History.

The office of Lord Chancellor of England may trace its origins to the Carolingian monarchy, in which a Chancellor acted as the keeper of the royal seal. In England, the office dates at least as far back as the Norman Conquest (1066), and possibly earlier. Some give the first Chancellor of England as Angmendus, in 605. Other sources suggest that the first to appoint a Chancellor was Edward the Confessor, who is said to have adopted the practice of sealing documents instead of personally signing them. A clerk of Edward's, Regenbald, was named "chancellor" in some documents from Edward's reign. In any event, the office has been continuously occupied since the Norman Conquest. The staff of the growing office became separate from the king's household under Henry III and in the 14th century located in Chancery Lane. The chancellor headed the writing office or chancery.  Formerly, the Lord Chancellor was almost always a churchman, as during the Middle Ages the clergy were amongst the few literate men of the realm. The Lord Chancellor performed multiple functions—he was the Keeper of the Great Seal, the chief royal chaplain, and adviser in both spiritual and temporal matters. Thus, the position emerged as one of the most important ones in government. He was only outranked in government by the Justiciar (now obsolete).  As one of the King's ministers, the Lord Chancellor attended the "curia regis" or Royal Court. If a bishop, the Lord Chancellor received a writ of summons; if an ecclesiastic of a lower degree or, if a layman, he attended without any summons. The "curia regis" would later evolve into Parliament, the Lord Chancellor becoming the prolocutor of its upper house, the House of Lords. As was confirmed by a statute passed during the reign of Henry VIII, a Lord Chancellor could preside over the House of Lords even if not a Lord himself.  The Lord Chancellor's judicial duties also evolved through his role in the "curia regis". Petitions for justice were normally addressed to the King and the "curia", but in 1280, Edward I instructed his justices to examine and deal with petitions themselves as the Court of King's Bench. Important petitions were to be sent to the Lord Chancellor for his decision; the more significant of these were also to be brought to the King's attention. By the reign of Edward III, this chancellery function developed into a separate tribunal for the Lord Chancellor. In this body, which became known as the High Court of Chancery, the Lord Chancellor would determine cases according to fairness (or "equity") instead of according to the strict principles of common law. The Lord Chancellor also became known as the "Keeper of the King's Conscience." Churchmen continued to dominate the Chancellorship until the 16th century. In 1529, after Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who was Lord Chancellor and Archbishop of York, was dismissed for failing to procure the annulment of Henry VIII's first marriage, laymen tended to be more favoured for appointment to the office. Ecclesiastics made a brief return during the reign of Mary I, but thereafter, almost all Lord Chancellors have been laymen. Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury (1672–73) was the last Lord Chancellor who was not a lawyer, until the appointment of Chris Grayling in 2012. The three subsequent holders of the position, Michael Gove (2015–16), Elizabeth Truss (2016–2017) and David Lidington (2017-2018) are also not lawyers. However, the appointment of David Gauke in January 2018 meant that once again the Lord Chancellor was a lawyer.

The office.

Formerly, when the office was held by ecclesiastics, a "Keeper of the Great Seal" acted in the Lord Chancellor's absence. Keepers were also appointed when the office of Lord Chancellor fell vacant, and discharged the duties of the office until an appropriate replacement could be found. When Elizabeth I became queen, Parliament passed an Act providing that a Lord Keeper of the Great Seal would be entitled to "like place, pre-eminence, jurisdiction, execution of laws, and all other customs, commodities, and advantages" as a Lord Chancellor. The only difference between the two offices is the mode of appointment—a Lord Chancellor is appointed by formal letters patent, but a Lord Keeper is appointed by the delivery of the Great Seal into their custody.  Formerly, it was customary to appoint commoners to the office of Lord Keeper, and peers to the office of Lord Chancellor. A Lord Keeper who acquired a peerage dignity would subsequently be appointed Lord Chancellor. The last Lord Keeper was Robert Henley, who was created a Baron in 1760 and was appointed Lord Chancellor in 1761. Since then, commoners as well as peers have been appointed to the post of Lord Chancellor; however, until the 21st-century changes to the office, a commoner would normally have been created a peer shortly after appointment.  It is also possible to put the office of Lord Chancellor into commission (that is to say, to entrust the office to a group of individuals rather than a single person). The individuals who exercise the office become known as "Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal." Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal have not been appointed since 1850.  Formerly, there were separate Chancellors of England, Scotland and Ireland. When the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain under the Act of Union 1707 the offices of the Chancellor of England and the Lord Chancellor of Scotland were combined to form a single office of Lord Chancellor for the new state. Similar provision was not made when Great Britain and Ireland merged into the United Kingdom under the Act of Union 1800. Thus, the separate office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland continued to exist until the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922. The office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland was abolished, and its duties transferred to the Governor of Northern Ireland, and later the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Thus, the Lord Chancellor remains "Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain", and not "Lord High Chancellor of the United Kingdom."

Functions.

Legislative functions.

The Lord Chancellor used to be the presiding officer of the House of Lords by right of prescription. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 removed this function, leaving the choice of a presiding officer to the House of Lords itself. Ultimately, the Lords chose to elect a Lord Speaker, which title was already used in the Standing Orders.  Whenever the Sovereign appoints Lords Commissioners to perform certain actions on his or her behalf (for example, to formally declare in Parliament that the Royal Assent has been granted, or to prorogue or dissolve Parliament), the Lord Chancellor usually serves as the principal or senior Lord Commissioner. The other Lords Commissioners, by convention, are members of the House of Lords who are Privy Counsellors (generally the leaders of the three main parties and the Convenor of the Crossbenches). In this role the Lord Chancellor wears Parliamentary Robes—a full-length scarlet wool gown decorated with miniver fur. The Lord Chancellor wears a tricorne hat, but the other Lords Commissioners wear bicorne hats. During the period that Jack Straw, an MP, was Lord Chancellor, he was officially named as one of the Lords Commissioners, but did not take part in the formal ceremonies of granting Royal Assent and proroguing Parliament. The Lord Speaker has been appointed a Lord Commissioner and does take part in the ceremonies. The role of principal Lord Commissioner during this period has been taken by the Leader of the House of Lords. There is an exception: when John Bercow was presented for Royal Approbation for the office of Speaker of the House of Commons in 2009, and again when Bercow's successor Sir Lindsay Hoyle was presented for Approbation in 2019, the Lord Chancellor (Straw and Buckland, respectively) were the principal Lord Commissioner, and the Lord Speaker was not in the Commission. This precedent has continued since then. It is unclear how these arrangements would change if a future Lord Chancellor were appointed from the House of Lords.

Executive functions.

The Lord Chancellor is a member of the Privy Council and of the Cabinet. The office the Lord Chancellor heads was known as the "Lord Chancellor's Office" between 1885 and 1971 and the Lord Chancellor's Department between 1971 and 2003. In 2003 the Department was renamed the Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Lord Chancellor was appointed Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. In 2007 this post was renamed Secretary of State for Justice and the department became the Ministry of Justice.  The Department headed by the Lord Chancellor has many responsibilities, such as the administration of the courts. Furthermore, the Lord Chancellor has a role in appointing many judges in the courts of England and Wales. Senior judges (Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Lords Justices of Appeal and the Heads of the Divisions of the High Court) are officially appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, but since 2005 the Lord Chancellor has been advised by an independent Judicial Appointments Commission and can only choose whether to accept or reject its recommendations. Similarly the Lord Chancellor no longer determines which barristers are to be raised to the rank of Queen's Counsel but merely supervises the process of selection by an independent panel.  Custody of the Great Seal of the Realm is entrusted to the Lord Chancellor. Documents to which the Great Seal is affixed include letters patent, writs and royal proclamations. The sealing is actually performed under the supervision of the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery (who holds the additional office of Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor). The Lord Chancellor does not maintain custody of the Great Seal of Scotland (which is kept by the First Minister of Scotland) or of the Great Seal of Northern Ireland (which is kept by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland).

Former judicial functions.

The judicial functions of the Lord Chancellor (as opposed to his role in the administration of the court system) were removed by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.  Formerly, the Lord Chancellor performed several different judicial roles. He sat as a judge in the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords (the highest domestic Court in the United Kingdom), and was a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the senior tribunal of the British Empire (except for the United Kingdom) and, latterly, parts of the Commonwealth). He was the President of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, and therefore supervised the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the High Court of Justice of England and Wales and the Crown Court of England and Wales. He was also, "ex officio", a judge in the Court of Appeal and the President of the Chancery Division. In modern times, these judicial functions were exercised very sparingly. The functions in relation to the House of Lords and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council were usually delegated to the Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. The task of presiding over the Chancery Division was delegated to the Vice-Chancellor, a senior judge (now known as the Chancellor of the High Court). Most Lord Chancellors by the end of the twentieth century gave judgments only in cases reaching the House of Lords. The last Lord Chancellor to preside as a judge was Lord Irvine of Lairg (in office 1997–2003), who did so as a member of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. However, concerns were already being expressed, including by the judiciary, at the propriety of a cabinet minister sitting as a professional judge, and his successor, Lord Falconer, never performed such a role, even before his right to do so was abolished.  Formerly, when peers had the right to be tried for felonies or for high treason by other peers in the House of Lords (instead of commoners on juries), the Lord High Steward, instead of the Lord Chancellor, would preside. This also occurred in impeachment trials. The office of Lord High Steward has generally remained vacant since 1421. Whenever a peer was to be tried in the House of Lords, a Lord High Steward would be appointed "pro hac vice" [for this occasion]. In many cases, the Lord Chancellor would merely be elevated to the office of Lord High Steward temporarily. Trials of peers in the House of Lords were abolished in 1948, and impeachment is considered obsolete, so this is unlikely to occur again.  At the beginning of the legal year, the Lord Chancellor officiates at a ceremony in Westminster Abbey in front of all the judges. The ceremony is followed by a reception known as the Lord Chancellor's breakfast which is held in Westminster Hall.

Ecclesiastical functions.

Lord Chancellors perform various functions relating to the established Church of England. They appoint clergy in such of the ecclesiastical livings under the patronage of the Crown as are officially listed as being worth less than £20 "per annum". Furthermore, they exercise the same prerogative in regard to the less valuable livings in the Duchy of Cornwall when there is no Duke of Cornwall, or when the Duke of Cornwall is a minor. (The heir-apparent to the Crown, if he is the Sovereign's eldest son, is automatically Duke of Cornwall.) Finally, the Lord Chancellor is in some cases the patron of an ecclesiastical living in his own right. In total, the Lord Chancellor appoints clergymen in over four hundred parishes and twelve cathedral canonries.  By law, the Lord Chancellor must be consulted before appointments may be made to certain ecclesiastical courts. Judges of Consistory Courts, the Arches Court of Canterbury, the Chancery Court of York and the Court of Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved are appointed only after consultation with the Lord Chancellor.  The Lord Chancellor is, "ex officio", one of the thirty-three Church Commissioners, who manage the assets of the Church of England.  Formerly, Roman Catholics were thought to be ineligible for the office of Lord Chancellor, as the office entailed functions relating to the Church of England. Most legal restrictions on Roman Catholics were lifted by the Catholic Relief Act 1829, which, however, provides: "nothing herein contained shall [...] enable any Person, otherwise than as he is now by Law enabled, to hold or enjoy the Office of Lord High Chancellor, Lord Keeper or Lord Commissioner of the Great Seal". The words "as he is now by Law enabled", however, caused considerable doubt, as it was unclear if Roman Catholics were disqualified from holding the office in the first place. For the removal of all doubt, Parliament passed the Lord Chancellor (Tenure of Office and Discharge of Ecclesiastical Functions) Act 1974, declaring that there was never any impediment to the appointment of a Roman Catholic. The Act nevertheless provides that, if a Roman Catholic were to be appointed to the office, then the Sovereign may temporarily transfer the Lord Chancellor's ecclesiastical functions to the Prime Minister or another minister.

Other functions.

Under the Regency Act 1937, the Lord Chancellor is one of the five persons who participate in determining the capacity of the Sovereign to discharge his or her functions—the other individuals so empowered are the Sovereign's spouse, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales and the Master of the Rolls. If any three or more of these individuals, based on evidence that, as required by statute, shall include evidence provided by physicians, determine and declare by an instrument in writing, lodged with the Privy Council, that the Sovereign suffers from a mental or physical infirmity that prevents him or her from personally discharging the duties of Head of State, the royal functions are transferred to a Regent, who discharges them in the name and on behalf of the monarch.  The Lord Chancellor is also the Keeper of the Queen's Conscience. As such, the Lord Chancellor was once also the chief judge of the Court of Chancery in London, dispensing equity to soften the harshness of the law.  The Lord Chancellor acts as the visitor of many universities, colleges, schools, hospitals and other charitable organisations throughout the United Kingdom. When the rules of the organisation do not designate a visitor or, when a vacancy in the office arises, the Sovereign serves as visitor, but delegates the functions to the Lord Chancellor. Furthermore, some organisations explicitly provide that the Lord Chancellor is to act as visitor; these bodies include St. George's Chapel, Windsor, the Royal Institution, Newcastle University and three colleges of the University of Oxford (namely St. Antony's College, Worcester College, and University College).  The power to appoint members of certain organisations is vested in the Lord Chancellor. These organisations include the governing bodies of Harrow School, Rugby School and Charterhouse School.

Precedence and privileges.

The Lord High Chancellor outranks all other Great Officers of State, with the exception of the Lord High Steward, which has generally been vacant since the 15th century. Under modern conventions, the office of Lord High Steward is only filled on the day of a new monarch's coronation; thus, at all other times, the Lord Chancellor remains the highest ranking Great Officer. The importance of the office is reflected by the Treason Act 1351, which makes it high treason to slay the Lord Chancellor. A Lord High Treasurer would be entitled to the same protection—but the office is now held in commission—as would a judge whilst actually in court, determining a case.  The Lord Chancellor's position in the modern order of precedence is an extremely high one; generally being outranked only by the Royal Family and high ecclesiastics. In England, the Lord Chancellor precedes all non-royal individuals except the Archbishop of Canterbury. In Scotland, they precede all non-royal individuals except the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Although Lord Chancellor "of Great Britain", they maintain a position in the order of precedence in Northern Ireland; there, they outrank all non-royal individuals with the exception of the Anglican and Roman Catholic Archbishops of Armagh, the Anglican and Roman Catholic Archbishops of Dublin and the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Throughout the United Kingdom, the Lord Chancellor technically outranks the Prime Minister, although the latter generally possesses more power. The precedence of a Lord Keeper of the Great Seal is equivalent to that of a Lord Chancellor. The precedence of Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal is much lower (see United Kingdom order of precedence).  The Lord Chancellor is entitled to an annual emolument of £227,736 and to an annual pension of £106,868. The Lord Chancellor's salary is higher than that of any other public official, including even the Prime Minister, although sometimes the officeholder may voluntarily decide to receive a reduced salary (recent holders have taken the salary of a Secretary of State).

Official dress.

The Lord Chancellor, on formal state occasions such as the State Opening of Parliament, wears legal court dress consisting of a black silk velvet cutaway tailcoat with cloth covered buttons, waistcoat and breeches worn with white shirt, lace stock and cuffs, black silk stockings and cut-steel buckled patent court shoes. Over this is worn a black silk damask robe of state with a long train trimmed with gold lace and frogging, with a black silk 'wig bag' attached to the flap collar at the back. A full-bottomed wig is worn and, in the past, a black tricorne hat.  When the Lord Chancellor sat in the Lords, they wore an undress version of court dress, consisting of the court dress but made of black superfine cloth rather than silk velvet, and over that a black silk robe with a train with the wig bag attached. The wig and tricorne was also worn.  Now that the Lord Chancellor is appointed from the Commons rather than the Lords, they wear a normal business suit and only wear full ceremonial dress for state occasions. There is an unofficial precedent that Lord Chancellors that do not have a legal background do not get to wear a wig. Jack Straw (a qualified barrister) initially did not wear one but did so afterwards, as did his immediate successor, Kenneth Clarke (a barrister and Queen's Counsel); Chris Grayling, Michael Gove, and Liz Truss (none of whom have legal backgrounds) have not done so. The current Lord Chancellor, Robert Buckland QC MP, continued the tradition of wearing the full court dress along with the full bottomed wig, as he is a barrister. In 2019 at the Approbation of the new Speaker of the Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, he wore full court dress along with the full bottomed wig and a tricorne.

Insignia.

The historic insignia of the Lord Chancellor is a purse containing the Great Seal and a Mace or staff of office. The Elizabethan play Sir Thomas More opens Scene II as follows: ""Chelsea. A Room in More's House. A table being covered with a green carpet, a state cushion on it, and the Purse and Mace lying thereon, enter Sir Thomas More"".

Reform.

In the early 21st century, the New Labour government viewed it as untenable that all three political functions (executive, legislative and judicial) should be continued in the historical office of Lord Chancellor. In the Government's view, this infringed Montesquieu's principle of separation of powers which declared that no person should have access to all of the three political functions. The Lord Chancellor could exercise all three powers, and some, such as Quintin, Lord Hailsham, often did so. The Labour Government also took the view that these powers were inconsistent with the European Convention on Human Rights. In a challenge, the Strasbourg Court held that having a politician sitting in judgment in a court was a breach of any litigant's right to a fair trial.  However, proposals by the Blair Government simply to abolish the office met with opposition from those who felt that such an official was necessary to speak on the judiciary's behalf in Cabinet, as well as from many who opposed the sudden abolition of such an ancient office. In 2003, Tony Blair chose his close friend and former flatmate Lord Falconer to be "Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs". At the same time, he announced his intention to abolish the office of Lord Chancellor and to make many other constitutional reforms. After much surprise and confusion, it became clear that the ancient office of Lord Chancellor could not be abolished without an Act of Parliament. Thus Lord Falconer duly appeared the following day in the House of Lords to carry out his duties from the Woolsack. The Lord Chancellor's Department was, however, renamed the Department for Constitutional Affairs.  In January 2004, the Department of Constitutional Affairs published a concordat, outlining the division of authority between Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice and which was intended as the basis of reform. The Government introduced the Constitutional Reform Bill in the House of Lords in February 2004. The Bill sought to abolish the office of Lord Chancellor, and to transfer its functions to other officials: legislative functions to a Speaker of the House of Lords, executive functions to the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and judicial functions to the Lord Chief Justice. The Bill also made other constitutional reforms, such as transferring the judicial duties of the House of Lords to a Supreme Court. However, unlike the responsibilities of other Secretaries of State, which can be transferred from one department to another by an order-in-council, several functions of the Lord Chancellor are linked to the office of Lord Chancellor as a matter of statute law. Those "protected functions" of the Lord Chancellor can only be transferred to other ministers by Act of Parliament. As a consequence, it became clear that it was extremely difficult to simply "abolish" the office of Lord Chancellor.  In March 2004, however, the Lords upset the Government's plans by sending the Bill to a Select committee. Although initially seen as a move to kill the Bill, the Government and HM Opposition agreed to permit the Bill to proceed through the parliamentary process, subject to any amendments made by the Committee. On 13 July 2004, the House amended the Constitutional Reform Bill such that the title of Lord Chancellor would be retained, although the Government's other proposed reforms were left intact. Then, in November 2004, the Government introduced an amendment in the Lords which wholly removed references to the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, changing them to ones about the Lord Chancellor, with the positions of Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor envisaged as being held by the same person. The final Constitutional Reform Act received Royal Assent on 24 March 2005 and the major transfers of the historical functions of the Lord Chancellor to others (such as the Lord Chief Justice and Lord Speaker) were complete by mid-2006. However the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs remained a member of the Prime Minister's Cabinet, retaining most of the office's original statutory functions.  In May 2007, the Department of Constitutional Affairs was abolished and its functions were transferred to a newly created Ministry of Justice which also took charge of certain responsibilities transferred from the Home Office. Lord Falconer retained the title, salary and office of Lord Chancellor, as well as being created the inaugural Secretary of State for Justice.  Prior to Tony Blair's premiership, were a person not a peer to be appointed to the office of Lord Chancellor, they would be raised to the peerage upon appointment, though provision was made in 1539 for non-peers who are Great Officers of State to sit in between the benches in the House. With enactment of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and the subsequent separation of the roles of Lord Chancellor and Speaker of the House of Lords, it is no longer necessary for the Lord Chancellor to be a peer or to have a legal background. In June 2007, Jack Straw MP was appointed Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, thus becoming the first Lord Chancellor to be a member of the Commons, rather than the House of Lords or its predecessor, the Curia Regis, since Christopher Hatton in 1578; however, both Straw and his immediate successor, Ken Clarke, were barristers: the first Justice Secretary without a legal background was Chris Grayling in 2012; in 2016, Liz Truss became the first woman to serve as Lord Chancellor.

Fictional depictions.

A fictional depiction of a Lord Chancellor occurs in "Iolanthe", the frequently-revived comic opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The Lord Chancellor is the central character in the work but is identified only by his title. The action concerns a group of fairies who become romantically involved with members of the House of Lords. The Lord Chancellor, who serves as guardian to wards of the Court of Chancery, is worried, because he has developed feelings for a ward of court. The character sings a patter song, "The Nightmare Song", about his mental anguish caused by unrequited love. In dialogue, the Lord Chancellor, in another reference to his romantic dilemma, complains "ah, my Lords, it is indeed painful to have to sit upon a Woolsack stuffed with such thorns as these!"  William Rehnquist, late Chief Justice of the United States, was inspired to add four golden stripes to the sleeves of his judicial robes after seeing the costume of the Lord Chancellor in a production of "Iolanthe". The current Chief Justice, John Roberts, has not continued the practice.  A fictional Lord Chancellor also appears in Charles Dickens' novel "Bleak House" (also identified only by title), presiding over the interminable chancery case of "Jarndyce and Jarndyce".  Anthony Trollope's Palliser novels feature a number of references to fictitious Lord Chancellors. The Liberal Lord Weazeling holds the office in the Liberal governments of Mildmay and Gresham in "Phineas Finn" and "Phineas Redux"; the Conservative Lord Ramsden holds the position in the Duke of Omnium's coalition government in "The Prime Minister". In Gresham's final government at the end of "The Prime Minister", the former Liberal Attorney General, Sir Gregory Grogram, is finally given the position, which he had desired for some time.  "King Hilary and the Beggarman", a children's poem by A. A. Milne, relates the story of a fictional Lord High Chancellor, "Proud Lord Willoughby", who is dismissed for refusing to obey his king.  In David Gurr's thriller "A Woman Called Scylla", set in 1977, the main villain is an utterly ruthless and unscrupulous Lord Chancellor, who grossly abuses his many functions and powers in order to cover up his treason during the Second World War and as a stepping stone towards becoming Prime Minister. As the writer clearly states, this was not intended to refer to the actual holder of the office at the time of writing or at any other time.

The Lord Chancellor, formally the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest ranking among the Great Officers of State who are appointed regularly in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the Prime Minister. The Lord Chancellor is outranked only by the Lord High Steward, another Great Officer of State, who is appointed only for the day of coronations. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister. Prior to their Union into the Kingdom of Great Britain, there were separate lord chancellors for the Kingdom of England (including the Principality of Wales and the Kingdom of Scotland (at the Union, the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England became the first Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, but the Earl of Seafield continued as Lord Chancellor of Scotland until 1708; was re-appointed in 1713; and sat as an Extraordinary Lord of Session in that capacity until his death in 1730, since which time the office of Lord Chancellor of Scotland has been in abeyance); there were Lord Chancellors of Ireland until 1922.

大不列颠大法官(英语:Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain),通称大法官(英语:Lord Chancellor),是英国政府内一个高级和重要的官位。大法官在一众国务重臣(Great Officers of State)中排行第二,有关任命都由首相提出意见,再由君主委任。在1707年英国成为联合王国以前,此职位曾分别为「英格兰大法官」(英语:Chancellor of England)及「苏格兰大法官」(英语:Lord Chancellor of Scotland)执掌。现任大法官兼司法大臣是白乐彬阁下,QC,MP。


Early life.

The son of a Roman of German ancestry named Hildebrand, Benedict was born in Rome in the region called "Sub Capitolio" (in what was the old 8th region of Augustan Rome, the ). Prior to becoming pope, he was the cardinal deacon of the church of Saint Theodore.

Pontificate.

On the death of Pope John XIII in September 972, the majority of the electors who adhered to the imperial faction chose Benedict VII to be his successor. He was not consecrated until January 973, due to the need to gain the approval of the Holy Roman emperor, Otto I. Installed as pope under the protection of Otto I, Benedict was seen as a puppet of the emperor by the local Roman aristocracy who resented the emperor's dominance in Roman civil and ecclesiastical affairs.  Record of Benedict VII's reign as pope is scant. There is a letter dated to Benedict's reign from Pilgrim of Passau, asking for Benedict to confer on him the pallium, and make him a bishop so that he could continue his mission to convert the Hungarian people to Christianity. However, the response from Benedict is considered to be a forgery. Benedict VII is also known to have confirmed privileges assumed by certain monasteries and churches. At the request of King Lothair and Queen Emma of France, Benedict placed the monastery of Blandin under papal protection. There is also a papal bull from Benedict in which Frederick, archbishop of Salzburg, and his successors are named papal vicars in the former Roman provinces of Upper and Lower Pannonia and Noricum; however, the authenticity of this bull is also disputed.

Overthrow.

Otto I died soon after Benedict VII's election in 973, and with the accession of Otto II, troubles with the nobility emerged in Germany. With the new emperor so distracted, a faction of the Roman nobility opposed to the interference of the Ottonian emperors in Roman affairs, took advantage of the opportunity to move against Benedict VI. Led by Crescentius the Elder and Cardinal-Deacon Franco Ferrucci, who had been the preferred candidate of the anti-Ottonian faction, Benedict was taken in June 974, and imprisoned in the Castel Sant'Angelo, at that time a stronghold of the Crescentii. Ferrucci was then proclaimed as the new pope, taking the name Boniface VII.  Hearing of the overthrow of Benedict VI, Otto II sent an imperial representative, Count Sicco, to demand his release. Unwilling to step down, Boniface ordered a priest named Stephen to murder Benedict whilst he was in prison, strangling him to death. Boniface VII is today considered an antipope, with Benedict VII as the legitimate successor of Benedict VI.

Pope Benedict VI (; died June 974) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 19 January 973 to his death in 974. His brief pontificate occurred in the political context of the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire, during the transition between the reigns of Otto I and Otto II, incorporating the struggle for power of Roman aristocratic families such as the Crescentii and Tusculani.

教宗本笃六世(;?-974年)于973年1月19日至974年7月出任教宗。他因神圣罗马帝国奥托一世的支持而岀任教宗,然而在奥托死后被罗马当地贵族克瑞森家族扶植的对立教宗博义七世取代并入狱,且在974年6月时于监牢中遭到绞死。而后继位为神圣罗马帝国的奥托二世皇帝为其平反,改任命本笃七世担任教宗,博义七世逃亡。


Recording technique.

With a simple recording method, two microphones are placed 18 cm (7") apart facing away from each other. This method will not create a real binaural recording. The distance and placement roughly approximates the position of an average human's ear canals, but that is not all that is needed. More elaborate techniques exist in pre-packaged forms. A typical binaural recording unit has two high-fidelity microphones mounted in a dummy head, inset in ear-shaped molds to fully capture all of the audio frequency adjustments (known as head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) in the psychoacoustic research community) that happen naturally as sound wraps around the human head and is "shaped" by the form of the outer and inner ear. The Neumann KU-81, and KU-100 are the most commonly used binaural packages, especially by musicians. A simplified version of binaural recordings can be achieved using microphones with a separating element, like the Jecklin Disk. Not all cues required for exact localization of the sound sources can be preserved this way, but it also works well for loudspeaker reproduction.  In the late 1960s, Aiwa and Sony offered headphones with a pair of microphones mounted on the headband around two inches above the ears. These allowed pseudo-binaural recordings to be made.  Miniature binaural "in-ear" or "near-ear" microphones can be linked to a portable Digital Audio Tape (DAT) or MiniDisc recorder, bypassing the need for a dummy head by using the recordist's own head. The first clip-in binaural microphones using the recordist's own head were offered by Sennheiser in 1974. The first clip-on binaural microphones using the recordist's own head were offered by Core Sound LLC in 1989. The first completely "in-ear" binaural microphones using the recordist's own head were offered by Sound Professionals in 1999. Roland Corporation also offers its CS-10EM in-ear binaural microphone set.

Binaural re-recording techniques.

The technique of binaural re-recording is simple, but has not been well established. It follows the same principles of Worldizing, a technique used by film sound designers in which sound is played over loud speaker in a real world location and then re-recorded, taking along all the aspects and characteristics of the real world environment with it.  Using space to manipulate a sound and then re-recording it has been done through the use of echo chambers in recording studios for many years. In 1959, an echo chamber was famously used by Irving Townsend during the post production process of Miles Davis's 1959 album "Kind of Blue". "[the effect of the echo chamber on Kind of Blue is] just a bit of sweetening. At 30th Street, a line was run from the mixing console down into a low-ceilinged, concrete basement room - about 12 by 15 feet in size - where we set up a speaker and a good omnidirectional microphone."  In binaural re-recording, a binaural microphone is used to record content being played over a multi-channel speaker set-up. The binaural head, or microphone, is therefore theoretically making a recording of how humans will hear multi-channel content. The soundtrack to a film, for example, will be recorded by the binaural microphone with all the environmental cues of the given location, as well as reverberations, including those commonly created by the human torso (assuming a HATS model is used). This method, like certain binaural recordings made with a Neumann KU100 or HATS model for example, can produce convincing 3D sound.  There is the common issue of listeners simply not being able to understand binaural recordings, and in most cases being unable to hear a sense of externalisation. However this issue is common among all binaural recording, and is not a localised issue to re-recording.

Playback.

Once recorded, the binaural effect can be reproduced using headphones. It does not work with mono playback; nor does it work while using loudspeaker units, as the acoustics of this arrangement distort the channel separation via natural crosstalk (an approximation can be obtained if the listening environment is carefully designed by employing expensive crosstalk cancellation equipment.)  Any set of headphones that provides good right and left channel isolation is sufficient to hear the immersive effects of the recording. Several high-end headset manufacturers have created units specifically for the playback of binaural audio. It is also found that even normal headphones suffer from poor externalization, especially if the headphone completely blocks the ear from outside. A better design for externalization found in experiments is the open-ear one, where the drivers are sitting in front of the pinnae with the ear canal connected to the air. The hypothesis is that when the ear canal is completely blocked, the radiation impedance seen from the eardrum to the outside has been altered, which negatively affects externalization.  There are some complications with the playback of binaural recordings through headphones. The sound that is picked up by a microphone placed in or at the entrance of the ear channel has a frequency spectrum that is very different from the one that would be picked up by a free-standing microphone. The diffuse-field head-transfer function (HRTF), that is, the frequency response at the ear drum averaged for sounds coming from all possible directions, is quite grotesque, with peaks and dips exceeding 10 dB. Frequencies from around 2 kHz to 5 kHz in particular are strongly amplified as compared to free field presentation.

Known issues.

Timbral issues.

In January 2012 BBC R&D worked together with BBC Radio 4 to produce a binaural production of "Private Peaceful", the book by Michael Morpurgo. The 88 minute dramatization featured a reproduction of a 5.1 speaker system, and had 4 variations. At the start of each variation the listener would hear a series of test signals allowing for a choice of which version gives the listener the best spatial experience. By doing this, BBC R&D have accepted that there will be variations on the success of the binaural reproduction, and therefore provided different mixes based on different sets of HRTF data. The release of "Private Peaceful" had an accompanying survey which all listeners were asked to complete. It asked questions about the success that the binaural reproduction had with the listeners and which version (1-4) the listener thought was most successful.  During an interview with Chris Pike from BBC R&D in September 2012, Pike stated that "you may get good spatial impression but timbral coloration is often an issue". The issue of timbral coloration is mentioned in a large amount of spatial enhancement research and is sometimes seen as the outcome of the misuse or insufficient amount of HRTF data when reproducing binaural audio for example, or the fact that the end-user simply will not respond well to the collected HRTF data. Francis Rumsey states in the 2011 article 'Whose head is it anyway?' that "badly implemented HRTFs can give rise to poor timbral quality, poor externalisation, and a host of other unwanted results". Getting the HRTF data correct is a key point in making the final product a success, and possibly by making the HRTF data as extensive as possible, there will be less room for error such as timbral issues. The HRTFs used for "Private Peaceful" were designed by measuring impulse responses in a reverberant room, done so to capture a sense of space, but is not very external and there are obvious timbral issues as pointed out by Pike.  Juha Merimaa's from Sennheiser Research Laboratories in California discusses using HRTF filters and EQ to reduce timbral issues in his paper entitled 'Modification of HRTF Filters to Reduce Timbral Effects in Binaural Synthesis, Part2: Individual HRTFs' (2010). His research found that using HRTF filters to reduce timbral issues did not affect the spatial localisation previously achieved using the data when tested on a panel of listeners. This explains that there are ways of reducing the effects of timbral issues on audio that has been processed with HRTF data, but this does mean further EQ manipulation of the audio. If this route is to be further explored, researchers will have to be happy with the fact that the audio is being manipulated in great amounts to achieve a greater sense of spatial awareness, and that this further manipulation will cause irreversible changes to the audio, something content creators may not be happy with. Consideration will have to be taken into how much manipulation is appropriate and to what extent, if any, will this affect the end users experience.It is important to consider the room that the BRIR and HRTF data has been collected in, as different rooms will influence the end results.  When recording a series of HRTF data, only a limited amount of measurements can be taken for distribution, and the end-users will have to find the best results for themselves. Of course the best HRTF data for any individuals will be the information that would be collect from their own pinna, not something that content creators for mobile applications are currently taking part in. Because of this, timbral issues may be unavoidable while using non-personal HRTF data, or attempting to distribute any audio that has already been affected by spatial manipulation. It may be that the most feasible route to improving spatial awareness in audio is to explore the possibilities of head tracking or other methods of collecting HRTF data at the user-end.

Timbral issues related to headphones.

The headphones used by consumers will inevitably make an impact on the end results. An issue surrounding headphone use is the wide range in quality of consumer level headphones. Many mp3 players and tablets are traditionally supplied with low budget earphones and these can cause problems for spatially enhanced audio.  Ideal listening conditions will most likely be experienced with headphones designed and calibrated to give an as flat frequency response as possible in order to reduce colouration of the audio the user is listening to. In most circumstances this has not seemed enough of a problem for end-users to make an investment into headphones that will allow them to hear audio exactly how the creator of the content intended, and will instead continue to use bundled headphones, or in some cases make investments into headphones endorsed and branded by certain artists. As previously discussed, there are issues of timbral effects present while using BRIR and HRTF data to create spatially improved audio, techniques used by Chris Pike and BBC R&D. The results experienced timbral issues and therefore this method may not yet be a successful way of creating spatially enhanced audio for headphones, but these timbral issues are also experienced with headphone choice. "[Are timbral issues brought about by the use of BRIR and HRFT data] any worse than the difference between some cheap headphones that you get with an mp3 player versus some nice Sennheisers".

Commonly used binaural microphones.

Neumann KU100.

The Neumann KU100 is a dummy head microphone used to record in binaural stereo. ""It resembles the human head and has two microphone capsules built into the ears"". The Neumann is a commonly used binaural microphone and features use by BBC R&D teams.

G.R.A.S. Head & Torso Simulator KEMAR (HATS).

KEMAR was initially invented in collaboration with the audiological industry for the use of hearing aid development, and is still the de facto standard for this industry – however since then the usage of KEMAR has spread into a multitude of other industries like: telecommunications, hearing protection test, automotive development etc." KEMAR is designed using large statistical research to as close to the average human measurements as possible. The KEMAR model is also the only microphone on this list to feature a torso model. Torso reflections have been seen to be a considerable contributor to creating a successful binaural recording.

Brüel & Kjær head and torso simulators (HATS).

Designed to be used in-situ electroacoustics tests on, for example, telephone handsets, headsets, audio conference devices, microphones, headphones, hearing aids and hearing protectors. Similar to the G.R.A.S. HATS model, these are head and torso simulators (HATS) designed to replicate human hearing as closely as possible.

Core Sound Binaural (CSB) Microphone Set.

Introduced in 1989, CSBs were the first clip-on miniature binaural microphone set. They are still being produced today, thirty years later, along with the Low Cost Binaural (LCB) microphone set, and the High End Binaural (HEB) microphone set using DPA 4060-series capsules. They use the user's own head and ears, so the HRTF is correct, unlike binaural heads that use a generic pinna, head and shoulders.

3Dio range.

The 3Dio range of binaural microphones feature two silicone ear (pinna) moulds separated by 19 cm (close to average distance between ears). Microphones are placed inside the ears range from Primo EM172 in the Free Space and Free Space XLR models, to DPA 4060s in the Pro II model. The 3Dio range is considerably cheaper than the Neumann KU100 for example and therefore used more on a consumer to prosumer level. The main difference with the 3Dio models compared to the KEMAR or KU100 is the absence of a head model. The 3Dio relies entirely in the use on pinna moulds to achieve a binaural effect from the stereo recording.

Sound.Codes Kaan.

Kaan is a DIY binaural microphone for sound artist. It is a 3D printed model averaging human ear canal to average the resonating frequency inherently present in every human. Because of the form factor and weight it makes it easy to sample environments which would be otherwise harder to with other Microphones along with ADC and recorders.  Microphones are placed exactly at the ear drum using Primo EM 172 and 235mm being the average earlobe to earlobe distance. The sigmoid form in the canal of Kaan makes up for the missing head to a greater extent.

Sound Professionals SP-TFB-2.

An in-ear wearable stereo microphone used like earphones, placed inside the human pinna. This microphone uses the user's pinna to create the binaural effect.

ZiBionic.

The ZiBionic One is a binaural microphone for ASMR recording. The specific shapes and sizes of a binaural recording device ""affect the behaviour - such as absorption, transmission, reflection, interference - of acoustic waves"." Similarly to 3Dio, ZiBionic has no head model, but its head shadow and body shape was bent in such a way that ASMR recording technics (close range sound source, for example whispering) can be detected more effectively with the two capsules inside the ear-shaped microphones.

Hooke Verse.

The Hooke Verse is a relatively newer binaural device that is an in-ear wearable set of microphones that connects to recording devices utilizing Bluetooth with lossless recording. The codec developed allows the user to capture audio along with video. Additionally, the device utilizes microphone windscreens to cut down on wind noise, a common problem with wearable devices and smart phones. ""Smartphone manufacturers face a double problem with wind noise. Not only is turbulence present in the airflow at large, but the rectangular shape of a smartphone produces miniscule eddies around itself.""

Anatomically accurate ear with canal.

For extremely realistic recordings the presence of an ear canal is necessary to capture the pressure that would be sensed by a listener's eardrums if they were present at the time of the recording. With this type of binaural microphones the microphone's capsule is placed at the end of the ear canal, where the real eardrum is located. Adding the ear canal avoids the pressure wave distortion which is always present when changes are made to the geometric boundary conditions. In fact, placing the microphone capsule at the canal entrance puts a solid obstruction (the capsule itself) where there should be an opening (the ear canal), thus locally distorting the sound pressure recorded by the capsule.. The addition of an ear canal to the microphone's geometry avoids this distortion, allowing for a more realistic tone and localization recognition of the recorded sounds. Examples of this type of microphones are HATS Type 5128 and GRAS KB5000, while very few but much less expensive DIY solutions are also available.

History.

The history of binaural recording goes back to 1881. The first binaural unit, the Théâtrophone, was an array of carbon telephone microphones installed along the front edge of the Opera Garnier. The signal was sent to subscribers through the telephone system, and required that they wear a special headset, which had a tiny speaker for each ear.  The novelty wore off, and there wasn't significant interest in the technology until around forty years later when a Connecticut radio station began to broadcast binaural shows. Stereo radio had not yet been implemented, so the station actually broadcast the left channel on one frequency and the right channel on a second. Listeners would then have to own two radios, and plug the right and left ear pieces of their head sets into each radio. Naturally, the expense of owning two radios was, at the time, too much for a broad audience, and again binaural faded into obscurity.  In 1978, Lou Reed released the first commercially produced binaural pop record, "Street Hassle", a combination of live and studio recordings.  Binaural stayed in the background due to the expensive, specialized equipment required for quality recordings, and the requirement of headphones for proper reproduction. Particularly in pre-Walkman days, most consumers considered headphones an inconvenience, and were only interested in recordings that could be listened to on a home stereo system or in automobiles. Lastly, the types of things that can be recorded do not have a typically high market value. Studio recordings would have little to benefit from using a binaural set up, beyond natural cross-feed, as the spatial quality of the studio would not be very dynamic and interesting. Recordings that are of interest are live orchestral performances, and ambient "environmental" recordings of city sounds, nature, and other such subject matters.  The modern era has seen a resurgence of interest in binaural, partially due to the widespread availability of headphones, cheaper methods of recording and the general increased commercial interest in 360° audio technology.  The online ASMR community is another movement that has widely employed binaural recordings.  The rise of Dolby Atmos and other 360° audio film technology in relation to commercial entertainment has seen a rise in popularity of the use of binaural simulation. This is with the purpose of fully adapting the 360° soundtrack for headphones and earphones. Users can ostensibly watch 360° films and music with the immersive surround sound experience remaining intact despite using just the two headset speakers. Notably, any full 360° multi-channel soundtrack is automatically converted to simulated binaural audio when listened to with headphones.  In 2013 David Cittadini, along with Andrew Hills, used binaural recording techniques and technologies on the Australian short film The Blind Passenger. On 29 August 2013 and 31 August 2013 they recorded The Metropolitan Orchestra using binaural recording techniques, the first recording of an orchestra in Australia using binaural recording techniques.  In 2017 Ninja Theory used binaural recording techniques for the video game. This was done to immerse the player in the mindset of the player character, Senua, who is affected by psychosis and hears voices in her head.  In 2020 British film-maker Nicholas Cooley released the short film Rear Mirror, which was the first binaural sound film to be featured on a video on demand platform (Prime Video).

Binaural recording is a method of recording sound that uses two microphones, arranged with the intent to create a 3-D stereo sound sensation for the listener of actually being in the room with the performers or instruments. This effect is often created using a technique known as "dummy head recording", wherein a mannequin head is outfitted with a microphone in each ear. Binaural recording is intended for replay using headphones and will not translate properly over stereo speakers. This idea of a three dimensional or "internal" form of sound has also translated into useful advancement of technology in many things such as stethoscopes creating "in-head" acoustics and IMAX movies being able to create a three dimensional acoustic experience.

在声学里,人头录音(Dummy head recording), and the 01dB-Metravib 也称仿真人头录音是一种 双路立体声录音()的录音方式, 它使得人可以通过聆听耳机来定位声源,从而感受到真实的声场感。


History and mythology.

Aries is recognized as an official constellation now, albeit as a specific region of the sky, by the International Astronomical Union. It was originally defined in ancient texts as a specific pattern of stars, and has remained a constellation since ancient times; it now includes the ancient pattern as well as the surrounding stars. In the description of the Babylonian zodiac given in the clay tablets known as the MUL.APIN, the constellation, now known as Aries, was the final station along the ecliptic. The MUL.APIN was a comprehensive table of the risings and settings of stars, which likely served as an agricultural calendar. Modern-day Aries was known as, "The Agrarian Worker" or "The Hired Man". Although likely compiled in the 12th or 11th century BC, the MUL.APIN reflects a tradition which marks the Pleiades as the vernal equinox, which was the case with some precision at the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age. The earliest identifiable reference to Aries as a distinct constellation comes from the boundary stones that date from 1350 to 1000 BC. On several boundary stones, a zodiacal ram figure is distinct from the other characters present. The shift in identification from the constellation as the Agrarian Worker to the Ram likely occurred in later Babylonian tradition because of its growing association with Dumuzi the Shepherd. By the time the MUL.APIN was created—by 1000 BC—modern Aries was identified with both Dumuzi's ram and a hired laborer. The exact timing of this shift is difficult to determine due to the lack of images of Aries or other ram figures.  In ancient Egyptian astronomy, Aries was associated with the god Amon-Ra, who was depicted as a man with a ram's head and represented fertility and creativity. Because it was the location of the vernal equinox, it was called the "Indicator of the Reborn Sun". During the times of the year when Aries was prominent, priests would process statues of Amon-Ra to temples, a practice that was modified by Persian astronomers centuries later. Aries acquired the title of "Lord of the Head" in Egypt, referring to its symbolic and mythological importance.  Aries was not fully accepted as a constellation until classical times. In Hellenistic astrology, the constellation of Aries is associated with the golden ram of Greek mythology that rescued Phrixus and Helle on orders from Hermes, taking Phrixus to the land of Colchis. Phrixos and Helle were the son and daughter of King Athamas and his first wife Nephele. The king's second wife, Ino, was jealous and wished to kill his children. To accomplish this, she induced a famine in Boeotia, then falsified a message from the Oracle of Delphi that said Phrixos must be sacrificed to end the famine. Athamas was about to sacrifice his son atop Mount Laphystium when Aries, sent by Nephele, arrived. Helle fell off of Aries's back in flight and drowned in the Dardanelles, also called the Hellespont in her honor. After arriving, Phrixus sacrificed the ram to Zeus and gave the Fleece to Aeëtes of Colchis, who rewarded him with an engagement to his daughter Chalciope. Aeëtes hung its skin in a sacred place where it became known as the Golden Fleece and was guarded by a dragon. In a later myth, this Golden Fleece was stolen by Jason and the Argonauts.  Historically, Aries has been depicted as a crouched, wingless ram with its head turned towards Taurus. Ptolemy asserted in his "Almagest" that Hipparchus depicted Alpha Arietis as the ram's muzzle, though Ptolemy did not include it in his constellation figure. Instead, it was listed as an "unformed star", and denoted as "the star over the head". John Flamsteed, in his "Atlas Coelestis", followed Ptolemy's description by mapping it above the figure's head. Flamsteed followed the general convention of maps by depicting Aries lying down. Astrologically, Aries has been associated with the head and its humors. It was strongly associated with Mars, both the planet and the god. It was considered to govern Western Europe and Syria, and to indicate a strong temper in a person.  The First Point of Aries, the location of the vernal equinox, is named for the constellation. This is because the Sun crossed the celestial equator from south to north in Aries more than two millennia ago. Hipparchus defined it in 130 BC. as a point south of Gamma Arietis. Because of the precession of the equinoxes, the First Point of Aries has since moved into Pisces and will move into Aquarius by around 2600 AD. The Sun now appears in Aries from late April through mid May, though the constellation is still associated with the beginning of spring.  Medieval Muslim astronomers depicted Aries in various ways. Astronomers like al-Sufi saw the constellation as a ram, modeled on the precedent of Ptolemy. However, some Islamic celestial globes depicted Aries as a nondescript four-legged animal with what may be antlers instead of horns. Some early Bedouin observers saw a ram elsewhere in the sky; this constellation featured the Pleiades as the ram's tail. The generally accepted Arabic formation of Aries consisted of thirteen stars in a figure along with five "unformed" stars, four of which were over the animal's hindquarters and one of which was the disputed star over Aries's head. Al-Sufi's depiction differed from both other Arab astronomers' and Flamsteed's, in that his Aries was running and looking behind itself.  The obsolete constellations introduced in Aries (Musca Borealis, Lilium, Vespa, and Apes) have all been composed of the northern stars. Musca Borealis was created from the stars 33 Arietis, 35 Arietis, 39 Arietis, and 41 Arietis. In 1612, Petrus Plancius introduced Apes, a constellation representing a bee. In 1624, the same stars were used by Jakob Bartsch to create a constellation called Vespa, representing a wasp. In 1679 Augustin Royer used these stars for his constellation Lilium, representing the fleur-de-lis. None of these constellation became widely accepted. Johann Hevelius renamed the constellation "Musca" in 1690 in his "Firmamentum Sobiescianum". To differentiate it from Musca, the southern fly, it was later renamed Musca Borealis but it did not gain acceptance and its stars were ultimately officially reabsorbed into Aries.  In 1922, the International Astronomical Union defined its recommended three-letter abbreviation, "Ari". The official boundaries of Aries were defined in 1930 by Eugène Delporte as a polygon of 12 segments. Its right ascension is between 1 46.4 and 3 29.4 and its declination is between 10.36° and 31.22° in the equatorial coordinate system.

In non-Western astronomy.

In traditional Chinese astronomy, stars from Aries were used in several constellations. The brightest stars—Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Arietis—formed a constellation called "Lou" (婁), variously translated as "bond", "lasso", and "sickle", which was associated with the ritual sacrifice of cattle. This name was shared by the 16th lunar mansion, the location of the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. The lunar mansion represented the area where animals were gathered before sacrifice around that time. This constellation has also been associated with harvest-time as it could represent a woman carrying a basket of food on her head. 35, 39, and 41 Arietis were part of a constellation called "Wei" (胃), which represented a fat abdomen and was the namesake of the 17th lunar mansion, which represented granaries. Delta and Zeta Arietis were a part of the constellation "Tianyin" (天陰), thought to represent the Emperor's hunting partner. "Zuogeng" (左更), a constellation depicting a marsh and pond inspector, was composed of Mu, Nu, Omicron, Pi, and Sigma Arietis. He was accompanied by "Yeou-kang", a constellation depicting an official in charge of pasture distribution.  In a similar system to the Chinese, the first lunar mansion in Hindu astronomy was called "Aswini", after the traditional names for Beta and Gamma Arietis, the Aswins. Because the Hindu new year began with the vernal equinox, the Rig Veda contains over 50 new-year's related hymns to the twins, making them some of the most prominent characters in the work. Aries itself was known as ""Aja"" and ""Mesha"". In Hebrew astronomy Aries was named ""Taleh""; it signified either Simeon or Gad, and generally symbolizes the "Lamb of the World". The neighboring Syrians named the constellation "Amru", and the bordering Turks named it "Kuzi". Half a world away, in the Marshall Islands, several stars from Aries were incorporated into a constellation depicting a porpoise, along with stars from Cassiopeia, Andromeda, and Triangulum. Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Arietis formed the head of the porpoise, while stars from Andromeda formed the body and the bright stars of Cassiopeia formed the tail. Other Polynesian peoples recognized Aries as a constellation. The Marquesas islanders called it "Na-pai-ka"; the Māori constellation "Pipiri" may correspond to modern Aries as well. In indigenous Peruvian astronomy, a constellation with most of the same stars as Aries existed. It was called the "Market Moon" and the "Kneeling Terrace", as a reminder for when to hold the annual harvest festival, Ayri Huay.

Features.

Stars.

Aries has three prominent stars forming an asterism, designated Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Arietis by Johann Bayer. Alpha (Hamal) and Beta (Sheratan) are commonly used for navigation. There is also one other star above the fourth magnitude, 41 Arietis (Bharani). α Arietis, called Hamal, is the brightest star in Aries. Its traditional name is derived from the Arabic word for "lamb" or "head of the ram" ("ras al-hamal"), which references Aries's mythological background. With a spectral class of K2 and a luminosity class of III, it is an orange giant with an apparent visual magnitude of 2.00, which lies 66 light-years from Earth. Hamal has a luminosity of and its absolute magnitude is −0.1.  β Arietis, also known as Sheratan, is a blue-white star with an apparent visual magnitude of 2.64. Its traditional name is derived from ""sharatayn"", the Arabic word for "the two signs", referring to both Beta and Gamma Arietis in their position as heralds of the vernal equinox. The two stars were known to the Bedouin as ""qarna al-hamal"", "horns of the ram". It is 59 light-years from Earth. It has a luminosity of and its absolute magnitude is 2.1. It is a spectroscopic binary star, one in which the companion star is only known through analysis of the spectra. The spectral class of the primary is A5. Hermann Carl Vogel determined that Sheratan was a spectroscopic binary in 1903; its orbit was determined by Hans Ludendorff in 1907. It has since been studied for its eccentric orbit.  γ Arietis, with a common name of Mesarthim, is a binary star with two white-hued components, located in a rich field of magnitude 8–12 stars. Its traditional name has conflicting derivations. It may be derived from a corruption of "al-sharatan", the Arabic word meaning "pair" or a word for "fat ram". However, it may also come from the Sanskrit for "first star of Aries" or the Hebrew for "ministerial servants", both of which are unusual languages of origin for star names. Along with Beta Arietis, it was known to the Bedouin as ""qarna al-hamal"". The primary is of magnitude 4.59 and the secondary is of magnitude 4.68. The system is 164 light-years from Earth. The two components are separated by 7.8 arcseconds, and the system as a whole has an apparent magnitude of 3.9. The primary has a luminosity of and the secondary has a luminosity of ; the primary is an A-type star with an absolute magnitude of 0.2 and the secondary is a B9-type star with an absolute magnitude of 0.4. The angle between the two components is 1°. Mesarthim was discovered to be a double star by Robert Hooke in 1664, one of the earliest such telescopic discoveries. The primary, γ Arietis, is an Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum variable star that has a range of 0.02 magnitudes and a period of 2.607 days. It is unusual because of its strong silicon emission lines.  The constellation is home to several double stars, including Epsilon, Lambda, and Pi Arietis. ε Arietis is a binary star with two white components. The primary is of magnitude 5.2 and the secondary is of magnitude 5.5. The system is 290 light-years from Earth. Its overall magnitude is 4.63, and the primary has an absolute magnitude of 1.4. Its spectral class is A2. The two components are separated by 1.5 arcseconds. λ Arietis is a wide double star with a white-hued primary and a yellow-hued secondary. The primary is of magnitude 4.8 and the secondary is of magnitude 7.3. The primary is 129 light-years from Earth. It has an absolute magnitude of 1.7 and a spectral class of F0. The two components are separated by 36 arcseconds at an angle of 50°; the two stars are located 0.5° east of 7 Arietis. π Arietis is a close binary star with a blue-white primary and a white secondary. The primary is of magnitude 5.3 and the secondary is of magnitude 8.5. The primary is 776 light-years from Earth. The primary itself is a wide double star with a separation of 25.2 arcseconds; the tertiary has a magnitude of 10.8. The primary and secondary are separated by 3.2 arcseconds.  Most of the other stars in Aries visible to the naked eye have magnitudes between 3 and 5. δ Ari, called Boteïn, is a star of magnitude 4.35, 170 light-years away. It has an absolute magnitude of −0.1 and a spectral class of K2. ζ Arietis is a star of magnitude 4.89, 263 light-years away. Its spectral class is A0 and its absolute magnitude is 0.0. 14 Arietis is a star of magnitude 4.98, 288 light-years away. Its spectral class is F2 and its absolute magnitude is 0.6. 39 Arietis (Lilii Borea) is a similar star of magnitude 4.51, 172 light-years away. Its spectral class is K1 and its absolute magnitude is 0.0. 35 Arietis is a dim star of magnitude 4.55, 343 light-years away. Its spectral class is B3 and its absolute magnitude is −1.7. 41 Arietis, known both as c Arietis and Nair al Butain, is a brighter star of magnitude 3.63, 165 light-years away. Its spectral class is B8 and it has a luminosity of. Its absolute magnitude is −0.2. 53 Arietis is a runaway star of magnitude 6.09, 815 light-years away. Its spectral class is B2. It was likely ejected from the Orion Nebula approximately five million years ago, possibly due to supernovae. Finally, Teegarden's Star is the closest star to Earth in Aries. It is a brown dwarf of magnitude 15.14 and spectral class M6.5V. With a proper motion of 5.1 arcseconds per year, it is the 24th closest star to Earth overall.  Aries has its share of variable stars, including R and U Arietis, Mira-type variable stars, and T Arietis, a semi-regular variable star. R Arietis is a Mira variable star that ranges in magnitude from a minimum of 13.7 to a maximum of 7.4 with a period of 186.8 days. It is 4,080 light-years away. U Arietis is another Mira variable star that ranges in magnitude from a minimum of 15.2 to a maximum of 7.2 with a period of 371.1 days. T Arietis is a semiregular variable star that ranges in magnitude from a minimum of 11.3 to a maximum of 7.5 with a period of 317 days. It is 1,630 light-years away. One particularly interesting variable in Aries is SX Arietis, a rotating variable star considered to be the prototype of its class, helium variable stars. SX Arietis stars have very prominent emission lines of Helium I and Silicon III. They are normally main-sequence B0p—B9p stars, and their variations are not usually visible to the naked eye. Therefore, they are observed photometrically, usually having periods that fit in the course of one night. Similar to Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum variables, SX Arietis stars have periodic changes in their light and magnetic field, which correspond to the periodic rotation; they differ from the Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum variables in their higher temperature. There are between 39 and 49 SX Arietis variable stars currently known; ten are noted as being "uncertain" in the General Catalog of Variable Stars.

Deep-sky objects.

NGC 772 is a spiral galaxy with an integrated magnitude of 10.3, located southeast of β Arietis and 15 arcminutes west of 15 Arietis. It is a relatively bright galaxy and shows obvious nebulosity and ellipticity in an amateur telescope. It is 7.2 by 4.2 arcminutes, meaning that its surface brightness, magnitude 13.6, is significantly lower than its integrated magnitude. NGC 772 is a class SA(s)b galaxy, which means that it is an unbarred spiral galaxy without a ring that possesses a somewhat prominent bulge and spiral arms that are wound somewhat tightly. The main arm, on the northwest side of the galaxy, is home to many star forming regions; this is due to previous gravitational interactions with other galaxies. NGC 772 has a small companion galaxy, NGC 770, that is about 113,000 light-years away from the larger galaxy. The two galaxies together are also classified as Arp 78 in the Arp peculiar galaxy catalog. NGC 772 has a diameter of 240,000 light-years and the system is 114 million light-years from Earth. Another spiral galaxy in Aries is NGC 673, a face-on class SAB(s)c galaxy. It is a weakly barred spiral galaxy with loosely wound arms. It has no ring and a faint bulge and is 2.5 by 1.9 arcminutes. It has two primary arms with fragments located farther from the core. 171,000 light-years in diameter, NGC 673 is 235 million light-years from Earth.  NGC 678 and NGC 680 are a pair of galaxies in Aries that are only about 200,000 light-years apart. Part of the NGC 691 group of galaxies, both are at a distance of approximately 130 million light-years. NGC 678 is an edge-on spiral galaxy that is 4.5 by 0.8 arcminutes. NGC 680, an elliptical galaxy with an asymmetrical boundary, is the brighter of the two at magnitude 12.9; NGC 678 has a magnitude of 13.35. Both galaxies have bright cores, but NGC 678 is the larger galaxy at a diameter of 171,000 light-years; NGC 680 has a diameter of 72,000 light-years. NGC 678 is further distinguished by its prominent dust lane. NGC 691 itself is a spiral galaxy slightly inclined to our line of sight. It has multiple spiral arms and a bright core. Because it is so diffuse, it has a low surface brightness. It has a diameter of 126,000 light-years and is 124 million light-years away. NGC 877 is the brightest member of an 8-galaxy group that also includes NGC 870, NGC 871, and NGC 876, with a magnitude of 12.53. It is 2.4 by 1.8 arcminutes and is 178 million light-years away with a diameter of 124,000 light-years. Its companion is NGC 876, which is about 103,000 light-years from the core of NGC 877. They are interacting gravitationally, as they are connected by a faint stream of gas and dust. Arp 276 is a different pair of interacting galaxies in Aries, consisting of NGC 935 and IC 1801.  NGC 821 is an E6 elliptical galaxy. It is unusual because it has hints of an early spiral structure, which is normally only found in lenticular and spiral galaxies. NGC 821 is 2.6 by 2.0 arcminutes and has a visual magnitude of 11.3. Its diameter is 61,000 light-years and it is 80 million light-years away. Another unusual galaxy in Aries is Segue 2. Segue 2 is a dwarf galaxy that is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, recently discovered to be a potential relic of the epoch of reionization.

Meteor showers.

Aries is home to several meteor showers. The Daytime Arietid meteor shower is one of the strongest meteor showers that occurs during the day, lasting from 22 May to 2 July. It is an annual shower associated with the Marsden group of comets that peaks on 7 June with a maximum zenithal hourly rate of 54 meteors. Its parent body may be the asteroid Icarus. The meteors are sometimes visible before dawn, because the radiant is 32 degrees away from the Sun. They usually appear at a rate of 1–2 per hour as "earthgrazers", meteors that last several seconds and often begin at the horizon. Because most of the Daytime Arietids are not visible to the naked eye, they are observed in the radio spectrum. This is possible because of the ionized gas they leave in their wake. Other meteor showers radiate from Aries during the day; these include the Daytime Epsilon Arietids and the Northern and Southern Daytime May Arietids. The Jodrell Bank Observatory discovered the Daytime Arietids in 1947 when James Hey and G. S. Stewart adapted the World War II-era radar systems for meteor observations.  The Delta Arietids are another meteor shower radiating from Aries. Peaking on 9 December with a low peak rate, the shower lasts from 8 December to 14 January, with the highest rates visible from 8 to 14 December. The average Delta Aquarid meteor is very slow, with an average velocity of per second. However, this shower sometimes produces bright fireballs. This meteor shower has northern and southern components, both of which are likely associated with 1990 HA, a near-Earth asteroid.  The Autumn Arietids also radiate from Aries. The shower lasts from 7 September to 27 October and peaks on 9 October. Its peak rate is low. The Epsilon Arietids appear from 12 to 23 October. Other meteor showers radiating from Aries include the October Delta Arietids, Daytime Epsilon Arietids, Daytime May Arietids, Sigma Arietids, Nu Arietids, and Beta Arietids. The Sigma Arietids, a class IV meteor shower, are visible from 12 to 19 October, with a maximum zenithal hourly rate of less than two meteors per hour on 19 October.

Planetary systems.

Aries contains several stars with extrasolar planets. HIP 14810, a G5 type star, is orbited by three giant planets (those more than ten times the mass of Earth). HD 12661, like HIP 14810, is a G-type main sequence star, slightly larger than the Sun, with two orbiting planets. One planet is 2.3 times the mass of Jupiter, and the other is 1.57 times the mass of Jupiter. HD 20367 is a G0 type star, approximately the size of the Sun, with one orbiting planet. The planet, discovered in 2002, has a mass 1.07 times that of Jupiter and orbits every 500 days. In 2019, scientists conducting the CARMENES survey at the Calar Alto Observatory announced evidence of two Earth-mass exoplanets orbiting the star within its habitable zone.

References.

Online sources.

"SIMBAD"

Aries is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It is located in the Northern celestial hemisphere between Pisces to the west and Taurus to the east. The name Aries is Latin for ram, and its symbol is (Unicode ♈), representing a ram's horns. It is one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is a mid-sized constellation, ranking 39th overall size, with an area of 441 square degrees (1.1% of the celestial sphere).

白羊座(,天文符号:♈),又称牡羊座,是黄道十二星座之一,位于双鱼座和金牛座之间。面积441.39平方度,占全天面积的1.07%,在全天88个星座中,面积排行第三十九。白羊座亮于5.5等的恒星有28颗,其中2等星1颗,3等星1颗。每年10月30日子夜白羊座的中心经过上中天。白羊座虽然不引人注目,但在古希腊很著名,因为古代春分点就位于白羊座。现在由于岁差的关系,春分点已经移到双鱼座。


Characteristics.

The oncilla resembles the margay and the ocelot, but it is smaller, with a slender build and narrower muzzle. It grows to long, plus a tail. While this is somewhat longer than the average domestic cat, "Leopardus tigrinus" is generally lighter, weighing.  The fur is thick and soft, ranging from light brown to dark ochre, with numerous dark rosettes across the back and flanks. The underside is pale with dark spots and the tail is ringed. The backs of the ears are black with bold white spots. The rosettes are black or brown, open in the center, and irregularly shaped. The legs have medium-sized spots tapering to smaller spots near the paws. This coloration helps the oncilla blend in with the mottled sunlight of the tropical forest understory. The oncilla's jaw is shortened, with fewer teeth, but with well-developed carnassials and canines.  Some melanistic oncillas have been reported from the more heavily forested parts of its range.

Distribution and habitat.

The oncilla is distributed from Costa Rica and Panama to the Amazon basin and Central Brazil. Most records were obtained in Costa Rica's cloud forests, in the northern Andes at elevations of and in dry Cerrado and Caatinga landscapes of northern Brazil. In Panama, it has been recorded in Darién, and in Volcán Barú National Parks. In Colombia, it has been recorded in the Andean region, in the Cordillera Occidental at elevations of in Los Nevados National Natural Park, and in Antioquia Department.

Ecology and behavior.

The oncilla is a primarily terrestrial animal, but is also an adept climber. Like all cats, the oncilla is an obligate carnivore, requiring meat for survival. This cat eats small mammals, lizards, birds, eggs, invertebrates, and the occasional tree frog. Occasionally, the cat will eat grasses. The oncilla stalks its prey from a distance, and once in range, it pounces to catch and kill the prey.  They are generally nocturnal, but in areas such as Caatinga, where their main food source consists of diurnal lizards, they are more likely to be active during the day. Young oncillas have been observed to purr, while adults are known to make short, gurgling calls when close to one another.

Reproduction.

Estrus lasts from 3 to 9 days, with older cats having shorter cycles. Oncillas produce 1 to 3 kittens (usually only one), after a gestation of 74 to 76 days. The kittens' eyes open after eight to seventeen days, an unusually long period for a cat of this size. Unlike other cats, in which the incisor teeth tend to appear first, the teeth of an oncilla kitten erupt more or less simultaneously, at around 21 days of age. The kittens do not begin to take solid food until they are 38 to 56 days old (much older than in the domestic cat), but are fully weaned at three months.  Oncillas reach sexual maturity at around two to two and a half years of age. They have a life span of about 11 years in the wild, but there are records of these cats reaching an age of 17 years.

Taxonomy.

The following are the traditionally recognized subspecies:  Although the Central American oncilla is listed as a separate subspecies, based on analysis of mitochondrial DNA, Johnson et al. (1999) found strongly supported differences between "L.t. oncilla" in Costa Rica and "L.t. guttulus" in southern Brazil, comparable to differences between different neotropical species. Researchers have argued that there should be a splitting of the oncilla into two species, as there is a pronounced difference in appearance between the oncillas in Costa Rica and those in central and southern Brazil. The level of divergence between oncillas from Costa Rica and from central and southern Brazil suggests that the two populations have been isolated, perhaps by the Amazon River, for approximately 3.7 million years. Further samples of "L.t. oncilla" are needed from northern South America to determine whether this taxon ranges outside Central America, and whether it should be considered a distinct species rather than a subspecies.  In 2013, genetic research revealed that the former subspecies "L. t. guttulus" is a separate cryptic species that does not interbreed with the other subspecies, and proposes a classification into two species "L. guttulus" and "L. tigrinus".  A zone of hybridization between the oncilla and the colocolo has been found through genetic analyses of specimens from central Brazil.  Results of a morphological analysis of 250 samples of skins and skulls indicate that there are three distinct oncilla groups: namely one in South America's northern, north-western and western range countries, one in eastern and one in southern range countries. Based on these results, the eastern group was proposed to be a distinct species "Leopardus emiliae".

Conservation.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the oncilla as a Vulnerable species. It is mainly threatened by deforestation and poaching. Oncillas are killed for their pelts, which are highly prized and often sold or made into clothing. Reports in 1972 and 1982 in South America showed that the oncilla is one of the four most heavily hunted of all the small wild cats.  Another factor contributing to oncilla mortality is human expansion, settling what was once open terrain for wild cats. Coffee plantations are most often established in cloud forest habitats, causing the reduction of preferred habitats.  CITES places the oncilla on Appendix I, prohibiting all international commerce in oncillas or products made from them. Hunting is still allowed in Ecuador, Guyana, Nicaragua, and Peru.  Hybridization of the oncilla with the Geoffroy's cat ("Leopardus geoffroyi") has been found in the southernmost part of its range; hybridization with the pampas cat ("Leopardus pajeros") has also been found in central Brazil. Such hybridization may be a natural process, and the extent of this as a threat to the oncilla is unknown.  In situ management programs are increasingly being emphasized.  There is a breeding facility in Brazil for several small native felines, where their natural conditions and native food encourage reproduction similar to that in the wild. There are a few oncillas in captivity in North America, and a few in zoos in Europe and South America. In captivity, the oncilla tends to have high infant mortality rate.

The oncilla ("Leopardus tigrinus"), also known as the northern tiger cat, little spotted cat, and tigrillo, is a small spotted cat ranging from Central America to central Brazil. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the population is threatened by deforestation and conversion of habitat to agricultural land.

小斑虎猫("Leopardus tigrinus")是虎猫及长尾虎猫的近亲。牠们栖息在中美洲及南美洲的热带雨林。牠们是夜间活动的,猎食啮齿目及鸟类。牠们体长约40-50厘米,尾巴长30-40厘米。虽然牠们较一般的家猫大,但却较轻,只有2-3公斤重。