terms, is of doubtful origin. In this sense it is used
with a possible punning reference to papal bulls in Milton's _True
Religion_, "and whereas the Papist boasts himself to be a Roman Catholick,
it is a mere contradiction, one of the Pope's Bulls, as if he should say a
universal particular, a Catholick schismatick." Probably this use may be
traced to a M.E. word _bul_, first found in the _Cursor Mundi_, c. 1300, in
the sense of falsehood, trickery, deceit; the _New English Dictionary_
compares an O.Fr. _boul_, _boule_ or _bole_, in the same sense. Although
modern associations connect this type of blunder with the Irish, possibly
owing to the many famous "bulls" attributed to Sir Boyle Roche (_q.v._),
the early quotations show that in the 17th century, when the meaning now
attached to the word begins, no special country was credited with them.

(3) _Bulla_ (Lat for "bubble"), which gives us another "bull" in English,
was the term used by the Romans for any boss or stud, such as those on
doors, sword-belts, shields and boxes. It was applied, however, more
particularly to an ornament, generally of gold, a round or heart-shaped box
containing an amulet, worn suspended from the neck by children of noble
birth until they assumed the _toga virilis_, when it was hung up and
dedicated to the household gods. The custom of wearing the bulla, which was
regarded as a charm against sickness and the evil eye, was of Etruscan
origin. After the Second Punic War all children of free birth were
permitted to wear it; but those who did not belong to a noble or wealthy
family were satisfied with a bulla of leather. Its use was only permitted
to grown-up men in the case of generals who celebrated a triumph. Young
girls (probably till the time of their marriage), and even favourite
animals, also wore it (see Ficoroni, _La Bolla d' Oro_, 1732; Yates,
_Archaeological Journal_, vi., 1849; viii., 1851). In ecclesiastical and
medieval Latin, _bulla_ denotes the seal of oval or circular form, bearing
the name and generally the image of its owner, which was attached to
official documents. A metal was used instead of wax in the warm countries
of southern Europe. The best-known instances are the papal _bullae_, which
have given their name to the documents (bulls) to which they are attached.
(See DIPLOMATIC; SEALS; CURIA ROMANA; GOLDEN BULL.)

BULLER, CHARLES (1806-1848), English politician, son of Charles Buller (d.
1848), a member of a well-known Cor