virge
{{Short description|Wooden rod, symbol of office}}
{{For|the graphics accelerator|S3 ViRGE}}
{{no footnotes|date=November 2016}}
A virge or verge ({{etymology|la|virga}}) is a type of rod, made of wood.
Etymology
Originally it was one or more branches (the French often use verges, the plural of its equivalent, as the normal word for a rod, the rarer singular verge rather indicates a switch) used as an instrument for corporal punishment, or as a riding crop. It later became a symbol of civil office, used in ceremonies of swearing fealty (from which the legal term tenant by the verge is derived). Further deriving from this use is the sense of a measurement, and so boundary or border, of land, or generally a margin of space.{{EB1911 |inline=y |wstitle=Verge |volume=27 |page=1021}}
Modern practice
In modern times it is best known as the ceremonial staff of the Anglican and Episcopal lay church officers known as vergers (or originally virger – the title derives from virge), who originally used it as a 'weapon' to make way for the ecclesiastical procession (compare the Catholic Swiss Guard), and occasionally to chastise unruly choristers.
References
{{reflist|25em}}
External links
- {{cite web |title=What is a virge? |series=FAQ |number=5 |website=vergers.org |publisher=Vergers Guild of the Episcopal Church |url=http://www.vergers.org/about/FAQ#5}}