Dominical Letter

(do-min'e-kl.) [L. dies dominica, the Lord's day.] (Chron.) That letter of the alphabet which, in the calendar,designates each Sunday in the year. They were first introduced into the calendar by the early Christians, to displace the nundinal letters in use among the Romans. This mode of representing the days of the week in almanacs by placing a letter (as, for instance, A opposite the first of Jan.) opposite to the day of the month, has fallen into desuetude, the initial letters of the name of the day itself being substituted therefor. Domin'ican Republic. See SAN DOMINGO. Do mini cans, (do-min'e-kanz,) DOMINICAN FRIARS, PREDICANTS, or BLACK FRIARS. (Eccl. Hist.) An order of preaching friars, founded at Toulouse in 1215, by the Spanish St. Dominic de Guzman, who was B. in Old Castile, 1170, became one of the instigators of the crusade against the Albigenses, and D. in 1221. This order, confirmed by bull of Pope Honor i us, 1216, rapidly multiplied in Christen dom. In course of time, however, the D. were superseded in the schools by the Jesuits, and were also eclipsed by the great rival order of the Francis cans. Among the lights of the Dominican order may be counted St. Thomas A quinas and Albert us Magnus. In more modern times, the order has been resuscitated in France by the labors of Père Lacordaire (q. v.), and they are likewise to be found in Belgium, Hungary, Switzerland, and the U. States. Their rule is very strict, including rigorous fasting and total abstinence from flesh. They wear a white robe, with a black gaberdine, and a pointed black cap. [s. 297]