Chapter 30 of 48 · 3652 words · ~18 min read

Part 30

KILIAN (CHILIAN, KILLIAN), ST, British missionary bishop and the apostle of eastern Franconia, where he began his labours towards the end of the 7th century. There are several biographies of him, the first of which dates back to the 9th century (_Bibliotheca hagiographica latina_, Nos. 4660-4663). The oldest texts which refer to him are an 8th century necrology at Würzburg and the notice by Hrabanus Maurus in his martyrology. According to Maurus, Kilian was a native of Ireland, whence with his companions he went to eastern Franconia. After having preached the gospel in Würzburg, the whole party were put to death by the orders of an unjust judge named Gozbert. It is difficult to fix the period with precision, as the judge (or duke) Gozbert is not known through other sources. Kilian's comrades, Coloman and Totman, were, according to the Würzburg necrology, respectively priest and deacon. The elevation of the relics of the three martyrs was performed by Burchard, the first bishop of Würzburg, and they are venerated in the cathedral of that town. His festival is celebrated on the 8th of July.

See _Acta Sanctorum_, Julii, ii. 599-619; F. Emmerich, _Der heilige Kilian_ (Würzburg, 1896); J. O'Hanlon, _Lives of the Irish Saints_, vii. 122-143 (Dublin, 1875-1904); A. Hauck, _Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands_, 3rd ed., i. 382 seq. (H. De.)

KILIMANJARO, a great mountain in East Africa, its centre lying in 3° 5´ S. and 37° 23´ E. It is the highest known summit of the continent, rising as a volcanic cone from a plateau of about 3000 ft. to 19,321 ft. Though completely isolated it is but one of several summits which crown the eastern edge of the great plateau of equatorial Africa. About 200 m. almost due north, across the wide expanse of the Kapte and Kikuyu uplands, lies Mount Kenya, somewhat inferior in height and mass to Kilimanjaro; and some 25 m. due west rises the noble mass of Mount Meru.

The major axis of Kilimanjaro runs almost east and west, and on it rise the two principal summits, Kibo in the west, Mawenzi (Ki-mawenzi) in the east. Kibo, the higher, is a truncated cone with a nearly perfect extinct crater, and marks a comparatively recent period of volcanic

## activity; while Mawenzi (16,892 ft.) is the very ancient core of a

former summit, of which the crater walls have been removed by denudation. The two peaks, about 7 m. apart, are connected by a saddle or plateau, about 14,000 ft. in altitude, below which the vast mass slopes with great regularity in a typical volcanic curve, especially in the south, to the plains below. The sides are furrowed on the south and east by a large number of narrow ravines, down which flow streams which feed the Pangani and Lake Jipe in the south and the Tsavo tributary of the Sabaki in the east. South-west of Kibo, the Shira ridge seems to be of independent origin, while in the north-west a rugged group of cones, of comparatively recent origin, has poured forth vast lava-flows. In the south-east the regularity of the outline is likewise broken by a ridge running down from Mawenzi.

The lava slopes of the Kibo peak are covered to a depth of some 200 ft. with an ice-cap, which, where ravines occur, takes the form of genuine glaciers. The crater walls are highest on the south, three small peaks, uncovered by ice, rising from the rim on this side. To the central and highest of these, the culminating point of the mountain, the name Kaiser Wilhelm Spitze has been given. The rim here sinks precipitously some 600 ft. to the interior of the crater, which measures rather over 2000 yds. in diameter, and is in part covered by ice, in part by a bare cone of ashes. On the west the rim is breached, allowing the passage of an important glacier formed from the snow which falls within the crater. Lower down this cleft, which owed its origin to dislocation, is occupied by two glaciers, one of which reaches a lower level (13,800 ft.) than any other on Kilimanjaro. On the north-west three large glaciers reach down to 16,000 ft.

Mawenzi peak has no permanent ice-cap, though at times snow lies in patches. The rock of which it is composed has become very jagged by denudation, forming stupendous walls and precipices. On the east the peak falls with great abruptness some 6500 ft. to a vast ravine, due apparently to dislocation and sinking of the ground. Below this the slope is more gradual and more symmetrical. Like the other high mountains of eastern Africa, Kilimanjaro presents well-defined zones of vegetation. The lowest slopes are arid and scantily covered with scrub, but between 4000 and 6000 ft. on the south side the slopes are well watered and cultivated. The forest zone begins, on the south, at about 6500 ft., and extends to 9500, but in the north it is narrower, and in the north-west, the driest quarter of the mountain, almost disappears. In the alpine zone, marked especially by tree lobelias and _Senecio_, flowering plants extend up to 15,700 ft. on the sheltered south-west flank of Mawenzi, but elsewhere vegetation grows only in dwarfed patches beyond 13,000 ft. The special fauna and flora of the upper zone are akin to those of other high African mountains, including Cameroon. The southern slopes, between 4000 and 6000 ft., form the well-peopled country of Chaga, divided into small districts.

As the natives believe that the summit of Kilimanjaro is composed of silver, it is conjectured that Aristotle's reference to "the so-called Silver Mountain" from which the Nile flows was based on reports about this mountain. It is possible, however, that the "Silver Mountain" was Ruwenzori (q.v.), from whose snow-clad heights several headstreams of the Nile do descend. It is also possible, though improbable, that Ruwenzori and not Kilimanjaro nor Kenya may be the range known to Ptolemy and to the Arab geographers of the middle ages as the Mountains of the Moon. Reports of the existence of mountains covered with snow were brought to Zanzibar about 1845 by Arab traders. Attracted by these reports Johannes Rebmann of the Church Missionary Society journeyed inland from Mombasa in 1848 and discovered Kilimanjaro, which is some 200 m. inland. Rebmann's account, though fully borne out by his colleague Dr Ludwig Krapf, was at first received with great incredulity by professional geographers. The matter was finally set at rest by the visits paid to the mountain by Baron Karl von der Decken (1861 and 1862) and Charles New (1867), the latter of whom reached the lower edge of the snow. Kilimanjaro has since been explored by Joseph Thomson (1883), Sir H. H. Johnston (1884), and others. It has been the special study of Dr Hans Meyer, who made four expeditions to it, accomplishing the first ascent to the summit in 1889. In the partition of Africa between the powers of western Europe, Kilimanjaro was secured by Germany (1886) though the first treaties concluded with native chiefs in that region had been made in 1884 by Sir H. H. Johnston on behalf of a British company. On the southern side of the mountain at Moshi is a German government station.

See R. Thornton (the geologist of von der Decken's party) in _Proc. of Roy. Geog. Soc._ (1861-1862); Ludwig Krapf, _Travels in East Africa_ (1860); Charles New, _Life ... in East Africa_ (1873); Sir J. D. Hooker in _Journal of Linnean Society_ (1875); Sir H. H. Johnston, _The Kilimanjaro Expedition_ (1886); Hans Meyer, _Across East African Glaciers_ (1891); _Der Kilimanjaro_ (Berlin, 1900). Except the last-named all these works were published in London. (E. He.)

KILIN, or CH'-I-LIN, one of the four symbolical creatures which in Chinese mythology are believed to keep watch and ward over the Celestial Empire. It is a unicorn, portrayed in Chinese art as having the body and legs of a deer and an ox's tail. Its advent on earth heralds an age of enlightened government and civic prosperity. It is regarded as the noblest of the animal creation and as the incarnation of fire, water, wood, metal and earth. It lives for a thousand years, and is believed to step so softly as to leave no footprints and to crush no living thing.

KILKEE, a seaside resort of county Clare, Ireland, the terminus of a branch of the West Clare railway. Pop. (1901), 1661. It lies on a small and picturesque inlet of the Atlantic named Moore Bay, with a beautiful sweep of sandy beach. The coast, fully exposed to the open ocean, abounds in fine cliff scenery, including numerous caves and natural arches, but is notoriously dangerous to shipping. Moore Bay is safe and attractive for bathers. Bishop's Island, a bold isolated rock in the vicinity, has remains of an oratory and house ascribed to the recluse St Senan.

KILKENNY, a county of Ireland, in the province of Leinster, bounded N. by Queen's County, E. by Carlow and Wexford, S. by Waterford, and W. by Waterford and Tipperary. The area is 511,775 acres, or about 800 sq. m. The greater part of Kilkenny forms the south-eastern extremity of the great central plain of Ireland, but in the south-east occurs an extension of the mountains of Wicklow and Carlow, and the plain is interrupted in the north by a hilly region forming part of the Castlecomer coal-field, which extends also into Queen's County and Tipperary. The principal rivers, the Suir, the Barrow and the Nore, have their origin in the Slieve Bloom Mountains (county Tipperary and Queen's County), and after widely divergent courses southward discharge their waters into Waterford Harbour. The Suir forms the boundary of the county with Waterford, and is navigable for small vessels to Carrick. The Nore, which is navigable to Innistioge, enters the county at its north-western boundary, and flows by Kilkenny to the Barrow, 9 m. above Ross, having received the King's River at Jerpoint and the Argula near Innistioge. The Barrow, which is navigable beyond the limits of Kilkenny into Kildare, forms the eastern boundary of the county from near New Bridge. There are no lakes of any extent, but turloughs or temporary lakes are occasionally formed by the bursting up of underground streams.

The coal of the Castlecomer basin is anthracite, and the most productive portions of the bed are in the centre of the basin at Castlecomer. Hematitic iron of a rich quality is found in the Cambro-Silurian rocks at several places; and tradition asserts that silver shields were made about 850 B.C. at Argetros or Silverwood on the Nore. Manganese is obtained in some of the limestone quarries, and also near the Barrow. Marl is abundant in various districts. Pipeclay and potter's clay are found, and also yellow ochre. Copper occurs near Knocktopher.

The high synclinal coal-field forms the most important feature of the north of the county. A prolongation of the field runs out south-west by Tullaroan. The lower ground is occupied by Carboniferous limestone. The Old Red Sandstone, with a Silurian core, forms the high ridge of Slievenaman in the south; and its upper laminated beds contain _Archanodon_, the earliest known freshwater mollusc, and plant-remains, at Kiltorcan near Ballyhale. The Leinster granite appears mainly as inliers in the Silurian of the south-east. The Carboniferous sandstones furnish the hard pavement-slabs sold as "Carlow flags." The black limestone with white shells in it at Kilkenny is quarried as an ornamental marble. Good slates are quarried at Kilmoganny, in the Silurian inlier on the Slievenaman range.

On account of the slope of the country, and the nature of the soil, the surface occupied by bog or wet land is very small, and the air is dry and healthy. So temperate is it in winter that the myrtle and arbutus grow in the open air. There is less rain than at Dublin, and vegetation is earlier than in the adjacent counties. Along the banks of the Suir, Nore and Barrow a very rich soil has been formed by alluvial deposits. Above the Coal-measures in the northern part of the county there is a moorland tract devoted chiefly to pasturage. The soil above the limestone is for the most part a deep and rich loam admirably adapted for the growth of wheat. The heath-covered hills afford honey with a flavour of peculiar excellence. Proportionately to its area, Kilkenny has an exceptionally large cultivable area. The proportion of tillage to pasturage is roughly as 1 to 2¼. Oats, barley, turnips and potatoes are all grown; the cultivation of wheat has very largely lapsed. Cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry are extensively reared, the Kerry cattle being in considerable request.

The linen manufacture introduced into the county in the 17th century by the duke of Ormonde to supersede the woollen manufacture gradually became extinct, and the woollen manufacture now carried on is also very small. There are, however, breweries, distilleries, tanneries and flour-mills, as well as marble polishing works. The county is traversed from N. to S. by the Maryborough, Kilkenny and Waterford branch of the Great Southern & Western railway, with a connexion from Kilkenny to Bagenalstown on the Kildare and Carlow line; and the Waterford and Limerick line of the same company runs for a short distance through the southern part of the county.

The population (87,496 in 1891; 79,159 in 1901) includes about 94% of Roman Catholics. The decrease of population is a little above the average, though emigration is distinctly below it. The chief towns and villages are Kilkenny (q.v.), Callan (1840), Castlecomer, Thomastown and Graigue. The county comprises 10 baronies and contains 134 civil parishes. The county includes the parliamentary borough of Kilkenny, and is divided into north and south parliamentary divisions, each returning one member. Kilkenny returned 16 members to the Irish parliament, two representing the county. Assizes are held at Kilkenny, and quarter sessions at Kilkenny, Pilltown, Urlingford, Castlecomer, Callan, Grace's Old Castle and Thomastown. The county is in the Protestant diocese of Ossory and the Roman Catholic dioceses of Ossory and Kildare and Leighlin.

Kilkenny is one of the counties generally considered to have been created by King John. It had previously formed part of the kingdom of Ossory, and was one of the liberties granted to the heiresses of Strongbow with palatinate rights. Circular groups of stones of very ancient origin are on the summits of Slieve Grian and the hill of Cloghmanta. There are a large number of cromlechs as well as raths (or encampments) in various parts of the county. Besides numerous forts and mounds there are five round towers, one adjoining the Protestant cathedral of Kilkenny, and others at Tulloherin, Kilree, Fertagh and Aghaviller. All, except that at Aghaviller, are nearly perfect. There are remains of a Cistercian monastery at Jerpoint, said to have been founded by Dunnough, King of Ossory, and of another belonging to the same order at Graigue, founded by the earl of Pembroke in 1212. The Dominicans had an abbey at Rosbercon founded in 1267, and another at Thomastown, of which there are some remains. The Carmelites had a monastery at Knocktopher. There were an Augustinian monastery at Inistioge, and priories at Callan and Kells, of all of which there are remains. There are also ruins of several old castles, such as those of Callan, Legan, Grenan and Clonamery, besides the ancient portions of Kilkenny Castle.

KILKENNY, a city and municipal and parliamentary borough (returning one member), the capital of county Kilkenny, Ireland, finely situated on the Nore, and on the Great Southern and Western railway, 81 m. S.W. of Dublin. Pop. (1901), 10,609. It consists of Englishtown (or Kilkenny proper) and Irishtown, which are separated by a small rivulet, but although Irishtown retains its name, it is now included in the borough of Kilkenny. The city is irregularly built, possesses several spacious streets with many good houses, while its beautiful environs and imposing ancient buildings give it an unusual interest and picturesque appearance. The Nore is crossed by two handsome bridges. The cathedral of St Canice, from whom the town takes its name, dates in its present form from about 1255. The see of Ossory, which originated in the monastery of Aghaboe founded by St Canice in the 6th century, and took its name from the early kingdom of Ossory, was moved to Kilkenny (according to conjecture) about the year 1200. In 1835 the diocese of Ferns and Leighlin was united to it. With the exception of St Patrick's, Dublin, the cathedral is the largest ecclesiastical building in Ireland, having a length from east to west of 226 ft., and a breadth along the transepts from north to south of 123 ft. It occupies an eminence at the western extremity of Irishtown. It is a cruciform structure mainly in Early English style, with a low massive tower supported on clustered columns of the black marble peculiar to the district. The building was extensively restored in 1865. It contains many old sepulchral monuments and other ancient memorials. The north transept incorporates the parish church. The adjacent library of St Canice contains numerous ancient books of great value. A short distance from the south transept is a round tower 100 ft. high; the original cap is wanting. The episcopal palace near the east end of the cathedral was erected in the time of Edward III. and enlarged in 1735. Besides the cathedral the principal churches are the Protestant church of St Mary, a plain cruciform structure of earlier foundation than the present cathedral; that of St John, including a portion of the hospital of St John founded about 1220; and the Roman Catholic cathedral, of the diocese of Ossory, dedicated to St Mary (1843-1857), a cruciform structure in the Early Pointed style, with a massive central tower. There are important remains of two monasteries--the Dominican abbey founded in 1225, and now used as a Roman Catholic church; and the Franciscan abbey on the banks of the Nore, founded about 1230. But next in importance to the cathedral is the castle, the seat of the marquess of Ormonde, on the summit of a precipice above the Nore. It was originally built by Strongbow, but rebuilt by William Marshall after the destruction of the first castle in 1175; and many additions and restorations by members of the Ormonde family have maintained it as a princely residence. The Protestant college of St John, originally founded by Pierce Butler, 8th earl of Ormonde, in the 16th century, and re-endowed in 1684 by James, 1st duke of Ormonde, stands on the banks of the river opposite the castle. In it Swift, Farquhar, Congreve and Bishop Berkeley received part of their education. On the outskirts of the city is the Roman Catholic college of St Kyran (Kieran), a Gothic building completed about 1840. The other principal buildings are the modern court-house, the tholsel or city court (1764), the city and county prison, the barracks and the county infirmary. In the neighbourhood are collieries as well as long-established quarries for marble, the manufactures connected with which are an important industry of the town. The city also possesses corn-mills, breweries and tanneries. Not far from the city are the remarkable limestone caverns of Dunmore, which have yielded numerous human remains. The corporation of Kilkenny consists of a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors.

Kilkenny proper owes its origin to an English settlement in the time of Strongbow, and it received a charter from William Marshall, who married Strongbow's daughter. This charter was confirmed by Edward III., and from Edward IV. Irishtown received the privilege of choosing a portreeve independent of Kilkenny. By Elizabeth the boroughs, while retaining their distinct rights, were constituted one corporation, which in 1609 was made a free borough by James I., and in the following year a free city. From James II. the citizens received a new charter, constituting the city and liberties a distinct county, to be styled the county of the city of Kilkenny, the burgesses of Irishtown continuing, however, to elect a portreeve until the passing of the Muncipal Reform Act. Frequent parliaments were held at Kilkenny from the 14th to the 16th century, and so late as the reign of Henry VIII. it was the occasional residence of the lord-lieutenant. In 1642 it was the meeting-place of the assembly of confederate Catholics. In 1648 Cromwell, in the hope of obtaining possession of the town by means of a plot, advanced towards it, but before his arrival the plot was discovered. In 1650 it was, however, compelled to surrender after a long and resolute defence. At a very early period Kilkenny and Irishtown returned each two members to the Irish parliament, but since the Union one member only has been returned to Westminster for the city of Kilkenny.

The origin of the expression "to fight like Kilkenny cats," which, according to the legend, fought till only their tails were left, has been the subject of many conjectures. It is said to be an allegory on the disastrous municipal quarrels of Kilkenny and Irishtown which lasted from the end of the 14th to the end of the 17th centuries (_Notes and Queries_, 1st series, vol. ii. p. 71). It is referred also to the brutal sport of some Hessian soldiers, quartered in Kilkenny during the rebellions of 1798 or 1803, who tied two cats together by their tails, hung them over a line and left them to fight. A soldier is said to have freed them by cutting off their tails to escape censure from the officers (ibid. 3rd series, vol. v. p. 433). Lastly, it is attributed to the invention of J. P. Curran. As a sarcastic protest against cock-fighting in England, he declared that he had witnessed in Sligo (?) fights between trained cats, and that once they had fought so fiercely that only their tails were left (ibid. 7th series, vol. ii. p. 394).