him to such a dreadful defeat, that he was obliged to fly into the city with only four attendants. Here he endeavoured in vain to animate the people to a vigorous defence. The garrison mutinied; and, when he refused to sign the capitulation they made, delivered him up prisoner to the enemy. Louis, in the mean time, had taken the field in person against the prince of Orange; but the disastrous state of affairs in Germany induced him to recal the prince of Condé to make head against Montecuculi. In this campaign the prince seemed to have the advantage. He compelled the Germans to raise the sieges of Hagenau and Saverne; and at last to repass the Rhine, without having been able to force him to a battle. This was the last campaign made by these celebrated commanders; both of whom now retired from the field to spend the remainder of their days in peace. The excellent discipline, however, which the two great French generals had introduced into their armies, still continued to make them very formidable. In Germany the duke of Lorrain, who had recovered Philipsburg, was repeatedly defeated by Mareschal Crequi, who had been ransomed. In Flanders the prince of Orange was overmatched by the duke of Orleans and Marshal Luxemburg. A peace was at length concluded at Nimeguen in 1679, by which Louis secured Franche Compté, with many cities in the Netherlands; while the king of Sweden was reinstated in those places of which he had been stripped by the Danes and Germans. This tranquillity, however, was of short duration. Louis prepared for new contests: possessed himself of Strasburg by treachery; and dispossessed the elector palatine and the elector of Treves of the lordships of Falkenburg, Germansheim, and Valdentz. On the most frivolous pretences he had demanded Alost from the Spaniards; and, on their refusal, seized upon Luxemburg. His conduct, in short, was so intolerable, that the prince of Orange, his inveterate enemy, found means to unite the whole empire in a league against him. Spain and Holland became parties in the same cause; and Sweden and Denmark seemed also inclined to accede to the general confederacy. Notwithstanding this formidable combination, Louis seemed still to have the advantage. He made himself master of Philipsburg, Manheim, Frankendal, Spire, Worms, and Oppenheim; the palatinate was ravaged dreadfully; the towns were reduced to ashes; and the people, driven from their habitations, were left to perish through the inclemency of the weather and the want of provisions. By this cruelty his enemies were rather exasperated than vanquished: the Imperialists, under the duke of Lorrain, resumed their courage, and put a stop to the French conquests. At length all parties, weary of a destructive war, consented to the treaty of Ryswick in 1697.

By the treaty of Ryswick, Louis XIV. gave up to the empire Fribourg, Brisac, Kehl, and Philipsburg; and consented to destroy the fortifications of Strasburg. Fort Louis and Traerbach, the works of which had exhausted the skill of the great Vauban, with Lorrain, Treves, and the palatinate, were resigned to their respective

princes; insomuch that the terms to which he now consented, after so many victories, were such as could scarcely have been expected under the pressure of the greatest misfortunes. The views of Louis, however, in consenting to this apparently humiliating treaty, were beyond the views of ordinary politicians. The health of the king of Spain was in such a declining way, that his death appeared to be at hand; and Louis now resolved to renew his pretensions to that kingdom, which he had formerly, by a treaty, solemnly renounced. But his designs, in this respect, could not be concealed from the vigilance of William III. of England; of which Louis being sensible, and knowing that the emperor had claims of the same nature on Spain, he entered into a very extraordinary treaty with William. This was no less than the partition of the whole Spanish dominions in the following manner:-To the young prince of Bavaria were to be assigned Spain and the East Indies; the dauphin, son to Louis, was to have Naples, Sicily, and the province of Guipuscoa; while the archduke Charles, son to Leopold, was to have only the duchy of Milan. By this scandalous treaty, the indignation of Charles was roused, so that he bequeathed the whole of his dominions to the prince of Bavaria. This scheme, however, was disconcerted by the sudden death of the prince; upon which a new treaty of partition was concluded between Louis and William. By this the kingdom of Spain, with the East India territories, were to be bestowed on the archduke Charles, and the Duchy of Milan upon the duke of Lorrain. The last moments of the Spanish monarch were disturbed by the intrigues of the rival houses of Austria and Bourbon; but the haughtiness of the Austrian ministers so disgusted those of Spain, that they prevailed upon their dying monarch to make a new will. By this the whole of his dominions were bequeathed to Philip, duke of Anjou, grandson to Louis, who, prompted by his ambition, accepted the kingdom bequeathed to his grandson, excusing himself to his allies in the best manner he could for departing from his engagements. For this, however, he was made to pay dear. His insatiable ambition and his former successes had alarmed all Europe. The emperor, the Dutch, and the king of England, entered into a new confederacy against him; and a bloody war ensued, which threatened to overthrow the French monarchy entirely. While this war was carried on with such success, the emperor Leopold died in 1705. He was succeeded by his son, Joseph I., who put the electors of Cologne and Bavaria to the ban of the empire; but being ill served by Prince Louis of Baden, general of the empire, the French partly recovered their affairs, notwithstanding their repeated defeats. The duke of Marlborough had not all the success he expected or deserved. Joseph himself was suspected of a design to subvert the Germanic liberties; and it was plain, by his conduct, that he expected England should take the laboring oar in the war, which was to be entirely carried on for his benefit. The English were disgusted at his slowness and selfishness: but he died, in 1711, before he had reduced the Hungarians; and, leaving no

male issue, was succeeded by his brother Charles VI., whom the allies were endeavouring to place on the throne of Spain, in opposition to Philip, duke of Anjou, grandson to Louis XIV.

When the peace of Utrecht took place, in 1713, Charles at first conducted himself as if he would continue the war, but found himself unable, being forsaken by the British. He therefore was obliged to conclude a peace with France at Baden in 1714, that he might attend the progress of the Turks in Hungary; where they received a total defeat from prince Eugene at the battle of Peterwaradin. They received another of equal importance from the same general in 1717, before Belgrade, which fell into the hands of the Imperialists; and, next year, the peace of Passarowitz, between them and the Turks, was concluded. Charles employed his leisure in making arrangements for increasing and preserving his hereditary dominions in Italy and the Mediterranean. Happily for him, the crown of Britain devolved to the house of Hanover; an event which gave him a very decisive weight in Europe, by the connexions between George I. and II. and the empire. Charles was sensible of this, and became, in consequence, so haughty, that, about A. D. 1724 and 1725, a breach ensued between him and George I., and so unsteady was the system of affairs all over Europe at that time, that the capital powers often changed their old alliances, and concluded new ones contradictory to their interest. It is sufficient to observe here that the safety of Hanover, and its aggrandisement, was the main object of the British court; as that of the emperor was the establishment of the Pragmatic sanction in favor of his daughter the late empress queen, he having no male issue. Mutual concessions upon these great points restored a good understanding between George II. and Charles VI.; and the elector of Saxony, flattered with the view of gaining the throne of Poland, relinquished his, claims upon the Austrian succession. The emperor, after this, had very bad success in a war with the Turks, which he had undertaken chiefly to indemnify himself for the great sacrifices he had made in Italy to the house of Bourbon. Prince Eugene was then dead, and he had no general to supply his place. The system of France, however, under cardinal Fleury, happened to be pacific; and she obtained for him, from the Turks, a better peace than he had reason to expect. Charles, to keep the German and other powers contented, had, before his death, given his eldest daughter, Maria Theresa, afterwards empress-queen, in marriage to the duke of Lorrain, a prince who could bring no accession of power to the Austrian family. He died in 1740. Charles VI. was no sooner in the grave than all he had so long labored for must have been overthrown, had it not been for the firmness of George. II. The young king of Prussia entered and conquered Silesia, which he said had been wrongfully dismembered from his family. The king of Spain and elector of Bavaria set up claims directly incompatible with the Pragmatic sanction, and in this they were joined by France; though all these powers had solemnly guaranteed it. The imperial throne, after a con

siderable vacancy, was filled up by the elector of Bavaria, who took the title of Charles VII. in January 1742. The French at this time poured their armies into Bohemia, where they took Prague; and the queen of Hungary, to divert the king of Prussia, ceded to that prince the most valuable part of the duchy of Silesia by a formal treaty. Her youth, her beauty, and her sufferings, together with the fortitude with which she bore them, touched the hearts of the Hungarians, into whose arms she threw herself and her young son; and, though they had been long remarkable for their disaffection to the house of Austria, they declared unanimously in her favor. Her generals drove the French out of Bohemia; and George II., at the head of an English and Hanoverian army, gained the battle of Dettingen, in 1743. Charles VII. was at this time miserable on the imperial throne, and would have given the queen of Hungary almost her own terms; but she haughtily and impolitically rejected all accommodation, though advised to it by his Britannic majesty, her best and indeed only friend. This obstinacy gave a color to the king of Prussia to invade Bohemia, under pretence of supporting the imperial dignity; but though he took Prague, and subdued the greatest part of the kingdom, he was not supported by the French; upon which he abandoned all his conquests and retired into Silesia. This event confirmed the obstinacy of the queen of Hungary; who came to an accommodation with the emperor that she might recover Silesia. He died soon after in 1745, and Francis I., duke of Lorrain, then grand duke of Tuscany, consort to the queen of Hungary, after surmounting some difficulties, was chosen emperor.

The bad success of the allies against the French and Bavarians in the Low Countries, and the loss of the battle of Fontenoy, retarded the operations of the empress-queen against the king of Prussia. The latter beat the emperor's brother, prince Charles of Lorrain, who had before driven the Prussians out of Bohemia; and the conduct of the empress-queen was such, that his Britannic majesty thought proper to guarantee to him the possession of Silesia, as ceded by treaty. Soon after, the king of Prussia, alleging that he had discovered a secret convention between the empress-queen, the empress of Russia, and the king of Poland, to strip him of his dominions and to divide them among themselves, suddenly drove the king of Poland out of Saxony, defeated his troops, and took possession of Dresden; which he held till a treaty was made under the mediation of king George II., by which the king of Prussia acknowledged Francis I. for emperor. The war, however, continued in the Low Countries, to the disadvantage and discredit of the Austrians and Dutch, till it was finished by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in April 1740. By that treaty Silesia was once more guaranteed to the king of Prussia. It was not long before that monarch's jealousies were renewed and verified; and the empress of Russia's views falling in with those of the empress-queen and the king of Poland, who were unnaturally supported by France in their new schemes, a fresh war was kindled. The king of

Prussia declared against the admission of the Russians into Germany, and his Britannic majesty against that of the French. Upon these two principles all former differences between these two monarchs were forgotten, and the British parliament agreed to pay an annual subsidy of £670,000 to Frederick during the war. The flames of war therefore now broke out in Germany with more violence than ever. The armies of his Prussian majesty, like an irresistible torrent, burst into Saxony; totally defeated the imperial general Brown at the battle of Lowositz; forced the Saxons to lay down their arms, though almost impregnably fortified at Pirna; and the elector of Saxony to flee to his regal dominions in Poland. After this, the king of Prussia was put to the ban of the empire; and the French poured, by one quarter, their armies, as the Russians did by another, into the empire. The conduct of Frederick on this occasion was most determined and most creditable to his fortitude. See PRUSSIA. At last, however, the taking of Colberg by the Russians, and of Schweidnitz by the Austrians, was on the point of completing his ruin, when his most formidable enemy, the empress of Russia, died January 5th, 1762. George II., his only ally, died on the 25th of October 1760. The deaths of these illustrious personages were followed by great consequences. The British ministry of George III. sought to finish the war with honor, and the successor of Catharine, recalled his armies. Frederick the Great was, notwithstanding, so much reduced, that the empress-queen, probably, would have completed his destruction, had it not been for the wise backwardness of other German princes, to annihilate the house of Brandenburg. At first the empress-queen rejected all terms proposed to her, and ordered 30,000 men to be added to her armies. The visible backwardness of her generals to execute her orders, and the new successes obtained by the king of Prussia, at last prevailed on her, however, to agree to an armistice, which was soon followed by the treaty of Hubertsburgh, which secured to Frederick the possession of Silesia. Upon the death of her husband, in 1765, her son Joseph II. who had been crowned king of the Romans in 1764, succeeded him.

This prince showed an active and restless disposition, much inclined to extend his territories by conquest, and to make reformations in the internal policy of his dominions; but he took few proper methods for accomplishing his purposes. Hence he was almost always disappointed; and at last is said to have written for himself the following epitaph: Here lies Joseph, unfortunate in all his undertakings.' In 1788 a war commenced betwixt him and the king of Prussia; in which, notwithstanding the impetuous valor of that monarch, Joseph acted with such caution, that his adversary could gain no advantage over him; and an accommodation took place without any remarkable exploit on either side. In 1781 he took the opportunity of the quarrel betwixt Britain and the United Provinces, to deprive the latter of the barrier towns which had been secured to them by the treaty of Utrecht. These indeed had often been

of great use to the house of Austria in its state of weakness; but Joseph, conscious of his own strength, looked upon it as derogatory to his honor to allow so many of his cities to remain in the hands of foreigners, and to be garrisoned at his expense. As the Dutch were unable to resist, the imperial orders for evacuating the barrier towns were instantly complied with; nor did the court of France, though then in friendship with Holland, offer to interpose. Encouraged by this success, Joseph next demanded the free navigation of the Scheldt; but, as this would have been very detrimental to the commercial interests of Holland, a flat refusal was given to this requisition. In this the emperor was much disappointed; having flattered himself that the Dutch, intimidated by his power, would yield the navigation of the river as easily as they had done the barrier. Great preparations were made by the emperor, which the Dutch seemed prepared to resist. But, while he appeared so much determined on this acquisition, he suddenly abandoned the project, and proposed exchanging the Netherlands for the duchy of Bavaria. This was opposed by the king of Prussia; and, by the interference of the court of France, the emperor found himself at last obliged also to abandon his other scheme of opening the navigation of the Scheldt. A treaty of peace was concluded, under the guarantee of Louis XVI. wherein the states acknowledged the emperor's sovereignty over the Scheldt from Antwerp to Sestingen; agreed to demolish certain forts, and to pay a sum of money in lieu of some claims which the emperor had on Maestricht, and by way of indemnification for laying part of his territories under water. The treaty with the Dutch was no sooner concluded than a quarrel with the Turks took place, which terminated in an open war. It does not appear that the emperor had at this time any real provocation, but he seems to have acted merely in consequence of his engagements with Russia to reduce the dominions of the grand signior. These engagements, however, did not retard the progress of reformation, which he carried on throughout his dominions with unparalleled rapidity, and which at last produced the revolt of the Austrian Netherlands. In the course of this reform a complete code of laws was compiled. These were at first greatly commended for their humanity, as excluding almost entirely every species of capital punishment; yet, when narrowly considered, the commutations were found to be so exceedingly severe, that the most cruel death would, compa ratively speaking, have been an act of mercy Even for small crimes the punishments were severe beyond measure; but the greatest fault of all was, that the modes of trial were so defective, and the punishments so arbitrary, that the most innocent character lay at the mercy of a tyrannical judge. The innovations in ecclesiastical matters were, however, most offensive to his subjects, though some of them were not unreasonable; such as the introduction of the vernacular language instead of the Latin, in administering the sacraments; and the total abolition of the papal supremacy throughout the imperial dominions. Many favors were also

bestowed upon the Jews; and in 1786 the emperor wrote with his own hand to the different corporations in Vienna, requesting that their youths might be received as apprentices in that city. Severe laws against gaming were likewise enacted, and executed with rigor; and heavy restrictions were laid on all the societies of free masons in Germany, while those in the Netherlands were totally suppressed. But the innovations in religious matters were chiefly resented by the Belgians, who had long been remarkable for their attachment to the Romish religion in its most superstitious form. Indeed the alterations in the civil constitutions of the empire were so great, that, even those who were least bigoted in this respect began to fear that their liberties were in danger, and a universal dissatisfaction was excited. The emperor at first behaved very haughtily, and refused to yield the smallest point to his subjects. Finding, however, that a general revolt was ready to take place, and being unable, on account of the Turkish war, to spare such a force as would be necessary to reduce the provinces to obedience, he, in autumn 1787, promised a restoration of their ancient constitution and privileges. His promises, how ever, were so delusive, and his conduct was so arbitrary and capricious, that in the end of 1789 the states of all the provinces in the Austrian Netherlands came to a resolution of entirely throwing off the yoke. Articles of federal union were drawn up, and a new republic was formed under the title of the United Belgic Provinces. The situation of the emperor's affairs at that time did not allow him to take the measures necessary for preventing this revolt; to which perhaps his ill state of health also contributed; and, continuing daily to grow worse, he sunk under it on the 20th of February 1790, in the fortieth year of his age, and twenty-sixth of his reign.

The leaders of the Belgic revolution, however, soon became so unpopular that they were obliged to fly; and the congress, which had been established as the supreme legislative body, behaved with such tyranny that they became generally detested. Mean time, in 1790, the emperor Joseph was succeeded by his brother Leopold II., under whose administration matters soon took a more favorable turn. By his wisdom, moderation, and humanity, he in a considerable degree retrieved the bad consequences of his predecessor's conduct; having made peace with the Turks, and in some measure regained the allegiance of the Netherlands. But the death of Leopold II., in 1792, occasioned a new change of affairs. His son and successor, Francis II. having taken an early and active part in the war with France, the Belgians once more threw off their allegiance, and petitioned the convention to be united with the French republic. This, in consequence of the success of the republican arms, in 1793 and 1794, was accordingly done, and the ci-devant Austrian Netherlands formed into nine of the new departments of the French republic. That part of Germany which lies on the left or west bank of the Rhine, was also annexed to France. In the year 1801 -1805, and 1810, in consequence of three bloody and ruinous wars, Francis II. was obliged to

make peace with France on terms more and more humiliating, till the German constitution became, as we have intimated, completely destroyed.

With large armies, maintained at the expense of the occupied countries, Germany remained completely under the power of France till 1813, when fairer prospects opened, and a memorable burst of patriotic zeal, taking advantage of the dawn of liberty in the Peninsula, liberated the German nations. The Confederation of the Rhine, which had stood the seven years' monument of French ambition, on the one hand, and of the self-interest and pusillanimity of some of its states on the other, was then as we have seen dissolved, and the Constitution of Germany was remodeled by the Congress at Vienna; since which its public affairs have remained without external disturbance.

GERME, among shipping, a kind of bark used in the shallows on the coast of Egypt, as drawing but little water. They are strong and wellbuilt; but have no decks. They have one, two, or three masts, according to their sizes. The yards are fixed to the top of the masts, and, as well as the sails, are unmanageable from below. To effect the smallest change, the seaman must go aloft. The burden of these boats is five or six tons. They are chiefly used to convey goods from Alexandria to Rosetta.

GERMEN, the seed bud. See BOTANY. In assimilating the vegetable and animal kingdoms, Linnæus denominates the germen, the ovarium or uterus of plants; and affirms its existence to be chiefly at the time of the dispersion of the male dust by the antheræ; as, after its impregnation, it becomes a seed-vessel. Germen, by Pliny and the ancient botanists, is used to signify a bud containing the rudiments of the leaves.

GERMERSHEIM, a strong town of the Bavarian circle of the Rhine, at the conflux of the Queich and the Rhine. It is surrounded partly by a wall, and partly by the Queich, the Rhine, and marshy grounds; the diet of Frankfort, in 1819, fixed on it as one of the bulwarks of the empire, and appropriated no less than £600,000 sterling for additional works, particularly a double tête de pont on the Rhine. In January, 1794, the French took it, and in May following they were defeated at this place by the Austrians. Population 1500. Five miles south of Spire, and eight south of Manheim.

GERMINATION, among botanists, also comprehends the precise time which the seeds take to rise, after they have been coinmitted to the soil. The different species of seeds are longer or shorter, in rising, according to the degree of heat which is proper to each. Millet, wheat, and several of the grasses, rise in one day; blite, spinach, beans, mustard, kidney-beans, turnips, and rocket, in three days; lettuce and dill, in four; cucumber, gourd, melon, and cress, in five; radish and beet in six; barley in seven; orach in eight; purslane in nine; cabbage in ten; hyssop in thirty; parsley in forty or fifty days; peach, almond, walnut, chestnut, pæony, horned poppy, hypecoum, and ranunculus falcatus, in one year; rose-bush, cornel-tree, haw

thorn, medlar, and hazel-nut in two. The seeds of some species of orchis, and of some liliaceous plants, never rise at all. Some seeds require to be sown almost as soon as they are ripe, otherwise they will not sprout or germinate. Of this kind are the seeds of coffee and fraxinella. Others, particularly those of the pea-bloom flowers, preserve their germinating faculty for a series of years. Mr. Adanson asserts, that the sensitive plant retains that virtue for thirty or forty years. Air and water are the agents of germination. The humidity of the air alone makes several seeds to rise that are exposed to it. Seeds too are observed to rise in water, without the intervention of earth; but water without air is insufficient. Mr. Homberg's experiments on this head are decisive. He put several seeds under the exhausted receiver of an air-pump, with a view to establish something certain on the causes of germination. Some of them did not rise at all; and the greatest part of those which did, made very weak and feeble productions. Thus it is for want of air, that seeds, which are buried at a very great depth in the earth, either thrive but indifferently, or do not rise at all. They frequently preserve, however, their germinating virtue for many years within the bowels of the earth; and it is not unusual, upon a piece of ground being newly dug to a considerable depth, to observe it soon after covered with several plants, which had not been seen there in the memory of man. Were this frequently repeated, it would doubtless be the means of recovering certain species of plants which are regarded as lost; or which perhaps have never come to the knowledge of botanists. Some seeds require a greater quantity of air than others. Thus purslane, which does not rise till after lettuce in the free air, rises before it in vacuo; and both prosper but little, or perish altogether, while cresses vegetate as freely as in the open air. GERONA, GIRONA, or GIRONNA, an ancient town of Spain, in Catalonia, and a bishop's see. In 1694 it was taken by the French and restored at the peace of Ryswick. In 1705 it was taken by the Austrians, and again by the French in 1711, under the duke of Noailles. In the year 1809 this city endured one of the most extraordinary sieges recorded in history; but was at length, after the most vigorous and honorable defence, compelled to yield to the French. We regret we can only in this place refer to Dr. Southey's excellent narrative of this siege, Peninsular War,' vol. ii. p. 520.

Gerona is built in the form of a triangle, on the slope, and at the foot of a steep mountain; it is surrounded with good flanked walls, and covered by two forts erected on the mountain. Besides these, it has five fortified buildings. The streets are narrow and winding, but the houses respectable. There are thirteen monasteries in the place, and about 14,000 inhabitants. Here is also an academy on a large scale, with professors of Latin, rhetoric, philosophy, and divinity; the students are numerous, and form one of the chief supports of the place. Gerona stands near the Onhal, forty-four miles south of Perpignan, and forty-seven north-east of Barcelona.

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GERONTES, from γέρων, in antiquity, a kind of judges, or magistrates, in ancient Sparta, answering to what the Areopagites were Athens. See AREOPAGUS. The senate of gerontes was called gerusia, i. e. the assembly or council of old men. They were originally instituted by Lycurgus; their number, according to some, was twenty-eight; and according to others thirty-two. They governed in conjunction with the king, whose authority they were intended to balance, and to watch over the interests of the people. Polybius defines their office in few words, when he says, per ipsos, et cum ipsis, omnia administrari. None were admitted into this office under sixty years of age, and they held it for life. They were succeeded by the ephori.

GEROPOGON, in botany, a genus of the polygamia æqualis order, and syngenesia class of plants; natural order forty-ninth, compositæ. The receptacle is paleaceous, with the points of the palea sharp or bristly: CAL. simple: SEEDS in the disc have a feathered pappus, in the radius have a pappus of five awns. Species three; natives of Italy.

GERS, a department of France, bounded on the north by those of Landes, and Lot and Garonne; on the east by that of Upper Garonne; on the south by those of the Upper and Lower Pyrenees; and on the west by that of Landes. It includes the ci-devant provinces of Armagnac and Gascony; and is wholly inland, having a territorial extent of 2620 square miles, and 286,500 inhabitants. It is divided into the five arrondissements of Auch, Condom, Lectoure, Lombez, and Mirande. It is principally devoted to pasturage and the cultivation of the grape. Auch is the capital.

GERS, a river of France, which rises in the department of the Upper Pyrenees, crosses and gives name to that of the Gers, and falls into the Garonne, three miles south-east of Agen.

GERSAU, a town in the Swiss canton of Schweitz, on the lake of Lucern. It stands among mountains, and is accessible only by a single and hazardous path. It became, in 1315, independent, and is still the smallest free state known, its whole territory being only two leagues long, and half a league broad. Population 1500.

GERTRUYDENBERG, a small strong town of the Netherlands, situated on the Biesbosch, an arm of the sea, in North Brabant. It has about 1300 inhabitants, chiefly employed in salmon fishing, and, in 1709, it was the scene of a long negociation between Louis XIV. and the allied powers, and was taken by the French, under Dumouriez, on 4th May, 1793; ten miles south-east of Dort, and seven north-east of Breda.

GERVAISE, or GERVASE, of Tilbury, a famous English writer of the thirteenth century; born at Tilbury on the Thames. He was nephew to Henry II., king of England; and was in great credit with Otho IV. emperor of Germany, to whom he dedicated a Description of the World, and a Chronicle. He also composed a History of England, a History of the Holy Land, and other works.