&c., born at Urbino 1533; studied at Padua; became abbot of Guastalla. He
knew upwards of twelve languages, and is said to have written over a
hundred works, most of which remain in MS. His works include a poem on
_Navigation_, various translations and commentaries, _Lives of Celebrated
Mathematicians_, &c. He died in 1617.
BALDNESS, loss of the hair, complete or partial, usually the latter, and
due to various causes. Most commonly it results as one of the changes
belonging to old age, due to wasting of the skin, hair-sacs, &c. It may
occur as a result of some acute disease, or at an unusually early age,
without any such cause. In both the latter cases it is due to defective
nourishment of the hair, owing to lessened circulation of the blood in the
scalp. The best treatment for preventing loss of hair seems to consist in
such measures as bathing the head with cold water and drying it by vigorous
rubbing with a rough towel and brushing it well with a hard brush. Various
stimulating lotions are also recommended, especially those containing
cantharides. But probably in most cases senile baldness is unpreventable.
When extreme scurfiness of the scalp accompanies loss of the hair, an
ointment that will clear away the scurf will prove beneficial.
BALDOVINET'TI, Alessio, Florentine artist, born 1427. Few of his works
remain except a _Nativity_ in the church of the Annunziato, and two
altarpieces in the gallery of the Uffizi and the Academy of Arts, Florence.
Died 1499. His portrait by himself is in the gallery at Bergamo.
BALDRIC (b[a:]ld'rik), a broad belt formerly worn over the right or left
shoulder diagonally across the body, often highly decorated and enriched
with gems, and used not only to sustain the sword, dagger, or horn, but
also for purposes of ornament, and as a military or heraldic symbol.
BAL'DUNG, Hans, or HANS GRUEN (gruen), German painter and wood engraver,
born in Swabia 1470, died in Strasburg 1552. His work, though inferior to
Duerer's, possessed many of the same characteristics, and on this account
he has been sometimes considered a pupil of the Nuremberg master. His
principal paintings are the series of panels (of the date 1516) over the
altar in Freiburg Cathedral; others of his works are to be found at Berlin,
Colmar, and Basel. His numerous and often fantastic engravings have the
monogram H and B, with a small G in the centre of the H.
BALDWIN I, Emperor of Constantinople, founder of the short-lived dynasty of
Latin sovereigns of the Eastern Empire, was born in 1172, and was
hereditary Count of Flanders and Hainault. His courage and conduct in the
fourth crusade led to his unanimous election as Emperor of the East after
the capture of Constantinople by the French and Venetians in 1204. In the
absence of Baldwin's brother with a large part of the army, the Greeks rose
in revolt under the instigation of Joannices, King of Bulgaria. Baldwin
marched on Adrianople, but was taken prisoner and died in captivity, 1205.
Baldwin was succeeded by his brother Henry.--BALDWIN II, fifth and last
Latin Emperor of Constantinople, was born 1217. During his minority John de
Brienne was regent, but on his assuming the power himself the Empire fell
to pieces. In 1261 Constantinople was taken by the forces of Michael
Palaeologus, and Baldwin retired to Italy, dying in 1270.
BALDWIN I, King of Jerusalem, reigned 1100-18, having assumed the title
which his elder brother, Godfrey de Bouillon, had refused. He subdued
Caesarea, Ashdod, Tripolis, and Acre.--BALDWIN II, his cousin and
successor, reigned from 1118-31. During his reign the reduction of Tyre and
institution of the order of Templars took place.--BALDWIN III, King of
Jerusalem from 1143 to 1162, was son and successor of Foulques of Anjou,
and the embodiment of the best aspects of chivalry. After defeating
Noureddin in 1152, and again in 1157, he was enabled to devote himself to
the hopeless task of improving the kingdom and establishing the Christian
chivalry in the East. His death in 1162 was almost immediately followed by
the total collapse of the kingdom.
BALDWIN, James Mark, American philosopher, born in Columbia, 12th Jan.,
1861. He was educated at Princeton College, Leipzig and Berlin
Universities; was instructor of German and French at Princeton College,
1885-7; professor of philosophy in Lake Forest University, 1887-9;
professor of psychology at Princeton University, 1893-1903. From 1903-9 he
was professor of philosophy and psychology at the Johns Hopkins University,
Baltimore. Professor Baldwin is best known by his experimental psychology
and his theories of genetic logic. He distinguishes between genetic logic,
as theory of thought, and genetic philosophy, as theory of reality. Genetic
sciences, according to Baldwin, are psychology, sociology, ethics, &c., and
his point of view he terms 'Aesthonomical Idealism'. Among his numerous
works are: _Handbook of Psychology_ (2 vols., 1891-2); _Mental Development
in the Child and the Race_ (3rd edition, 1906); _Social and Ethical
Interpretations in Mental Development_ (1904); _Thought and Things, or
Genetic Logic_ (1906-8). He also edited the _Dictionary of Philosophy and
Psychology_ (1901-9) and _The Psychological Review_ (1894-1909).
BALE (bael). See _Basel_.
BALE, John, an English ecclesiastic, born in Suffolk in 1495, died in 1563.
Although educated a Roman Catholic, he became a Protestant, and the
intolerance of the Catholic party drove him to the Netherlands. On the
accession of Edward VI he returned to England, was presented to the living
of Bishop's Stoke, Southampton, and soon after nominated Bishop of Ossory,
in Ireland. Here, on his preaching the reformed religion, the popular fury
against him reached such a pitch that in one tumult five of his domestics
were murdered in his presence. On the accession of Mary he lay some time
concealed in Dublin, and after many hardships found refuge in Switzerland.
At her death he was appointed by Elizabeth a prebend of Canterbury, where
he died. His fame as an author rests upon his _Scriptorum Illustrium
Majoris Britanniae Catalogus_, or _An Account of the Lives of Eminent
Writers of Britain_, commencing with Japhet the son of Noah, and ending
with the year 1557. It is compiled from various writers, chiefly from the
antiquary Leland. He was also the author of nineteen miracle plays, printed
in 1558. One of his plays, _Kynge Johan_, is a link between the old
morality plays and the historical drama.
BALEAR'IC CRANE (_Balear[)i]ca pavon[=i]na_), a handsome species of crested
crane inhabiting North-West Africa.
BALEAR'IC ISLANDS, an archipelago of four large and eleven small islands,
south-east of Spain, including Majorca, Minorca, Iviza, and Formentera. The
popular derivation of the ancient name Baleares (Gr. _ballein_, to throw)
has reference to the repute of the inhabitants for their skill in slinging,
in which they distinguished themselves both in the army of Hannibal and
under the Romans, by whom the islands were annexed in 123 B.C. After being
taken by the Vandals, under Genseric, and in the eighth century by the
Moors, they were taken by James I, King of Aragon, 1220-34, and constituted
a kingdom, which in 1343 was united to Spain. The islands now form a
Spanish province, with an area of 1935 sq. miles, and 330,167 inhabitants.
See separate articles.
BALEEN'. See _Whale-bone_.
BALE-FIRE, any great fire kindled in the open air, especially the fire of a
funeral pile, or a beacon-fire.
BALEN (bae'len), Hendrik van, painter, born at Antwerp 1560, died 1632. His
works, chiefly classical, religious, and allegorical--some of them executed
in partnership with Breughel--are to be found in most of the European
galleries. He was the first master of Van Dyck and Snyders. Three of his
sons also followed the art.
BALFE (balf), Michael William, composer, was born in Dublin, 15th May,
1808. In his seventh year he performed in public on the violin, and at
sixteen took the part of the Wicked Huntsman in _Der Freischuetz_ at Drury
Lane. In 1825 he went to Italy, wrote the music for a ballet, _La Perouse_,
for the Scala at Milan, and in the following year sang at the
Theatre-Italien, Paris, with moderate success. He returned to Italy, and at
Palermo was given his first opera, _I Rivali_ (1829). For five years he
continued singing and composing operas for the Italian stage. In 1835 he
came to England, and composed a number of operas, amongst others _The
Bohemian Girl_ (1843), _The Rose of Castile_ (1857), _Satanella_ (1858),
and _The Talisman_ (first performed in 1874). He died 20th Oct., 1870. His
operas are melodious, and many of the airs are excellent.
BALFOUR (bal-foer'), Sir Andrew, Bart., a Scottish botanist and physician,
born in Fifeshire in 1630. After completing his studies at St. Andrews and
London, and travelling on the Continent, he settled at Edinburgh, where he
planned, with Sir Robert Sibbald, the Royal College of Physicians, and was
elected its first president. He also laid the foundation of a hospital in
Edinburgh, which expanded into the Royal Infirmary. He died in 1694. His
familiar letters were published in 1700.
BAL'FOUR, Right Hon. Arthur James, First Earl of (created 1922), son of
J. M. Balfour of Whittingehame, Haddingtonshire, and of Lady Blanche Cecil,
sister of the third Marquess of Salisbury, was born 25th July, 1848, and
educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He represented Hertford
from 1874-5, East Manchester from 1885 to 1906, and has been representative
for the City of London since 1906. For a time he was private secretary to
his uncle, Lord Salisbury, under whom he was President of the Local
Government Board, and afterwards Secretary for Scotland (1886-7), with a
seat in the cabinet. He showed much firmness and ability as Chief Secretary
for Ireland during Lord Salisbury's administration from 1887-91. He
succeeded Rt. Hon. W. H. Smith as leader of the House of Commons and First
Lord of the Treasury in 1891-2, and held the position again from 1895 till
1900, and from that year till 1902. On the retirement of Lord Salisbury in
1902 he became Prime Minister, a position which he retained till Dec.,
1905. Under him as Premier was passed the new English Education Act (which
owed much to his personal influence and exertions), that for London, and
the new Licensing Act, and he advocated a change of our fiscal policy, at
least as far as having recourse to retaliation, denying that he in any way
favoured protection. He became First Lord of the Admiralty in the Coalition
Government of 1915, and Foreign Secretary in 1916. He was one of the
British delegates to the Peace Conference in 1919. He is given to studies
bearing on philosophy and religion, and has published a _Defence of
Philosophic Doubt_ (1879), _Essays and Addresses_ (1893), _The Foundations
of Belief_ (1895), _Economic Notes on Insular Free-Trade_ (1903),
_Criticism and Beauty_ (1909), _Theism and Humanism_ (1915), &c. He was
President of the British Association in 1904, and Gifford Lecturer, Glasgow
University, 1913-4. In 1919 he was elected to succeed Lord Rayleigh, O.M.,
as Chancellor of Cambridge University.
BALFOUR, Francis Maitland, writer on embryology, brother of the foregoing,
born in 1851, early distinguished himself in his special study, and in
1874, in conjunction with Dr. M. Foster, published _The Elements of
Embryology_; but the promise of his chief work, _Comparative Embryology_
(1880-1) was unfulfilled, as in 1882 he was killed by a fall on Mont Blanc.
BALFOUR, Sir James, Scottish lawyer and politician, born about 1522, took
part in the conspiracy against Cardinal Beaton, and was condemned with Knox
to the galleys; but after his release found it to his interest to change
his opinions, and was appointed, through the favour of Queen Mary, Lord of
Session and member of the Privy Council. In 1567 he was appointed Governor
of Edinburgh Castle, but had no scruple in surrendering it to Murray, who
made him President of the Court of Session. He was charged with a share in
the murder of Darnley, and helped to bring Regent Morton to his death. He
died in 1583. _The Practicks of Scots Law_, attributed to him, was long a
textbook.
BALFOUR, John Hutton, a distinguished botanist, born 1808, died 1884. He
graduated at Edinburgh University in arts and in medicine; from 1841 to
1845 was professor of botany in Glasgow University; and in the latter year
removed to Edinburgh to occupy a similar post, resigning his chair in 1879.
He wrote valuable botanical textbooks, including _Elements_, _Outlines_,
_Manual_, and _Class-book_, besides various other works.
BALFROOSH', or BARFURUSH', a town, Persia, province of Mazanderan, about
twelve miles from the Caspian, a great emporium of the trade between Persia
and Russia. Pop. estimated at 50,000.
BA'LI, an island of the Indian Archipelago east of Java, belonging to
Holland; greatest length, 85 miles, greatest breadth, 55 miles; area, about
2160 sq. miles. It consists chiefly of a series of volcanic mountains, of
which the loftiest, Agoong (11,326 feet), became active in 1843 after a
long period of quiescence. Principal products: rice, cocoa, coffee, indigo,
cotton, &c. The people are akin to those of Java and are mostly Brahmans in
religion. It is divided into eight provinces under native rajahs, and since
1882 has formed one colony with Lombok, the united pop. being 1,363,000, of
whom about 900,000 belong to Bali.
BAL'IOL, or BALLIOL, John de, of Barnard Castle, Northumberland, father of
King John Baliol, a great English (or Norman) baron in the reign of Henry
III, to whose cause he strongly attached himself in his struggles with the
barons. In 1263 he laid the foundation of Balliol College, Oxford, which
was completed by his widow Devorguila or Devorgilla. She was daughter and
co-heiress of Allan of Galloway, a great baron of Scotland, by Margaret,
eldest daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon, brother of William the Lion.
It was on the strength of this genealogy that his son John Baliol became
temporary King of Scotland. He died 1269.
BAL'IOL, or BALLIOL, John, King of Scotland, born about 1249, died 1315. On
the death of Margaret, the Maid of Norway and grandchild of Alexander III,
Baliol claimed the vacant throne by virtue of his descent from David, Earl
of Huntingdon, brother to William the Lion, King of Scotland (see above
article). Robert Bruce (grandfather of the king) opposed Baliol; but Edward
I's decision was in favour of Baliol, who did homage to him for the
kingdom, 20th Nov., 1292. Irritated by Edward's harsh exercise of
authority, Baliol concluded a treaty with France, then at war with England;
but after the defeat at Dunbar he surrendered his crown into the hands of
the English monarch. He was sent with his son to the Tower, but, by the
intercession of the Pope in 1297, obtained liberty to retire to his Norman
estates, where he died.--His son, Edward, in 1332 landed in Fife with an
armed force, and, having defeated a large army under the Regent Mar (who
was killed), got himself crowned king, but was driven out in three months.
BALIS'TIDAE. See _Trigger-fishes_.
BALIZE (ba-l[=e]z'). See _Belize_.
BAL'KAN (ancient, HAEMUS), a rugged chain of mountains extending from Cape
Emineh, on the Black Sea, in Eastern Roumelia, westwards to the borders of
Serbia, though the name is sometimes used to include the whole mountain
system from the Black Sea to the Adriatic, the region south of Austria and
Russia, or south of the Danube and Save, forming the Balkan Peninsula. The
range, which is over 200 miles in length, forms the water-shed between the
streams flowing northward into the Danube and those flowing southward to
the Aegean, the chief of the latter being the Maritza. The average height
is not more than 5000 feet, but the highest point, Tchat-al-dagh, is 8340
feet. In the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-8 the Russian troops managed to
cross it without great difficulty, though they had to encounter a stubborn
resistance at the Shipka Pass, where a Turkish army of 32,000 men
ultimately surrendered to them.
BALKAN LEAGUE, THE. After the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by
Austria, in 1908, the Balkan League of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and
Greece was formed, apparently at the instigation of the Powers of the
Triple Entente, primarily to constitute a bulwark against Austrian
aggression towards the southeast. The League, however, directed its
activities against Turkey, taking advantage of Turkish embarrassments in
Libya and of the success of an insurrection in Albania to attempt in 1912
the overthrow of the Turkish regime in Europe. The declaration of
hostilities by the League in Oct., 1912, began the First Balkan War (q.v.).
The League was maintained during the two campaigns of the war, but jealousy
of Bulgarian pre-eminence led to its disruption in June, 1913, when Serbia,
Montenegro, and Greece went to war with their former ally.
BALKAN STATES. See _Bulgaria_, _Greece_, _Roumania_, _Serbia_, _Turkey_,
and _Yugo-Slavs_.
BALKAN WAR, THE. The First Balkan War (Oct., 1912-May, 1913) was the effort
of the Balkan League (q.v.) to dismember Turkey in Europe. Each member of
the League was allotted a definite strategic object, and each gained a
considerable measure of success. Bulgaria defeated the Turks at Kirk
Kilisseh and Lule Burgas, and drove them behind the lines of Tchataldja.
The Greeks captured Salonica; the Serbians forced their way to the sea at
Durazzo. The Montenegrins invested Scutari. An armistice in December was
followed by indecisive negotiations, in which the Great Powers took part.
Renewed hostilities in the spring of 1913 (during which the Turks lost
Adrianople) came to an end with the Treaty of London in May. Before its
promises could be carried out, Serbia, Greece, and Roumania joined to crush
Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War, alleging that her claims to conquered
territory in Macedonia were excessive. The Treaty of Bucharest (Aug., 1913)
finally concluded the war. The net results were: (1) to confine Turkey to
Constantinople and the vilayet of Adrianople; (2) to extend Bulgarian
territory to the Aegean and to increase greatly both Serbia and Montenegro;
(3) to grant Salonica to Greece; (4) to create an autonomous
Albania.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: E. Ashmead-Bartlett, _With the Turks in Thrace_;
_The Balkan War Drama_, by a Special Correspondent; D. J. Cassvetti,
_Hellas and the Balkan Wars_; Sir J. R. L. Rankin, _The Inner History of
the Balkan War_.
BALKASH', or BALKHASH (b[.a]l-_h_[.a]sh'), a salt lake in Russian Central
Asia, surrounded by steppes and plains; length about 330 miles, area 8500
sq. miles, depth nowhere more than 80 feet; formerly of much greater area
and gradually growing smaller; receives the Ili and other smaller streams.
BALKH (baelk or bael_h_), a city in the north of Afghanistan, in Afghan
Turkestan, at one time the emporium of the trade between India, China, and
Western Asia. It was long the centre of Zoroastrianism, and was also an
important Buddhist centre. In 1220 it was sacked by Genghis Khan, and again
by Timur in the fourteenth century. The remains of the ancient city extend
for miles. The town is now merely a village, but a new town has been built
an hour's journey north of the old, the residence of the Afghan governor,
with a pop. of about 20,000. The district, which formed a portion of
ancient Bactria, lies between the Oxus and the Hindu-Kush, with Badakshan
to the east and the desert to the west. In the vicinity of the Oxus, where
there are facilities for irrigation, the soil is rich and productive, and
there are many populous villages.
BAL'KIS, the Arabian name of the Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon. She is
the central figure of innumerable Eastern legends and tales.
BALL, GAME OF. Ball-playing was practised by the ancients, and old and
young amused themselves with it. The Phaeacian damsels are represented in
the _Odyssey_ as playing it to the sound of music; and Horace represents
Maecenas as amusing himself thus during a journey. In the Greek gymnasia,
the Roman baths, and in many Roman villas, a _sphaeristerium_ (a place
appropriated for playing ball) was to be found; the games played being
similar to those of the present day. In the Middle Ages the sport continued
to be very popular both as an indoor and outdoor exercise, and was a
favourite Court pastime until about the end of the eighteenth century. In
England football and tennis are mentioned at an early date, and a favourite
game prior to the English revolution was one in which a _mall_ or mallet
was used, hence the name _pall-mall_ (It. _palla_, Lat. _pila_, a ball) for
the game and the place where it was played. The most popular modern forms
are cricket, base-ball, football, golf, lawn-tennis, fives, and polo.
BALL, John, an itinerant preacher of the fourteenth century, excommunicated
about 1367 for promulgating "errors, schisms, and scandals against the
Pope, archbishops, bishops, and clergy". He was one of the most active
promoters of the popular insurgent spirit which found vent under Wat Tyler
in 1381, and the couplet
"When Adam delved and Eve span
Who was then the gentleman?"
is attributed to him. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered on 15th July,
1381.
BALL, Sir Robert Stawell, astronomer, born at Dublin 1840, educated at
Chester and Trinity College, Dublin. In 1865 he was appointed Lord Rosse's
astronomer at Parsonstown, and subsequently held various official posts,
including those of Andrews professor of astronomy in the University of
Dublin and Astronomer Royal for Ireland (1874), Lowndean professor of
astronomy and geometry in the University of Cambridge and director of the
observatory (1892). He became F.R.S. in 1873, and was knighted in 1886.
Besides many memoirs and articles, he published _The Story of the Heavens_,
_Starland_, _In Starry Realms_, _Time and Tide_, _The Story of the Sun_,
_Great Astronomers_, _The Earth's Beginning_, _Popular Guide to the
Heavens_ (numerous plates with accompanying text), _Natural Sources of
Power_, &c. He died in 1913.