Part 10

FLOOR (from O. Eng. _flor_, a word common to many Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch _vloer_, and Ger. _Flur_, a field, in the feminine, and a floor, masculine), generally the lower horizontal surface of a room, but specially employed for one covered with boarding or parquetry. The various levels of rooms in a house are designated as "ground-floor," "first-floor," "mezzanine-floor," &c. The principal floor is the storey which contains the chief apartments whether on the ground- or first-floor; in Italy they are always on the latter and known as the "piano nobile." The storey below the ground-floor is called the "basement-floor," even if only a little below the level of the pavement outside; the storey in a roof is known as the "attic-floor." The expressions one pair, two pair, &c., apply to the storeys above the first flight of stairs from the ground (see also CARPENTRY).

FLOORCLOTH, a rough flannel cloth used for domestic cleaning; also a generic term applied to a variety of materials used in place of carpets for covering floors, and known by such trade names as kamptulicon, oil-cloth, linoleum, corticine, cork-carpet, &c. Kamptulicon ([Greek: kamptos], flexible, [Greek: oulos], thick) was patented in 1844 by E. Galloway, but did not attract much attention till about 1862. It was essentially a preparation of india-rubber masticated up with ground cork, and rolled out into sheets between heavy steam-heated rollers, sometimes over a backing of canvas. Owing to its expensiveness, it has given place to cheaper materials serving the same purpose. Oil-cloth is a coarse canvas which has received a number of coats of thick oil paint, each coat being rubbed smooth with pumice stone before the application of the next. Its surface is ornamented with patterns printed in oil colours by means of wooden blocks. Linoleum (_linum_, flax, _oleum_, oil), patented by F. Walton in 1860 and 1863, consists of oxidized linseed oil and ground cork. These ingredients, thoroughly incorporated with the addition of certain gummy and resinous matters, and of pigments such as ochre and oxide of iron as required, are pressed on to a rough canvas backing between steam-heated rollers. Patterns may be printed on its surface with oil paint, or by an improved method may be inlaid with coloured composition so that the colours are continuous through the thickness of the linoleum, instead of being on the surface only, and thus do not disappear with wear. Lincrusta-Walton is a similar material to linoleum, also having oxidized linseed oil as its base, which is stamped out in embossed patterns and used as a covering for walls.

FLOQUET, CHARLES THOMAS (1828-1896), French statesman, was born at St Jean-Pied-de-Port (Basses-Pyrenees) on the 2nd of October 1828. He studied law in Paris, and was called to the bar in 1851. The _coup d'etat_ of that year aroused the strenuous opposition of Floquet, who had, while yet a student, given proof of his republican sympathies by taking part in the fighting of 1848. He made his name by his brilliant and fearless attacks on the government in a series of political trials, and at the same time contributed to the _Temps_ and other influential journals. When the tsar Alexander II. visited the Palais de Justice in 1867, Floquet was said to have confronted him with the cry "Vive la Pologne, monsieur!" He delivered a scathing indictment of the Empire at the trial of Pierre Bonaparte for killing Victor Noir in 1870, and took a part in the revolution of the 4th of September, as well as in the subsequent defence of Paris. In 1871 he was elected to the National Assembly by the department of the Seine. During the Commune he formed the _Ligue d'union republicaine des droits de Paris_ to attempt a reconciliation with the government of Versailles. When his efforts failed, he left Paris, and was imprisoned by order of Thiers, but soon released. He became editor of the _Republique Francaise_, was chosen president of the municipal council, and in 1876 was elected deputy for the eleventh arrondissement. He took a prominent place among the extreme radicals, and became president of the group of the "Union republicaine." In 1882 he held for a short time the post of prefect of the Seine. In 1885 he succeeded M. Brisson as president of the chamber. This difficult position he filled with such tact and impartiality that he was re-elected the two following years. Having approached the Russian ambassador in such a way as to remove the prejudice existing against him in Russia since the incident of 1867, he rendered himself eligible for office; and on the fall of the Tirard cabinet in 1888 he became president of the council and minister of the interior in a radical ministry, which pledged itself to the revision of the constitution, but was forced to combat the proposals of General Boulanger. Heated debates in the chamber culminated on the 13th of July in a duel between Floquet and Boulanger in which the latter was wounded. In the following February the government fell on the question of revision, and in the new chamber of November Floquet was re-elected to the presidential chair. The Panama scandals, in which he was compelled to admit his implication, dealt a fatal blow to his career: he lost the presidency of the chamber in 1892, and his seat in the house in 1893, but in 1894 was elected to the senate. He died in Paris on the 18th of January 1896.

See _Discours et opinions de M. Charles Floquet_, edited by Albert Faivre (1885).

FLOR, ROGER DI, a military adventurer of the 13th-14th century, was the second son of a falconer in the service of the emperor Frederick II., who fell at Tagliacozzo (1268), and when eight years old was sent to sea in a galley belonging to the Knights Templars. He entered the order and became commander of a galley. At the siege of Acre by the Saracens in 1291 he was accused and denounced to the pope as a thief and an apostate, was degraded from his rank, and fled to Genoa, where he began to play the pirate. The struggle between the kings of Aragon and the French kings of Naples for the possession of Sicily was at this time going on; and Roger entered the service of Frederick, king of Sicily, who gave him the rank of vice-admiral. At the close of the war, in 1302, as Frederick was anxious to free the island from his mercenary troops (called _Almugavares_), whom he had no longer the means of paying, Roger induced them under his leadership to seek new adventures in the East, in fighting against the Turks, who were ravaging the empire. The emperor Andronicus II. accepted his offer of service; and in September 1303 Roger with his fleet and army arrived at Constantinople. He was adopted into the imperial family, was married to a grand-daughter of the emperor, and was made grand duke and commander-in-chief of the army and the fleet. After some weeks lost in dissipation, intrigues and bloody quarrels, Roger and his men were sent into Asia, and after some successful encounters with the Turks they went into winter quarters at Cyzicus. In May 1304 they again took the field, and rendered the important service of relieving Philadelphia, then invested and reduced to extremities by the Turks. But Roger, bent on advancing his own interests rather than those of the emperor, determined to found in the East a principality for himself. He sent his treasures to Magnesia, but the people slew his Catalans and seized the treasures. He then formed the siege of the town, but his attacks were repulsed, and he was compelled to retire. Being recalled to Europe, he settled his troops in Gallipoli and other towns, and visited Constantinople to demand pay for the _Almugavares_. Dissatisfied with the small sum granted by the emperor, he plundered the country and carried on intrigues both with and against the emperor, receiving reinforcements all the while from all parts of southern Europe. Roger was now created Caesar, but shortly afterwards the young emperor Michael Palaeologus, not daring to attack the fierce and now augmented bands of adventurers, invited Roger to Adrianople, and there contrived his assassination and the massacre of his Catalan cavalry (April 4, 1306). His death was avenged by his men in a fierce and prolonged war against the Greeks.

See Moncada, _Expedicion de los Catalanes y Aragoneses contre Turcos y Griegos_ (Paris, 1840).

FLORA, in Roman mythology, goddess of spring-time and flowers, later identified with the Greek Chloris. Her festival at Rome, the Floralia, instituted 238 B.C. by order of the Sibylline books and at first held irregularly, became annual after 173. It lasted six days (April 28-May 3), the first day being the anniversary of the foundation of her temple. It included theatrical performances and animal hunts in the circus, and vegetables were distributed to the people. The proceedings were characterized by excessive merriment and licentiousness. According to the legend, her worship was instituted by Titus Tatius, and her priest, the flamen Floralis, by Numa. In art Flora was represented as a beautiful maiden, bedecked with flowers (Ovid, _Fasti_, v. 183 ff.; Tacitus, _Annals_, ii. 49).

The term "flora" is used in botany collectively for the plant-growth of a district; similarly "fauna" is used collectively for the animals.

FLORE AND BLANCHEFLEUR, a 13th-century romance. This tale, generally supposed to be of oriental origin, relates the passionate devotion of two children, and their success in overcoming all the obstacles put in the way of their love. The romance appears in differing versions in French, English, German, Swedish, Icelandic, Italian, Spanish, Greek and Hungarian. The various forms of the tale receive a detailed notice in E. Hausknecht's version of the 13th-century Middle English poem of "Floris and Blauncheflur" (_Samml. eng. Denkmaler_, vol. v. Berlin, 1885). Nothing definite can be stated of the origin of the story, but France was in the 12th and 13th centuries the chief market of romance, and the French version of the tale, _Floire et Blanchefleur_, is the most widespread. Floire, the son of a Saracen king of Spain, is brought up in constant companionship with Blanchefleur, the daughter of a Christian slave of noble birth. Floire's parents, hoping to destroy this attachment, send the boy away at fifteen and sell Blanchefleur to foreign slave-merchants. When Floire returns a few days later he is told that his companion is dead, but when he threatens to kill himself, his parents tell him the truth. He traces her to the tower of the maidens destined for the harem of the emir of Babylon, into which he penetrates concealed in a basket of flowers. The lovers are discovered, but their constancy touches the hearts of their judges. They are married, and Floire returns to his kingdom, when he and all his people adopt Christianity. Of the two 12th-century French poems (ed. Edelestand du Meril, Paris, 1856), the one contains the love story with few additions, the other is a romance of chivalry, containing the usual battles, single combats, &c. Two lyrics based on episodes of the story are printed by Paulin Paris in his _Romancero francais_ (Paris, 1883). The English poem renders the French version without amplifications, such as are found in other adaptations. Its author has less sentiment than his original, and less taste for detailed description. Among the other forms of the story must be noted the prose romance (c. 1340) of Boccaccio, _Il Filocolo_, and the 14th-century _Leggenda della reina Rosana e di Rosana sua figliuola_ (pr. Leghorn, 1871). The similarity between the story of Floire and Blanchefleur and _Chante-fable of Aucassin et Nicolete_[1] has been repeatedly pointed out, and they have even been credited with a common source.

See also editions by I. Bekker (Berlin, 1844) and E. Hausknecht (Berlin, 1885); also H. Sundmacher, _Die altfr. und mittelhochdeutsche Bearbeitung der Sage von Flore et Blanscheflur_ (Gottingen, 1872); H. Herzog, _Die beiden Sagenkreise von Flore und Blanscheflur_ (Vienna, 1884); _Zeitschrift fur deut. Altertum_ (vol. xxi.) contains a Rhenish version; the Scandinavian _Flores Saga ok Blankiflur_, ed. E. Kolbing (Halle, 1896); the 13th-century version of Konrad Fleck, _Flore und Blanscheflur_, ed. E. Sommer (Leipzig, 1846); the Swedish by G.E. Klemming (Stockholm, 1844). The English poem was also edited by Hartschorne (_English Metrical Tales_, 1829), by Laing (Abbotsford Club, 1829), and by Lumly (Early Eng. Text Soc., 1866, re-edited G.H. McKnight, 1901). J. Reinhold (_Floire et Blanchefleur_, Paris, 1906) suggests a parallelism with the story of Cupid and Psyche as told by Apuleius; also that the oriental setting does not necessarily imply a connexion with Arab tales, as the circumstances might with small alteration have been taken from the Vulgate version of the book of Esther.

FOOTNOTE:

[1] Ed. H. Suchier (Paderborn, 1878, 5th ed. 1903); modern French by G. Michaut, with preface by J. Bedier (Tours, 1901); English by Andrew Lang (1887), by F.W. Bourdillon (Oxford, 1896), and by Laurence Housman (1902).

FLORENCE, WILLIAM JERMYN (1831-1891), American actor, of Irish descent, whose real name was Bernard Conlin, was born on the 26th of July 1831 at Albany, N.Y., and first attracted attention as an actor at Brougham's Lyceum in 1851. Two years later he married Mrs Malvina Pray Littell (d. 1906), in association with whom, until her retirement in 1889, he won all his successes, notably in Benjamin Woolf's _The Mighty Dollar_, said to have been presented more than 2500 times. In 1856 they had a successful London season, Mrs Florence being one of the first American actresses to appear on the English stage. In 1889 Florence entered into partnership with Joseph Jefferson, playing Sir Lucius O'Trigger to his Bob Acres and Mrs John Drew's Mrs Malaprop on a very successful tour. His last appearance was with Jefferson on the 14th of November 1891, as Ezekiel Homespun in _The Heir-at-law_, and he died on the 18th of November in Philadelphia.

FLORENCE OF WORCESTER (d. 1118), English chronicler, was a monk of Worcester, who died, as we learn from his continuator, on the 7th of July 1118. Beyond this fact nothing is known of his life. He compiled a chronicle called _Chronicon ex chronicis_ which begins with the creation and ends in 1117. The basis of his work was a chronicle compiled by Marianus Scotus, an Irish recluse, who lived first at Fulda, afterwards at Mainz. Marianus, who began his work after 1069, carried it up to 1082. Florence supplements Marianus from a lost version of the English Chronicle, and from Asser. He is always worth comparing with the extant English Chronicles; and from 1106 he is an independent annalist, dry but accurate. Either Florence or a later editor of his work made considerable borrowings from the first four books of Eadmer's _Historia novorum_. Florence's work is continued, up to 1141, by a certain John of Worcester, who wrote about 1150. John is valuable for the latter years of Henry I. and the early years of Stephen. He is friendly to Stephen, but not an indiscriminate partisan.

The first edition of these two writers is that of 1592 (by William Howard). The most accessible is that of B. Thorpe (Eng. Hist. Soc., 2 vols., 1848-1849); but Thorpe's text of John's continuation needs revision. Thorpe gives, without explanations, the insertions of an ill-informed Gloucester monk who has obscured the accurate chronology of the original. Thorpe also prints a continuation by John Taxter (died c. 1295), a 13th-century writer and a monk of Bury St Edmunds. Florence and John of Worcester are translated by J. Stevenson in his _Church Historians of England_, vol. ii. pt. i. (London, 1853); T. Forester's translation in Bohn's _Antiquarian Library_ (London, 1854) gives the work of Taxter also. (H. W. C. D.)

FLORENCE, the county-seat of Lauderdale county, Alabama, U.S.A., on the N. bank of the Tennessee river, at the foot of Muscle Shoals Canal, and about 560 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1880) 1359; (1890) 6012; (1900) 6478 (1952 negroes); (1910) 6689. It is served by the Southern, the Northern Alabama (controlled by the Southern), and the Louisville & Nashville railways, and by electric railway to Sheffield and Tuscumbia, and the Tennessee river is here navigable. Florence is situated in the fertile agricultural lands of the Tennessee river valley on the edge of the coal and iron districts of Alabama, and has various manufactures, including pig-iron, cotton goods, wagons, stoves, fertilizers, staves and mercantile supplies. At Florence are the state Normal College, the Florence University for Women, and the Burrell Normal School (for negroes; founded in 1903 by the American Missionary Association). Florence was founded in 1818, Andrew Jackson, afterwards president of the United States, and ex-president James Madison being among the early property holders. For several years Florence and Nashville, Tennessee, were commercial rivals, being situated respectively at the head of navigation on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. The first invasion of Alabama by Federal troops in the Civil War was by a gunboat raid up the Tennessee to Florence on the 8th of February 1862. On the 11th of April 1863 another Federal gunboat raid was attempted, but the vessels were repulsed by a force under Gen. S.A. Wood. On the 26th of May following, Federal troops entered Florence, and destroyed cotton mills and public and private property; but they were driven back by Gen. Philip D. Roddy (1820-1897). On the 11th of December 1863 the town was again raided, but the Federals did not secure permanent possession. Florence was chartered as a city in 1889.

FLORENCE (Ital. _Firenze_, Lat. _Florentia_), formerly the capital of Tuscany, now the capital of a province of the kingdom of Italy, and the sixth largest city in the country. It is situated 43 deg. 46' N., 11 deg. 14' E., on both banks of the river Arno, which at this point flows through a broad fertile valley enclosed between spurs of the Apennines. The city is 165 ft. above sea-level, and occupies an area of 3 sq. m. (area of the commune, 16-1/2 sq. m.). The geological formation of the soil belongs to the Quaternary and Pliocene period in its upper strata, and to the Eocene and Cretaceous in the lower. _Pietra forte_ of the Cretaceous period is quarried north and south of the city, and has been used for centuries as paving stone and for the buildings. _Pietra serena_ or _macigno_, a stone of a firm texture also used for building purposes, is quarried at Monte Ceceri below Fiesole. The soil is very fertile; wheat, Indian corn, olives, vines, fruit trees of many kinds cover both the plain and the surrounding hills; the chief non-fruit-bearing trees are the stone pine, the cypress, the ilex and the poplar, while many other varieties are represented. The gardens and fields produce an abundance of flowers, which justify the city's title of _la citta dei fiori_.

_Climate and Sanitary Conditions._--The climate of Florence is very variable, ranging from severe cold accompanied by high winds from the north in winter to great heat in the summer, while in spring-time sudden and rapid changes of temperature are frequent. At the same time the climate is usually very agreeable from the end of February to the beginning of July, and from the end of September to the middle of November. The average temperature throughout the year is about 57 deg. Fahr.; the maximum heat is about 96.8 deg., and the minimum 36.5 deg., sometimes sinking to 21 deg. The longest day is 15 hours and 33 minutes, the shortest 8 hours and 50 minutes. The average rainfall is about 37-1/2 inches. Epidemic diseases are rare and children's diseases mild; cholera has visited Florence several times, but the city has been free from it for many years. Diphtheria first appeared in 1868 and continued as a severe epidemic until 1872, since when it has only occurred at rare intervals and in isolated cases. Typhoid, pneumonia, tuberculosis, measles and scarlatina, and influenza are the commonest illnesses. The drainage system is still somewhat imperfect, but the water brought from the hills or from the Arno in pipes is fairly good, and the general sanitary conditions are satisfactory.

Churches.

_Public Buildings._--Of the very numerous Florentine churches the Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore) is the largest and most important, founded in 1298 on the plans of Arnolfo di Cambio, completed by Brunelleschi, and consecrated in 1436; the facade, however, was not finished until the 19th century--it was begun in 1875 on the designs of de Fabris and unveiled in 1888. Close by the Duomo is the no less famous Campanile built by Giotto, begun in 1332, and adorned with exquisite bas-reliefs. Opposite is the Baptistery built by Arnolfo di Cambio in the 13th century on the site of an earlier church, and adorned with beautiful bronze doors by Ghiberti in the 15th century. The Badia, Santo Spirito, Santa Maria Novella, are a few among the many famous and beautiful churches of Florence. The existence of these works of art attracts students from all countries, and a German art school subsidized by the imperial government has been instituted.

The streets and piazze of the city are celebrated for their splendid palaces, formerly, and in many cases even to-day the residences of the noble families of Florence. Among others we may mention the Palazzo Vecchio, formerly the seat of the government of the Republic and now the town hall, the Palazzo Riccardi, the residence of the Medici and now the prefecture, the palaces of the Strozzi, Antinori (one of the most perfect specimens of Florentine _quattrocento_ architecture), Corsini, Davanzati, Pitti (the royal palace), &c. The palace of the Arte della Lana or gild of wool merchants, tastefully and intelligently restored, is the headquarters of the Dante Society. The centre of Florence, which was becoming a danger from a hygienic point of view, was pulled down in 1880-1890, but, unfortunately, sufficient care was not taken to avoid destroying certain buildings of historic and artistic value which might have been spared without impairing the work of sanitation, while the new structures erected in their place, especially those in the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, are almost uniformly ugly and quite out of keeping with Florentine architecture. The question aroused many polemics at the time both in Italy and abroad. After the new centre was built, a society called the _Societa per la difesa di Firenze antica_ was formed by many prominent citizens to safeguard the ancient buildings and prevent them from destruction, and a spirit of intelligent conservatism seems now to prevail in this connexion. The city is growing in all directions, and a number of new quarters have sprung up where the houses are more sanitary than in the older parts, but unfortunately few of them evince much aesthetic feeling. The _viali_ or boulevards form pleasant residential streets with gardens, and the system of building separate houses for each family (villini) instead of large blocks of flats is becoming more and more general.

Libraries.