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    "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911)",
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    "title": "LEGATE",
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    "verified_text": "legate, bartholomew (c. 1575-1612), english fanatic, was born in essex and became a dealer in cloth. about the beginning of the 17th century he became a preacher among a sect called the \"seekers,\" and appears to have held unorthodox opinions about the divinity of jesus christ. together with his brother thomas he was put in prison for heresy in 1611. thomas died in newgate gaol, london, but bartholomew's imprisonment was not a rigorous one. james i. argued with him, and on several occasions he was brought before the consistory court of london, but without any definite result. eventually, after having threatened to bring an action for wrongful imprisonment, legate was tried before a full consistory court in february 1612, was found guilty of heresy, and was delivered to the secular authorities for punishment. refusing to retract his opinions he was burned to death at smithfield on the 18th of march 1612. legate was the last person burned in london for his religious opinions, and edward wightman, who was burned at lichfield in april 1612, was the last to suffer in this way in england. see t. fuller, _church history of britain_ (1655); and s. r. gardiner, _history of england_, vol. ii. (london, 1904). legate (lat. _legatus_, past part. of _legare_, to send as deputy), a title now generally confined to the highest class of diplomatic representatives of the pope, though still occasionally used, in its original latin sense, of any ambassador or diplomatic agent. according to the _nova compilatio decretalium_ of gregory ix., under the title \"de officio legati\" the canon law recognizes two sorts of legate, the _legatus natus_ and the _legatus datus_ or _missus_. the _legatus datus_ (_missus_) may be either (1) _delegatus_, or (2) _nuncius apostolicus_, or (3) _legatus a latere_ (_lateralis, collateralis_). the rights of the _legatus natus_, which included concurrent jurisdiction with that of all the bishops within his province, have been much curtailed since the 16th century; they were altogether suspended in presence of the higher claims of a _legatus a latere_, and the title is now almost quite honorary. it was attached to the see of canterbury till the reformation and it still attaches to the sees of seville, toledo, aries, reims, lyons, gran, prague, gnesen-posen, cologne, salzburg, among others. the commission of the _legatus delegatus_ (generally a member of the local clergy) is of a limited nature, and relates only to some definite piece of work. the _nuncius apostolicus_ (who has the privilege of red apparel, a white horse and golden spurs) possesses ordinary jurisdiction within the province to which he has been sent, but his powers otherwise are restricted by the terms of his mandate. the _legatus a latere_ (almost invariably a cardinal, though the power can be conferred on other prelates) is in the fullest sense the plenipotentiary representative of the pope, and possesses the high prerogative implied in the words of gregory vii., \"nostra vice quae corrigenda sunt corrigat, quae statuend constituat.\" he has the power of suspending all the bishops in his province, and no judicial cases are reserved from his judgment. without special mandate, however, he cannot depose bishops or unite or separate bishoprics. at present _legati a latere_ are not sent by the holy see, but diplomatic relations, where they exist, are maintained by means of nuncios, internuncios and other agents. the history of the office of papal legate is closely involved with that of the papacy itself. if it were proved that papal legates exercised the prerogatives of the primacy in the early councils, it would be one of the strongest points for the roman catholic view of the papal history. thus it is claimed that hosius of cordova presided over the council of nicaea (325) in the name of the pope. but the claim rests on slender evidence, since the first source in which hosius is referred to as representative of the pope is gelasius of cyzicus in the propontis, who wrote toward the end of the 5th century. it is even open to dispute whether hosius was president at nicaea, and though he certainly presided over the council of sardica in 343, it was probably as representative of the emperors constans and constantius, who had summoned the council. pope julius i. was represented at sardica by two presbyters. yet the fifth canon, which provides for appeal by a bishop to rome, sanctions the use of embassies _a latere_. if the appellant wishes the pope to send priests from his own household, the pope shall be free to do so, and to furnish them with full authority from himself (\"ut de latere suo presbyteros mittat ... habentes ejus auctoritatem a quo destinati sunt\"). the decrees of sardica, an obscure council, were later confused with those of nicaea and thus gained weight. in the synod of ephesus in 431, pope celestine i. instructed his representatives to conduct themselves not as disputants but as judges, and cyril of alexandria presided not only in his own name but in that of the pope (and of the bishop of jerusalem). instances of delegation of the papal authority in various degrees become numerous in the 5th century, especially during the pontificate of leo i. thus leo writes in 444 (_ep._ 6) to anastasius of thessalonica, appointing him his vicar for the province of illyria; the same arrangement, he informs us, had been made by pope siricius in favour of anysius, the predecessor of anastasius. similar vicarial or legatine powers had been conferred in 418 by zosimus upon patroclus, bishop of arles. in 449 leo was represented at the \"robber synod,\" from which his legates hardly escaped with life; at chalcedon, in 451, they were treated with singular honour, though the imperial commissioners presided. again, in 453 the same pope writes to the empress pulcheria, naming julianus of cos as his representative in the defence of the interests of orthodoxy and ecclesiastical discipline at constantinople (_ep._ 112); the instructions to julianus are given in _ep._ 113 (\"hanc specialem curam vice mea functus assumas\"). the designation of anastasius as vicar apostolic over illyria may be said to mark the beginning of the custom of conferring, _ex officio_, the title of _legatus_ upon the holders of important sees, who ultimately came to be known as _legati nati_, with the rank of primate; the appointment of julianus at constantinople gradually developed into the long permanent office of _apocrisiarius_ or _responsalis_. another sort of delegation is exemplified in leo's letter to the african bishops (_ep._ 12), in which he sends potentius, with instructions to inquire in his name, and to report (\"vicem curae nostrae fratri et consacerdoti nostro potentio delegantes qui de episcopis, quorum culpabilis ferebatur electio, quid veritas haberet inquireret, nobisque omnia fideliter indicaret\"). passing on to the time of gregory the great, we find him sending two representatives to gaul in 599, to suppress simony, and one to spain in 603. augustine of canterbury is sometimes spoken of as legate, but it does not appear that in his case this title was used in any strictly technical sense, although the archbishop of canterbury afterwards attained the permanent dignity of a _legatus natus_. boniface, the apostle of germany, was in like manner constituted, according to hincmar (_ep._ 30), a legate of the apostolic see by popes gregory ii. and gregory iii. according to hefele (_conc._ iv. 239), rodoald of porto and zecharias of anagni, who were sent by pope nicolas to constantinople in 860, were the first actually called _legati a latere_. the policy of gregory vii. naturally led to a great development of the legatine as distinguished from the ordinary episcopal function. from the creation of the medieval papal monarchy until the close of the middle ages, the papal legate played a most important role in national as well as church history. the further definition of his powers proceeded throughout the 12th and 13th centuries. from the 16th century legates a latere give way almost entirely to nuncios (q.v.). see p. hinschius, _kirchenrecht_, i. 498 ff.; g. phillips, _kirchenrecht_, vol. vi. 680 ff. legation (lat. _legatio_, a sending or mission), a diplomatic mission of the second rank. the term is also applied to the building in which the minister resides and to the area round it covered by his diplomatic immunities. see diplomacy. legend (through the french from the med. lat. _legenda_, things to be read, from _legere_, to read), in its primary meaning the history or life-story of a saint, and so applied to portions of scripture and selections from the lives of the saints as read at divine service. the statute of 3 and 4 edward vi. dealing with the abolition of certain books and images (1549), cap. 10, sect. 1, says that \"all bookes ... called processionalles, manuelles, _legends_ ... shall be ... abolished.\" the \"golden legend,\" or _aurea legenda_, was the name given to a book containing lives of the saints and descriptions of festivals, written by jacobus de voragine, archbishop of genoa, in the 13th century. from the original application of the word to stories of the saints containing wonders and miracles, the word came to be applied to a story handed down without any foundation in history, but popularly believed to be true. \"legend\" is also used of a writing, inscription, or motto on coins or medals, and in connexion with coats of arms, shields, monuments, &c.",
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