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FlTZSTEPilEN, William, a learned monk of Canterbury,of Norman extraction, but born of respectable parents in London ,in the 12th century. Being attached to Archbishop Becket, liewas present at the time of his murder. See Becket. In 1174,he wrote in Latin , “ The Life of Saint Thomas, Archbishop andMartyr;” in which, as Becket was a native of the metropolis, heintroduces a description of London , with a detail of the mannersand usages of the citizens, which is deservedly considered as a greatcuriosity, beiiig the earliest professed account of London extant.-lie died in 1 191.

FIVE CHURCHES, a town of Hungary , 85 milesS. of Buda.

I'ive Island Harbour, a bay on the W. coast of Antigua .Lon. 61 . 35. \V. Lat. 17. 13. N.

Five-leaved Grass. See Potentilla.

F1VELGO, or FIVELINGO, a district of Groningen , inHolland and the department of the Kents.

FH'ME, or St. VEIT, a populous sea-port of Carniola , onthe Adriatic , 38 miles S. of Capo of Istria.

Fiume Freddo, a town of Naples, in the province of CalabriaCitra, 11 miles W. S. \V. ot Co^enza.

FIXA TION, in chemistry, the rendering of any volatile sub-stance iixed, so as not to fly off upon being exposed to a greatheat. See Fixed Bodies.

FIXED-AIR, an aerial fluid which is disengaged from all sub-stances liable to undergo the vinous fermentation, as well as bymixing alkaline salts and earths with acids. It is a gas which is■essentially different in its properties from atmospheric air, as theformer is unfit to support either the respiration of animals, or theburning of a candle; being likewise specifically heavier than thecommon air we breathe. From its acid properties, it has beenvariously denominated aerial acid, cretaceous acid, or carbonicacid : aird from its noxious qualities it has received the name ofniephetic gas. 'The appellation of fixed air has been applied to itfrom its readily losing its elastic properly, and fixing itself in va-rious bodies, especially those which are of a calcareous nature.Fixed air was first discovered bv Dr. Blac k, who, in consequenceof various experiments, found that chalk, and the other earths re-ducible to quick-1.me by calcination, consist of an alkaline earth,which is soluble by itself in water; but which, when combinedwith a large quantity of fixed air, becomes insoluble; losing theproperties of quick-lime, and assuming the appearance those earthsnatural! v have, when not reduced to a calcareous state. It is nowgenerally called carbonic acid gas, which see.

Fixed Bodies, are those which bear a considerable degree ofheat without evaporating, or losing any of their weight. Amongthese, the most fixed are diamonds, gold, &c. See Diamond,Gold, &c.

Fixed Stars are such as constantly retain the same position anddiitance with respect to each other; by which they are contra-dlstingui-hed from erratic or w andering stars, which are continuallyshifting their situation and distances. The fixed stars are w hat weproperly and absolutely call stars; the others are either planets orcomets. See Astronomy.

FI.ACCUS, Caius Valerius, an ancient Latin poet , of whomwe have very imperfect accounts lemaining. He wrote a poeinon the Argonautic expedition ; of which, however, he did not liveto finish tlie eighth hook, dying at about 30 years of age. JohnBaptUta Pms, an Italian poet, completed the eighth book of theArgonaulics ; and added two more, from the fourth of Apollo-nius; which supplement was first added to Aldus’s edition in1573.

FL \COURTIA; in botany, a genus of the class and order dim-cia polyandria. Male calyx five-parted; corolla none ; staminavery numerous. Female calyx many-leaved ; corolla none ; germen superior. Styles from 5 to 9. ’Berry many-eelled. Thereis one sp-.-cies, a small tree of Madagascar , bearing an eatable fruitin some degree resembling a plumb.

FLA DS I'll AN D, a sea-port of Denmark , on the E. coast ofN. Jutland, in the diocese of Aalborg, 30 miles N. N. E. of Aal-borg . Lon. 10. 19. E. Eat. 57. 33. N.

FLADUNGEN, a town of Germany , in the bishopric ofWurzburg, 30 miles N. of Wurzburg .

FLAG, in the at my, a small banner of distinction, stuck in thebaggage-waggon, to distinguish the baggage of one brigade fromanother, aud of one battalion from another ; that they may be mar-

shalled bv the waggon-master general according to the rankof their brigades, to avoid the confusion thac might otherwisearise.

Flag, in the marine, a certain banner or standard, by which anadm ra! is distinguished at sea from the inferior ships of his squa-dron ; also the colours bv which one nation is distinguished fromanother. Sec l’late LXXI. In the British navy, flags are eitherred, white, or blue ; and are displayed from the top oflhe main-mast,fore-mast, or mizen-mast, according to the rank of the adnvral.When a flag is displayed from the Hag-staff on the main mast, theofficer distinguished thereby is known to be an admiral; whenfrom the fere-mast, a vice-admiral; and when from the mizen-mast, a, rear-admiral. The first flag in Great Britain is the royalstandard, which is only to be hoisted when the king or queen is onboard the vessel : the second is that of the anchor of hope, w hichcharacterises the lord high admiral, or lords commissioners of theadmiralty : and the third is the union flag, in which the crossesof .St. George and St. Andrew are blended. This last is appro-priated to the admiral of the licet, who is the first military officerunder the lord high-admiral, d lie next flag alter the union is thatof the white squadron, at the main mast head ; and the last, w hichcharacterises an admiral, is the blue, at the same mast head. Fora vice-admiral, the first flag is the red, the second the white, thethird tlie blue, at the flag staff on the fore-mast. The same orderproceeds with regard to the rear-admirals, whose flags are hoistedon the lop ot the mizen-mast: the lowest flag in our navy is ac-cordingly the blue on the mizen-mast. Besides the national tla",merchant-ships frequently bear less flags on the mizru-mae #with the arms of the city where the master ordinarily resides: andon the fore-mast, with the arms of the place w here tlie person whofreights them lives.

Flag, to hang out the White, is to ask quarter; or itshews, when a vessel is arrived on a coast, that it has no hostileintention, but comes to trade, or the like. The red flag is a signof defiance, and battle.

Flag, to heave out the, is to put out or put abroad theflag.

Flag, to lower, or strike the, in the marine, is to pull itdown upon the cap, or to take it in, out of respect, orsubmbsi, p,due fn m all ships or fleets inferior to those any wav justly theirsuperiors. To lower or strike the flag Hi an engagement is a signof yielding. The way of leading a ship in .triumph is to tie the(lag-, to the shrouds, or the gallerv, in the hind part of the ship,and let them hang down towards tlie water, and to tow the vesselsby the stern. Livy relates, that this was the way the Romans usedthose of Carthage .

Flag-Officers, those who command the several squadrons ofa fleet, such as the admirals, vice-admirals, and rear-admirals."The flag-officers in our pay are the admiral, vice-admiral, andrear-admiral, of the w hit?, red, and blue.

Flag-Shit, a ship commanded by a general or flag-officer, whohas a right to carry a flag, in contradistinction to the secondaryvessels under its command.

Flag-Staves, are staves set on the heads of the lop-gallant-masts, serving to let lly, or unfurl, the flag.

Flag, in botany, see Iris, and Acouus.

FLAGELLANTES, a sect of wild fanatics who chastised anddisciplined themselves with whips in public. 'This sect rose inItaly , in 1260. Its author was one Rainier a hermit; and it waspropagated through almost all the countries of Europe . It wasprobably no more than the effect of an indiscreet zeal, founded onerroneous ideas of the Deity . A great number of persons of allages and sexes made processions, walking two by two with theirshoulders bare, which they whipped till the blood ran down, toobtain mercy from God , and appease his indignation against thewickedness of the age. They were then called tlie devout; andhaving established a superior, lie was called the general of the de-votion.

ELAGET.LA1UA, a genus of the hexandria monogvtiia c’a'Sand order of plants: petals none; perianthinm divided intosix segments; fruit a roundish berrv, containing a single seed*There are two speeies, shrubs of the East Indies.

FLAGEOLh I , or FLAJEOLEF, a little flute, used chieflyby shepherds, and country people. It is made of box, or anyother hard wood, and sometimes of ivory ; and has six holes he -5 side*