate apostates_. he died on the 12th of october 1679. gurnall is known by his _christian in complete armour_, published in three volumes, dated 1655, 1658 and 1662. it consists of a series of sermons on the latter portion of the 6th chapter of ephesians, and is described as a "magazine from whence the christian is furnished with spiritual arms for the battle, helped on with his armour, and taught the use of his weapon; together with the happy issue of the whole war." the work is more practical than theological; and its quaint fancy, graphic and pointed style, and its fervent religious tone render it still popular with some readers. see also _an inquiry into the life of the rev. w. gurnall_, by h. m'keon (1830), and a biographical introduction by bishop ryle to the _christian in complete armour_ (1865). gurnard (_trigla_), a genus of fishes forming a group of the family of "mailed cheeks" (_triglidae_), and easily recognized by three detached finger-like appendages in front of the pectoral fins, and by their large, angular, bony head, the sides of which are protected by strong, hard and rough bones. the pectoral appendages are provided with strong nerves, and serve not only as organs of locomotion when the fish moves on the bottom, but also as organs of touch, by which it detects small animals on which it feeds. gurnards are coast-fishes, generally distributed over the tropical and temperate areas; of the forty species known six occur on the coast of great britain, viz. the red gurnard (_t. pini_), the streaked gurnard (_t. lineata_), the sapphirine gurnard (_t. hirundo_), the grey gurnard (_t. gurnardus_), the piper (_t. lyra_) and the long-finned gurnard (_t. obscura_ or _t. lucerna_). although never found very far from the coast, gurnards descend to depths of several hundred fathoms; and as they are bottom-fish they are caught chiefly by means of the trawl. not rarely, however, they may be seen floating on the surface of the water, with their broad, finely coloured pectoral fins spread out like fans. in very young fishes, which abound in certain localities on the coast in the months of august and september, the pectorals are comparatively much longer than in the adult, extending to the end of the body; they are beautifully coloured and kept expanded, the little fishes looking like butterflies. when caught and taken out of the water, gurnards emit a grunting noise, which is produced by the vibrations of a diaphragm situated transversely across the cavity of the bladder and perforated in the centre. this grunting noise gave rise to the name "gurnard," which is probably an adaptation or variation of the fr. _grognard_, grumbler, cf. the fr. _grondin_, gurnard, from _gronder_, and ger. _knurrfisch_. their flesh is very white, firm and wholesome. [illustration: _trigla pleuracanthica_.]