HOLZMINDEN

holzminden, a town of germany, in the duchy of brunswick, on the right bank of the weser, at the foot of the sollinger mountains, at the junction of the railways scherfede-holzminden and soest-borssum, 56 m. s.w. of brunswick. pop. (1905) 9938. it has an evangelical and a roman catholic church, a gymnasium, an architectural school and a school of engineering. the prosperity of the town depends chiefly on agriculture and the manufacture of iron and steel wares, and of chemicals, but weaving and the making of pottery are also carried on, and there are baryta mills and polishing-mills for sandstone. by means of the weser it carries on a lively trade. holzminden obtained municipal rights from count otto of eberstein in 1245, and in 1410 it came into the possession of brunswick. holztrompete (wooden trumpet), an instrument somewhat resembling the alpenhorn (q.v.) in tone-quality, designed by richard wagner for representing the natural pipe of the peasant in _tristan and isolde_. this instrument is not unlike the cor anglais in rough outline, being a conical tube of approximately the same length, terminating in a small globular bell, but having neither holes nor keys; it is blown through a cup-shaped mouthpiece made of horn. the holztrompete is in the key of c; the scale is produced by overblowing, whereby the upper partials from the 2nd to the 6th are produced. a single piston placed at a third of the distance from the mouthpiece to the bell gives the notes d and f. wagner inserted a note in the score concerning the cor anglais for which the part was originally scored, and advised the use of oboe or clarinet to reinforce the latter, the effect intended being that of a powerful natural instrument, unless a wooden instrument with a natural scale be specially made for the part, which would be preferable. the holztrompete was used at munich for the first performance of _tristan and isolde_, and was still in use there in 1897. at bayreuth it was also used for the tristan performances at the festivals of 1886 and 1889, but in 1891 w. heckel's clarina, an instrument partaking of the nature of both oboe and clarinet, was substituted for the holztrompete and has been retained ever since, having been found more effective.[1] (k. s.) [illustration: harmonic series.] footnote: [1] communicated by madame wagner, december 28th, 1897. homage (from _homo_, through the low lat. _hominaticum_, which occurs in a document of 1035), one of the ceremonies used in the granting of a fief, and indicating the submission of a vassal to his lord. it could be received only by the suzerain in person. with head uncovered the vassal humbly requested to be allowed to enter into the feudal relation; he then laid aside his sword and spurs, ungirt his belt, and kneeling before his lord, and holding his hands extended and joined between the hands of his lord, uttered words to this effect: "i become your man from this day forth, of life and limb, and will hold faith to you for the lands i claim to hold of you." the oath of fealty, which could be received by proxy, followed the act of homage; then came the ceremony of investiture, either directly on the ground or by the delivery of a turf, a handful of earth, a stone, or some other symbolical object. homage was done not only by the vassal to whom feudal lands were first granted but by every one in turn by whom they were inherited, since they were not granted absolutely but only on condition of military and other service. an infant might do homage, but he did not thus enter into full possession of his lands. the ceremony was of a preliminary nature, securing that the fief would not be alienated; but the vassal had to take the oath of fealty, and to be formally invested, when he reached his majority. the obligations involved in the act of homage were more general than those associated with the oath of fealty, but they provided a strong moral sanction for more specific engagements. they essentially resembled the obligations undertaken towards a teutonic chief by the members of his "comitatus" or "gefolge," one of the institutions from which feudalism directly sprang. besides _homagium ligeum_, there was a kind of homage which imposed no feudal duty; this was _homagium per paragium_, such as the dukes of normandy rendered to the kings of france, and as the dukes of normandy received from the dukes of brittany. the act of liege homage to a particular lord did not interfere with the vassal's allegiance as a subject to his sovereign, or with his duty to any other suzerain of whom he might hold lands. the word is also used of the body of tenants attending a manorial court, or of the court in a court baron (consisting of the tenants that do homage and make inquiries and presentments, termed a _homage jury_).