V L     A


G al)


"or boarded Floors, it is obrerivable, that the Carjpehters
er poor their Rooms with Boards, till the Carcars is fet
, and alfo inclos'd with Walls, lef the Weathet lhould
ng the Flooring; yet they generally rough-plane their
lrds for the Flooring, before they begin any thing elfe
ut the Building, that they may fet thetn by to dry
fealfon; which is done in the mol} careful manner.
PLOOR of a Ship, firialy taken, is only fo much of her
tom, as fhe refs on, when a-ground; fo that fuch Ships
iave long, and withal broad Floors, lye on the Ground
th moft Security, and are not apt to feel, or tilt on one
l; whereas others, which are narrow in the Floor, or in
Sea-Phrafe, Cranck'd by the Ground, cannot be grounded
hout Danger of being overthrown;
'LORALES Ludi, or FLOR AL Games, in Antiquity, were
mes held in Honour of Flora, the Goddefs of Flowers.
F1.ORALIA.
They were celebrated with horrible Debaucheries. The
(1 licentious Difcourfes were not enough; but the Cour-
Lns were called together by the Sound of a Trumpet,
de their Appearance naked and entertain'd the Peonle


with abominable Shews and Poflures: The Comedians ap-
pear'd after the fame manner on the Stage. Val. Maximus
relates, that Cato being once prefent in the Theater on this
occafion, the People were afham'd to afk for the infamous
Pleafure, in his Prefence; till Cato, appriz'd of the Refer-
vednefs and Refpea he infpir'd them withal, withdrew, that
the People might not be balk'd of their accustomed Diver-
fion.
There were divers other forts of Shews exhibited on this
:4cafion; and if we may believe Suetonius, in Galba, C. 6.
and Vopifeas in Carinus, thefe Princes prefented Elephants
dancing on Ropes.
i   The Lodi Florales, according to Pliny, L. XVIII. C. z9.
were .inflituted by order of an Oracle of the Sibyls, on the
*28th of April; not in the Year of Rome IDXVI. as wecom-
conly read it in the antient Editions of that Author; nor in
I3XIV. as Fr. Hardouin has corredted it; but as !7q/oJus
reads it, in 51 3. They were chiefly held in the Night time,
in the Patrician-Street : Some will have it there was a Cir-
cus for the purFofe on the Hill call'd Hortulorum.
Some will have the Goddefs Flora to be the fame with
the Chloris of the Greeks.
Others hold, that this fame Flora 'was a famous Courtifan
at Rome, who having enrich'd her felf by Proffitution, made
tfi People of Rome hberir, on condition that they fhould
celebrate the Anniverfary of her Birth-day, by the Games


aits above-mentioned. Some time afterward, the Se-
loging fuch a Foundation unworthy the Majefly of the
People; to ennoble the Ceremony, converted Flora
ioddefs, whom they fuppos'd to prefide over Flowers;
made 'it a piece of Religion to render her propitious,
might be well with their Gardens, Vineyalrds, c.
is the common Account: But Vogius de Idol. L. I.
:an by no means allow the Goddefs Flora to have been
irtifan above-mention'd: He will rather have her a
Deity; and thinks her Worfhip might have corn-
under Romulus. His Reafon is, that Varro in his
Book of the Latin Tongue, ranks Flora among the
to whom Yatif, King of the Sabins, off'er'd up
before he join'd Battle with the Romans. Add, that
nother Paffage in Varro it appears, that there were
,of Flora, with Sacrifices, W.c. as early as Romulus
vmna.
)RAL Games. There are a kind of Floral Games ob-
at this day in France. They were firmi inflituted in
Defign and Eflablifhiment is owing to feven Per-
fCondition, Lovers of Poetry, who about All-Saints
in 1313.2fent a Circular Letter to all the Provincial
called I'roubadours, to meet at 7'holoufe on May-day
ng, there to rehearfe their Poems; promifing a Vio-
Gold to the Perfon whofe Piece lhou'd be judg'd the
Capitouls found the Defign fo good, that it was af-
ds refolv'd at a Council of the City, to continue it at
,y Charge ; which is fill done, in a manner that does
r to the Place:
315 a Chancellor, and Secretary of the New Aca-
were chofe; and the feven Inflitutors took the Qua-
Maintainers thereof. Two other Prizes were after-
added to the Violet, viz. an Eglantine for the fecond
and a Panfy for the third. It was alfo decreed, that
rfon who bore away the firfl Prize, might demand to
le Batchelor; and that whoever bore away all three,
be created Do&or in the Gaye Science, that is, in
re is a Refifter of there Games kept at 7iboloiafe,
gives this Account of their Origin: Tho' others give
ng another turn. It was an antient Cuftlom, they iay,
Poets of Provence, to meet yearly at T1Xhlouye, to
together, rehearfe their Verfes, and receive a Prize


JFLO


allotted to the beff Pcrformance. This held till abouit iii.
Year I540, when a Lady of Quality left the beft part of
her Fortune, to eternize the Cuflom, and bear the Expelic.
of Prizes; the Number of which Ihe increas'd, ordering AiA
Eglantine; a Panfy, a Violet, and a Pink: The three firi i
Cubit high; worth fifteen PiMoles a-piece;
The Ceiemony begins on May-day, with a folemn MafF,
Mufick, jc. The Corporation attend; and Poems are re-
hearfed every day: The third Day a magnificent Treat iA
riven the Magifiracy, fec. and that day the Prizes are Ad-
Judged. The three Prizes are the Rewards of three dif&
ferent. kinds of Compofitions, viz. a Poem, an Itcloguei and
an Ode.
FLORALIA, in Antiquity, a general Naie for the
Peafls, Games, and other Ceremonies, held in honour df
the Goddefs Flora.
The Floralia were alfo called Adnthiftefes: They were held
at the latter end of the Month of April, as Ovid witneflesi
Exit, g in Majas fefium Florale Calendas.
In eiffl&, the Floraiia began on the 28th of April, and
lafled fix Days.
They who affifled at the Ceremony, were crown'd with
Ivy, and committed a world of undecent things; which in-
deed was no extraordinary thing in the Heathen Feafts.
Some apply the Word Floralia indifferently to the Feafis,
and Games of this Goddefs; but others refirain it to the
Feafis alone; calling the Games Ludi Florales. See FLORA.-
LEs Ludi.
FLORID    Style, is that enrich'd and heighten'd with
Figures and Flowers of Rhetorick. Longinus ules the Terms
florid and affeed Style indifferently, and lays them down as
quite contrary to the true fublime. See STYLE, and SUBLIME.
FLORILEGIUM, FLORILEGE, a Name the Latins have
given, to what the Greeks call .3oAotyov Anthology; viz.
a Collecfion of choice Pieces, containing the finefi and moft
florid Things in their kind. See ANTHOLOGY.
The Term is particularly ufed in the Eaflern Church, for
a kind of Breviary, compiled by Arcadius, for the Conve-
niency of the Greek Priefis and Monks, who cannot carry
with them in their Travels and Pilgrimages all the Volumes
wherein their Office is difpers'd.
The Florilegium contains the General Rubricks, Pfalter,
Canticles, the Horologium, Office of the Feria, &c.
FLORIN, is fometimes us'd for a Coin, or real Money;
and fometimes for an imaginary Money, or Money of Account.
See CoiN, and MONEY.
As a Coin, Florin is of divers Values, according to the
divers Metals, and divers Countries where it is firuck.
Florins were antiently very frequent in Commerce ; at
prefent they are lefs common, though there were abundance
of them firuck in Rolland, of Englijh Silver, during the War
which was terminated by the Treaty of Ryfrwick.
In all appearance they took their Name from the Place
where they were firfi firuck, viz. the City of Florence. Their
.,Era is about the Year I x 5 I . though others afcribe the Name
to a Flower-de-Lis, which was (truck on one Side.
The Gold Florins are mofl of them of a very coarfe Al-
loy; forne of them not exceeding thirteen or fourteen Ca-
rads, and none Seventeen and a half. They weigh about two
Penny-weights, and thirteen Grains.
Villani obferves, that there were Gold Florins in the Year
z067; from which time the NamesFrank, or Florin became
applied to the Gold Coins, which till that time had been
called Solidi, Shillings.
As to Silver Florins, thofe of Rolland are worth about X 5
French Sols, or I s. IOX d. Sterling. Thofe of Genoa, &c.
are worth about 8 d. X Sterling.
Pieces of three Florins are called ZDucatoons. See Du-
CATOONS.
As a Money of Account, the Florin is us'd by the Italian,
!Dutch, and German Merchants and Bankers, in keeping their
Books, and making out their Accounts. But this Florin is
very diverfe, and admits of different Divifions. In Holland
it is on the foot of the fDutcl Coin of that Name, contain-
ing 14 Deniers Grofcb, and divided into Pacards and Penins.
At Francfort, Nurenmberg, &c. it is equivalent to three
Shillings Sterl. and is divided into Creutzers and Pfennings.
At LZILe it is equivalent to 2 s. 3 d. At Strasbourgl to
I S. 8     In Savoy to iX d. At Genoa to 8 d. -4. and at
Geneva to 6 d.-2
FLoRIN was alfo a Gold Coin, firuck in England in the
18th of Edw. 3 . of the Value of fix Shillings.
Cambden fays, They were fo called, becaufe made by
Florentines: And Fabian fays, they were not of fo fine Gold
as the Nobles and Half-Nobles of that Prince.
But what is moft obfervable, is that Fabian calls the
Florin a Penny, Val. 6 s. 8 d. the half Florit an Half-penny,
Val. 3 s. 4 d. the Quarter Florin a Farthing, Yal. i s. 8 d,.
Thefe Words you will often meet with in old Hiflories
and Accounts, applied to feveral Coins, as Rials and An-
gels,


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