Gallic Acid

[Fr. Gallique, from galle, gall-nut.] ( Chem.) This acid is obtained from gall-nuts, sumach, tea, valonia, and other astringent vegetables. It is generally obtained by exposing powdered gall-nuts in a moist state to the action of the air for some weeks, in a warm place, when oxygen is absorbed and carbonic acid evolved, and the powder becomes covered with crystals of Gallic acid. By boiling the ma in water the G. A. is extracted, and since it is sparingly soluble in cold water, the greater portion of it crystallizes out, as the solution cools, in long silky needles. It is freely soluble in alcohol. It di olves in sulphuric acid with a red color, and when the solution is poured into water, a red-brown precipitate is formed called rufigallic acid, used in dyeing calico red, if previously mordanted with alum. Heated to about 420°, G. A. is resolved into carbonic acid and pyrogallic acid; the latter acid being largely used in photography. Gallic, Gallican, [Lat. Gallic us , or Gallican us , from Gallus , a Gaul, from Gallia , Gaul, q. v.] Pertaining to ancient Gaul, or modern France. Gallican Church, n . ( Eccl . Hist .) The name given to the Roman Catholic Church in France, which, although in communion with the see at Rome, maintains, in some respects, an independent position. It has, from the earliest times, enjoyed certain liberties and i nim unities, not as grants from the popes, but as forming part of her original constitution, which she has always striven to maintain. When the Church of Rome was grasping after temporal power, their efforts in France were frequently opposed by the sovereigns, and more than one conflict was the consequence. There thus arose two parties in the French Church those who were opposed to the encroachments of the see of Rome, and were known as the Gallican party, while the supporters of the Roman see were known as the Roman , Papal , or Ultramontane party. The earliest important manifestation of this opposition appears in the pragmatic sanction of Louis IX., i ued in 1268, which made the paying of taxes to the Pope dependent on the consent of the king and the national clergy, and forbade the interference of a foreign power in the affairs of the national Church. The spirit of independence was strengthened by the decrees of the councils of Con stance and Basle, which were adopted by France at the a embly of estates at Bourges in 1438, and promulgated in the pragmatic sanction of Charles VII., the fundamental law of the G. C. This placed the general council above the Pope, forbade the paying of taxes to him for appointing bishops and prelates, and abolished the annates after the death of the then living Pope. This sanction was repealed by Louis XI. in 1461, but restored by Charles VIII., and by Louis XII. through the edict of 1496. It was superseded, however, by the concordat entered into by Francis I. with Leo X., who had promised to confer upon the king greater power in ecclesiastical matters than he had hitherto enjoyed. This paction gave great di atisfaction both to the French people and the French clergy. in the reign of Louis XIV. a contest arose between that monarch and Pope Innocent XI. regarding the ecclesiastical rights of the crown, which led to the drawing up of the well-known declaration of the French clergy in 1682, which has since been regarded as the charter of Gallican ism. It was drawn up by Bo uet by order of Louis XIV., and contained the four following articles:-(1) Kings and princes are in temporal matters subject to no spiritual power, and the latter can never absolve subjects from their oath of obedience; (2) the Pope is subject to the decisions of an ecumenical council; (3) the power of the Pope is further limited, as far as France is concerned, by the established prescriptions and usages of the Gallican Church; and (4) in matters of faith, also, the decisions of the Pope are not infallible when not confirmed by the consent of the whole Church. This "Declaration" was strenuously enforced by Louis XIV. It was imposed upon the universities and all public ecclesiastical bodies, and its acceptance was made a condition of appointment to offices in the Church; but it was in the same proportion distasteful to the popes. It was condemned by Alexander VIII. in 1690, by Clement XI. in 1706, and again by Pius VI. in 1794; but both the acceptance of the articles by the French clergy, and the condemnation of them by the Roman pontiffs, are understood to be with certain reservations as to the particular doctrines. The G. C. underwent very extensive modifications at the close of the 18th and the beginning of the present century, not merely by the enactment of what was called the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, and which introduced into the constitution of the Church a large infusion of the presbyterian, and even the democratic element, but by the concordat of Pius VII., with Bonaparte as First Consul, which reduced the number of sees, brought the ecclesiastical divisions of the country into harmony with its new political distribution into departments, diminished the number of festivals, and confirmed the suppre ion of the ancient religious establishments, and the confiscation of the church property throughout France.