This was a festival in the Romish church, and was celebrated at Beauvais. They chose a young woman, the handsomest in the town; made her ride on an ass richly harnessed, and placed in her arms a pretty infant. In this state, followed by the bishop and clergy, she marched in procession from the cathedral to the church of St. Stephen; entered into the sanctuary, placed herself near the altar, and then celebrated mass; not forgetting to explain the fine qualities of the animal, and exhorting him to make a devout genuflection, with a variety of other fooleries.
Despite a stated reliance on the plain meaning of the Bible and the dictates of common sense, Buck's Theological Dictionary, first published in London in 1802, seeks to provide a textual basis for the evangelical community. By combining brief essays on orthodox belief and practice with historical entries on various denominations, Buck provided an interpretive lens that allowed antebellum Protestants to see Christianity's almost two millennia as their own history.Wikipedia
Read More