born at Laurencekirk, Kincardine, Scotland, on the 25th of October 1735.
His father, a small farmer and shopkeeper, died when he was very young;
but an elder brother sent him to Marischal College, Aberdeen, where he
gained a bursary. In 1753 he was appointed schoolmaster of Fordoun in
his native county. Here he had as neighbours the eccentric Francis
Garden (afterwards Lord Gardenstone, judge of the supreme court of
Scotland), and Lord Monboddo. In 1758 he became an usher in the grammar
school of Aberdeen, and two years later he was made professor of moral
philosophy at Marischal College. Here he became closely acquainted with
Dr Thomas Reid, Dr George Campbell, Dr Alexander Gerard and others, who
formed a kind of literary or philosophic society known as the "Wise
Club." They met once a fortnight to discuss speculative questions, David
Hume's philosophy being an especial object of criticism. In 1761 Beattie
published a small volume of _Original Poems and Translations_, which
contained little work of any value. Its author in later days destroyed
all the copies he found. In 1770 Beattie published his _Essay on the
Nature and Immutability of Truth in opposition to sophistry and
scepticism_, the object of which, as explained by its author, was to
"prove the universality and immutability of moral sentiment" (letter to
Sir W. Forbes, 17th January 1765). It was in fact a direct attack on
Hume, and part of its great popularity was due to the fact. Hume is said
to have justly complained that Beattie "had not used him like a
gentleman," but made no answer to the book, which has no philosophical
value. Beattie's portrait, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, hangs at Marischal
College, Aberdeen. The philosopher is painted with the _Essay on Truth_
in his hand, while a figure of Truth thrusts down three figures
representing, according to Sir W. Forbes, sophistry, scepticism and
infidelity. Reynolds in a letter to Beattie (February 1774) intimates
that he is well enough pleased that one of the figures is identified
with Hume, and that he intended Voltaire to be one of the group. Beattie
visited London in 1773, and was received with the greatest honour by
George III., who conferred on him a pension of L200 a year. In 1771 and
1774 he published the first and second parts of _The Minstrel_, a poem
which met with great and immediate success. The Spenserian stanza in
which it is written is managed with smoothness and skill, and there are
many fine descriptions of natural scenery. It is entirely on his poetry
that Beattie's reputation rests. The best known of his minor poems are
"The Hermit" and "Retirement."
In 1773 he was offered the chair of moral philosophy at Edinburgh
University, but did not accept it. Beattie made many friends, and lost
none. "We all love Beattie," said Dr Johnson. "Mrs Thrale says, if ever
she has another husband she will have him." He was in high favour too
with Mrs Montagu and the other _bas bleus_. Beattie was unfortunate in
his domestic life. Mary Dunn, whom he married in 1767, became insane,
and his two sons died just as they were attaining manhood. The elder,
James Hay Beattie, a young man of great promise, who at the age of
nineteen had been associated with his father in his professorship, died
in 1790. In 1794 the father published _Essays and Fragments in Prose and
Verse by James Hay Beattie_ with a touching memoir. The younger brother
died in 1796. Beattie never recovered from this second bereavement. His
mind was seriously affected, and, although he continued to lecture
occasionally, he neither wrote nor studied. In April 1799 he had a
stroke of paralysis, and died on the 18th of August 1803.
Beattie's other poetical works include _The Judgment of Paris_ (1765),
and "Verses on the death of [Charles] Churchill," a bitter attack which
the poet afterwards suppressed. The best edition is the _Poetical Works_
(1831, new ed. 1866) in the _Aldine Edition of the British Poets_, with
an admirable memoir by Alexander Dyce.
See also _An Account of the Life of James Beattie_ (1804), by A.
Bower; and _An Account of the Life and Writings of James Beattie_
(1807), by Sir William Forbes; a quantity of new material is to be
found in _Beattie and his Friends_ (1904), by the poet's
great-grand-niece, Margaret Forbes; and _James Beattie, the Minstrel.
Some Unpublished Letters_, edited by A. Mackie (Aberdeen, 1908).
BEATUS, of Liebana and Valcavado, Spanish priest and monk, theologian
and geographer, was born about 730, and died in 798. About 776 he
published his _Commentaria in Apocalypsin_, containing one of the oldest
Christian world-maps. He took a prominent part in the Adoptionist
controversy, and wrote against the views of Felix of Urgel, especially
as upheld by Elipandus of Toledo. As confessor to Queen Adosinda, wife
of King Silo of Oviedo (774-783), and as the master of Alcuin and
Etherius of Osma, Beatus exercised wide influence. His original map,
which was probably intended to illustrate, above all, the distribution
of the Apostolic missions throughout the world--depicting the head of
Peter at Rome, of Andrew in Achaia, of Thomas in India, of James in
Spain, and so forth--has survived in ten more or less modified copies.
One only of these--the "Osma" of 1203--preserves the Apostolic pictures;
among the remaining examples, that of "St Sever," now at Paris, and
dating from about 1030, is the most valuable; that of "Valcavado,"
recently in the Ashburnham Library, executed in 970, is the earliest;
that of "Turin," dating from about 1100, is perhaps the most curious.
Three others--"Valladolid" of about 1035, "Madrid" of 1047, and "London"
of 1109--are derivatives of the "Valcavado-Ashburnham" of 970; the
eighth, "Paris II," is connected, though not very intimately, with "St
Sever," otherwise "Paris I"; the ninth and tenth, "Gerona" and "Paris
III," belong to the Turin group of Beatus maps. All these works are
emphatically of "dark-age" character; very seldom do they suggest the
true forms of countries, seas, rivers or mountains, but they embody some
useful information as to early medieval conditions and history. St
Isidore appears to be their principal authority; they also draw,
directly or indirectly, from Orosius, St Jerome, St Augustine, and
probably from a lost map of classical antiquity, represented in a
measure by the Peutinger Table of the 13th century.
The chief MSS. of the _Commentaria in Apocalypsin_ are (1-3) Paris,
National Library, Lat. 8878; Lat. nouv. acq. 1366 and 2290; (4)
Ashburnham MSS. xv.; (5) London, B. Mus., Addit. MSS. 11695; (6)
Turin, National Library 1, ii. (1); (7) Valladolid, University
Library, 229; (8) the MS. in the Episcopal Library at Osma, in Old
Castile.
There is only one complete edition of the text, that by Florez
(Madrid, 1770). See also Konrad Miller, _Die Weltkarte des Beatus_,
Heft I. of _Mappaemundi: die altesten Weltkarten_ (Stuttgart, 1895);
d'Avezac in _Annales de ... geographie_ (June 1870); Beazley, _Dawn of
Modern Geography_, i. 387-388 (1897); ii. 549-559; 591-605 (1901).
(C. R. B.)
BEAUCAIRE, a town of south-eastern France, in the department of Gard, 17
m. E. by S. of Nimes on the Paris-Lyon railway. Pop. (1906) 7284.
Beaucaire is situated on the right bank of the Rhone, opposite Tarascon,
with which it is connected by two handsome bridges, a suspension-bridge
of four spans and 1476 ft. in length, and a railway bridge. A triangular
keep, a chapel, and other remains of a chateau (13th and 14th centuries)
of the counts of Toulouse stand on the rocky pine-clad hill which rises
to the north of the town; the chapel, dedicated to St Louis, belongs to
the latest period of Romanesque architecture, and contains fine
sculptures. The town derives celebrity from the great July fair, which
has been held here annually since the 12th century, but has now lost its
former importance (see FAIR). Beaucaire gives its name to the canal
which communicates with the sea (near Aigues-Mortes) and connects it
with the Canal du Midi, forming part of the line of communication
between the Rhone and the Garonne. The town is an important port on the
Rhone, and its commerce, the chief articles of which are wine, and
freestone from quarries in the vicinity, is largely water-borne. Among
its industries are distilling and the manufacture of furniture, and the
preparation of vermicelli, sausages and other provisions.
Beaucaire occupies the site of the ancient _Ugernum_, and several
remains of the Roman city have been discovered, as well as (in 1734) the
road that led from Nimes. The present name is derived from _Bellum
Quadrum_, a descriptive appellation applied in the middle ages either to
the chateau or to the rock on which it stands. In 1125 Beaucaire came
into the possession of the counts of Toulouse, one of whom, Raymund VI.,
established the importance of its fairs by the grant of privileges. In
the Wars of the League it suffered severely, and in 1632 its castle was
destroyed by Richelieu.
BEAUCE (Lat. _Belsia_), a physical region of north-central France,
comprising large portions of the departments of Eure-et-Loir and
Loir-et-Cher, and also extending into those of Loiret and Seine-et-Oise.
It has an area of over 2800 sq. m., its limits being roughly defined by
the course of the Essonne on the E., of the Loire on the S., and of the
Brenne, the Loir and the Eure towards the W., though in the latter
direction it extends somewhat beyond these boundaries. The Beauce is a
treeless, arid and monotonous plain of limestone formation; windmills
and church spires are the only prominent features of the landscape.
Apart from the rivers on its borders, it is watered by insignificant
streams, of which the Conie in the west need alone be mentioned. The
inhabitants live in large villages, and are occupied in agriculture,
particularly in the cultivation of wheat, for which the Beauce is
celebrated. Clover and lucerne are the other leading crops, and large
flocks of sheep are kept in the region. Chartres is its chief commercial
centre.
BEAUCHAMP, the name of several important English families. The baronial
house of Beauchamp of Bedford was founded at the Conquest by Hugh de
Beauchamp, who received a barony in Bedfordshire. His eldest son Simon
left a daughter, whose husband Hugh (brother of the count of Meulan) was
created earl of Bedford by Stephen. But the heir-male, Miles de
Beauchamp, nephew of Simon, held Bedford Castle against the king in
1137-1138. From his brother Payn descended the barons of Bedford, of
whom William held Bedford Castle against the royal forces in the
struggle for the Great Charter, and was afterwards made prisoner at the
battle of Lincoln, while John, who sided with the barons under Simon de
Montfort, fell at Evesham. With him the line ended, but a younger branch
was seated at Eaton Socon, Beds., where the earthworks of their castle
remain, and held their barony there into the 14th century.
The Beauchamps of Elmley, Worcestershire, the greatest house of the
name, were founded by the marriage of Walter de Beauchamp with the
daughter of Urise d'Abetot, a Domesday baron, which brought him the
shrievalty of Worcestershire, the office of a royal steward, and large
estates. His descendant William, of Elmley, married Isabel, sister and
eventually heiress to William Mauduit, earl of Warwick, and their son
succeeded in 1268 to Warwick Castle and that earldom, which remained
with his descendants in the male line till 1445. The earls of the
Beauchamp line played a great part in English history. Guy, the 2nd,
distinguished himself in the Scottish campaigns of Edward I., who warned
him at his death against Piers Gaveston. Under Edward II. he was one of
the foremost foes of Piers, who had styled him "the black cur of Arden,"
and with whose death he was closely connected. As one of the "lords
ordainers" he was a recognized leader of the opposition to Edward II. By
the heiress of the Tonis he left at his death in 1315 a son Earl Thomas,
who distinguished himself at Crecy and Poitiers, was marshal of the
English host, and, with his brother John, one of the founders of the
order of the Garter. In 1369 his son Earl Thomas succeeded; from 1376 to
1379 he was among the lords striving for reform, and in the latter year
he was appointed governor to the king. Under Richard II. he joined the
lords appellant in their opposition to the king and his ministers, and
was in power with them 1388-1389; treacherously arrested by Richard in
1397, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London (the Beauchamp Tower
being called after him), but liberated by Henry IV. on his triumph
(1399). In 1401 he was succeeded by his son Earl Richard, a brave and
chivalrous warrior, who defeated Owen Glendower, fought the Percys at
Shrewsbury, and, after travelling in state through Europe and the Holy
Land, was employed against the Lollards and afterwards as lay ambassador
from England to the council of Constance (1414). He held command for a
time at Calais, and took an active part in the French campaigns of Henry
V., who created him earl and count of Aumale in Normandy. He had charge
of the education of Henry VI., and in 1437 was appointed lieutenant of
France and of Normandy. Dying at Rouen in 1439, he left by Isabel, widow
of Richard Beauchamp, earl of Worcester, a son, Earl Henry, who was
created duke of Warwick, 1445, and is alleged, but without authority, to
have been crowned king of the Isle of Wight by Henry VI. He died, the
last of his line, in June 1445. On the death of Anne, his only child, in
1449, his vast inheritance passed to Anne, his sister of the whole
blood, wife of Richard Neville, earl of Salisbury ("the Kingmaker"), who
thereupon became earl of Warwick.
Of the cadet branches of the house, the oldest was that of Powyke and
Alcester, which obtained a barony in 1447 and became extinct in 1496;
from it sprang the Beauchamps, Lords St. Amand from 1448, of whom was
Richard, bishop of Salisbury, first chancellor of the order of the
Garter, and who became extinct in 1508, being the last known male heirs
of the race. Another cadet was Sir John Beauchamp of Holt, minister of
Richard II., who was created Lord Beauchamp of Kidderminster (the first
baron created by patent) 1387, but beheaded 1388; the barony became
extinct with his son in 1400. Roger, Lord Beauchamp of Bletsoe, summoned
in 1363, is said to have been descended from the Powyke branch; his line
ended early in the 15th century. Later cadets were John, brother of the
3rd earl, who carried the standard at Crecy, became captain of Calais,
and was summoned as a peer in 1350, but died unmarried; and William,
brother of the 4th earl, who was distinguished in the French wars, and
succeeding to the lands of the Lords Abergavenny was summoned in that
barony 1392; his son was created earl of Worcester in 1420, but died
without male issue in 1422; from his daughter, who married Sir Edward
Neville, descended the Lords Abergavenny.
The Lords Beauchamp of "Hache" (1299-1361) were so named from their seat
of Hatch Beauchamp, Somerset, and were of a wholly distinct family.
Their title, "Beauchamp of Hache," was revived for the Seymours in 1536
and 1559. The title of "Beauchamp of Powyke" was revived as a barony in
1806 for Richard Lygon (descended through females from the Beauchamps of
Powyke), who was created Earl Beauchamp in 1815.
See Sir W. Dugdale, _Baronage_ (1675-1676) and _Warwickshire_ (2nd
ed., 1730); G.E. C[okayne], _Complete Peerage_ (1887-1898); W.
Courthope, _Rows Roll_ (1859); and J.H. Round, _Geoffrey de
Mandeville_ (1892). (J. H. R.)
BEAUCHAMP, ALPHONSE DE, French historian and man of letters, was born at
Monaco in 1767, and died in 1832. In 1784 he entered a Sardinian
regiment of marines, but on the outbreak of war with the French
Republic, he refused to fight in what he considered an unjust cause, and
was imprisoned for several months. After being liberated he took up his
residence in Paris, where he obtained a post in one of the government
offices. On the fall of Robespierre, Beauchamp was transferred to the
_bureau_ of the minister of police, and charged with the superintendence
of the press. This situation opened up to him materials of which he made
use in his first and most popular historical work, _Histoire de la
Vendee et des Chouans_, 3 vols., 1806. The book, received with great
favour by the people, was displeasing to the authorities. The third
edition was confiscated; its writer was deprived of his post, and in
1809 was compelled to leave Paris and take up his abode in Reims. In
1811 he obtained permission to return, and again received a government
appointment. This he had to resign on the Restoration, but was rewarded
with a small pension, which was continued to his widow after his death.
Beauchamp wrote extensively for the public journals and for the
magazines. His biographical and historical works are numerous, and those
dealing with contemporary events are valuable, owing to the sources at
his disposal. They must, however, be used with great caution. The
following are worth mention:--_Vie politique, militaire et privee du
general Moreau_ (1814); _Catastrophe de Murat, ou Recit de la derniere
revolution de Naples_ (1815); _Histoire de la guerre d'Espagne et du
Portugal, 1807-1813_ (2 vols., 1810); _Collection de memoires relatifs
aux revolutions d'Espagne_ (2 vols., 1824); _Histoire de la revolution
de Piemont_ (2 vols., 1821, 1823); _Memoires secrets et inedits pour
servir a l'histoire contemporaine_ (2 vols., 1825). The _Memoires de
Fouche_ have also been ascribed to him, but it seems certain that he
only revised and completed a work really composed by Fouche himself.
See an article by Louis Madelin in _La Revolution francaise_ (1900).
BEAUFORT, the name of the family descended from the union of John of
Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, with Catherine, wife of Sir Hugh Swynford,
taken from a castle in Anjou which belonged to John of Gaunt. There were
four children of this union--John, created earl of Somerset and marquess
of Dorset; Henry, afterwards bishop of Winchester and cardinal (see
BEAUFORT, HENRY); Thomas, made duke of Exeter and chancellor; and Joan,
who married Ralph Neville, first earl of Westmorland, and died in 1440.
In 1396, some years after the birth of these children, John of Gaunt and
Catherine were married, and in 1397 the Beauforts were declared
legitimate by King Richard II. In 1407 this action was confirmed by
their half-brother, King Henry IV., but on this occasion they were
expressly excluded from the succession to the English throne.
JOHN BEAUFORT, earl of Somerset (c. 1373-1410), assisted Richard II. in
1397 when the king attacked the lords appellants, and made himself an
absolute ruler. For these services he was made marquess of Dorset, but
after the deposition of Richard in 1399, he was degraded to his former
rank as earl. In 1401, however, he was declared loyal, and appeared
later in command of the English fleet. He married Margaret, daughter of
Thomas Holland, second earl of Kent, and died in March 1410, leaving
three sons, Henry, John, and Edmund, and two daughters, Jane or Joan,
who married James I., king of Scotland, and Margaret, who married Thomas
Courtenay, earl of Devon.
THOMAS BEAUFORT (d. 1426) held various high offices under Henry IV., and
took a leading part in suppressing the rising in the north in 1405. He
became chancellor in 1410, but resigned this office in January 1412 and
took part in the expedition to France in the same year. He was then
created earl of Dorset, and when Henry V. became king in 1413, he was
made lieutenant of Aquitaine and took charge of Harfleur when this town
passed into the possession of the English. In 1416 he became lieutenant
of Normandy, and was created duke of Exeter; and returning to England he
compelled the Scots to raise the siege of Roxburgh. Crossing to France
in 1418 with reinforcements for Henry V., he took an active part in the
subsequent campaign, was made captain of Rouen, and went to the court of
France to treat for peace. He was then captured by the French at Bauge,
but was soon released and returned to England when he heard of the death
of Henry V. in August 1422. He was one of Henry's executors, and it is
probable that the king entrusted his young son, King Henry VI., to his
care. However this may be, Exeter did not take a very prominent part in
the government, although he was a member of the council of regency.
Having again shared in the French war, the duke died at Greenwich about
the end of the year 1426. He was buried at Bury St. Edmunds, where his
remains were found in good condition 350 years later. He married
Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas Neville of Nornby, but left no issue.
The Beaufort family was continued by HENRY BEAUFORT (1401-1419), the
eldest son of John Beaufort, earl of Somerset, who was succeeded as earl
of Somerset by his brother JOHN BEAUFORT (1403-1444). The latter fought
under Henry V. in the French wars, and having been taken prisoner
remained in France as a captive until 1437. Soon after his release he
returned to the war, and after the death of Richard Beauchamp, earl of
Warwick, in 1439, acted as commander of the English forces, and, with
his brother Edmund, was successful in recapturing Harfleur. Although
chagrined when Richard, duke of York, was made regent of France,
Beaufort led an expedition to France in 1442, and in 1443 was made duke
of Somerset. He died, probably by his own hand, in May 1444. He married
Margaret, daughter of Sir John Beauchamp, and left a daughter, MARGARET
BEAUFORT, afterwards countess of Richmond and Derby, who married, for
her first husband, Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond, by whom she became
the mother of King Henry VII. In this way the blood of the Beauforts was
mingled with that of the Tudors, and of all the subsequent occupants of
the English throne.
The title of earl of Somerset descended on the death of John Beaufort in
1444 to his brother EDMUND BEAUFORT, duke of Somerset (q.v.), who was
killed at St Albans in 1455. By his marriage with Eleanor Beauchamp,
daughter of the fifth earl of Warwick, he left three sons, Henry, Edmund
and John, and a daughter, Margaret.
HENRY BEAUFORT (1436-1464) became duke of Somerset in 1455, and soon
began to take part in the struggle against Richard, duke of York, but
failed to dislodge Richard's ally, Richard Neville, earl of Warwick,
from Calais. He took part in the victory of the Lancastrians at
Wakefield in 1460, escaped from the carnage at Towton in 1461, and
shared the attainder of Henry VI. in the same year. In May 1464 he was
captured at Hexham and was beheaded immediately after the battle. The
title of duke of Somerset was assumed by his brother, EDMUND BEAUFORT
(c. 1438-1471), who fled from the country after the disasters to the
Lancastrian arms, but returned to England in 1471, in which year he
fought at Tewkesbury, and in spite of a promise of pardon was beheaded
after the battle on the 6th of May 1471. His younger brother JOHN
BEAUFORT had been killed probably at this battle, and so on the
execution of Edmund the family became extinct.
MARGARET BEAUFORT married Humphrey, earl of Stafford, and was the mother
of Henry Stafford, duke of Buckingham. Henry Beaufort, third duke of
Somerset (d. 1464), left an illegitimate son, Charles Somerset, who was
created earl of Worcester by Henry VIII. in 1514. His direct descendant,
Henry Somerset, fifth earl of Worcester, was a loyal partisan of Charles
I. and in 1642 was created marquess of Worcester. His grandson, Henry,
the third marquess, was made duke of Beaufort in 1682, and the present
duke of Beaufort is his direct descendant.
See Thomas Walsingham, _Historia Anglicana_, edited by H.T. Riley
(London, 1863-1864); W. Stubbs, _Constitutional History of England_,
vols. ii. and iii. (Oxford, 1895); _The Paston Letters_, edited by
James Gairdner (London, 1904).
BEAUFORT, FRANCOIS DE VENDOME, DUC DE (1616-1669), a picturesque figure
in French history of the 17th century, was the second son of Cesar de
Vendome, and grandson of Henry IV., by Gabrielle d'Estrees. He began his
career in the army and served in the first campaigns of the Thirty
Years' War, but his ambitions and unscrupulous character soon found a
more congenial field in the intrigues of the court. In 1642 he joined in
the conspiracy of Cinq Mars against Richelieu, and upon its failure was
obliged to live in exile in England until Richelieu's death. Returning
to France, he became the centre of a group, known as the "Importants,"
in which court ladies predominated, especially the duchess of Chevreuse
and the duchess of Montbazon. For an instant after the king's death,
this group seemed likely to prevail, and Beaufort to be the head of the
new government. But Mazarin gained the office, and Beaufort, accused of
a plot to murder Mazarin, was imprisoned in Vincennes, in September
1643. He escaped on the 31st of May 1648, just in time to join the
Fronde, which began in August 1648. He was then with the parlement and
the princes, against Mazarin. His personal appearance, his affectation
of popular manners, his quality of grandson (legitimized), of Henry IV.,
rendered him a favourite of the Parisians, who acclaimed him everywhere.
He was known as the _Roi des Halles_ ("king of the markets"), and
popular subscriptions were opened to pay his debts. He had hopes of
becoming prime minister. But among the members of the parlement and the
other leaders of the Fronde, he was regarded as merely a tool. His
intelligence was but mediocre, and he showed no talent during the war.
Mazarin, on his return to Paris, exiled him in October 1652; and he was
only allowed to return in 1654, when the cardinal had no longer any
reason to fear him. Henceforth Beaufort no longer intrigued. In 1658 he
was named general superintendent of navigation, or chief of the naval
army, and faithfully served the king in naval wars from that on. In 1664
he directed the expedition against the pirates of Algiers. In 1669 he
led the French troops defending Candia against the Turks, and was killed
in a night sortie, on the I5th of June 1669. His body was brought back
to France with great pomp, and official honours rendered it.
See the memoirs of the time, notably those of La Rochefoucauld, the
Cardinal de Retz, and Madame de Motteville. Also D'Avenel, _Richelieu
et la monarchic absolue_ (1884); Cheruel, _La France sous le ministere
Mazarin_ (1879); and _La France sous la minorite de Louis XIV_ (1882).
BEAUFORT, HENRY (c. 1377-1447), English cardinal and bishop of
Winchester, was the second son of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, by
Catherine, wife of Sir Hugh Swynford. His parents were not married until
1396, and in 1397 King Richard II. declared the four children of this
union to be legitimate. Henry spent some of his youth at Aix
la-Chapelle, and having entered the church received various
appointments, and was consecrated bishop of Lincoln in July 1398. When
his half-brother became king as Henry IV. in 1399, Beaufort began to
take a prominent place in public life; he was made chancellor in 1403,
but he resigned this office in 1404, when he was translated from Lincoln
to Winchester as the successor of William of Wykeham. He exercised
considerable influence over the prince of Wales, afterwards King Henry
V., and although he steadily supported the house of Lancaster he opposed
the party led by Thomas Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury. A dispute
over money left by John Beaufort, marquess of Dorset, caused or widened
a breach in the royal family which reached a climax in 1411. The details
are not quite clear, but it seems tolerably certain that the prince and
the bishop, anxious to retain their power, sought to induce Henry IV. to
abdicate in favour of his son. Angry at this request, the king dismissed
his son from the council, and Beaufort appears to have shared his
disgrace. When Henry V. ascended the throne in 1413 the bishop again
became chancellor and took a leading part in the government until 1417,
when he resigned his office, and proceeded to the council which was then
sitting at Constance. His arrival had an important effect on the
deliberations of this council, and the compromise which was subsequently
made between the rival parties was largely his work. Grateful for
Beaufort's services, the new pope Martin V. offered him a cardinal's hat
which Henry V. refused to allow him to accept. Returning to England, he
remained loyal to Henry; and after the king's death in 1422 became a
member of the council and was the chief opponent of the wild and selfish
schemes of Humphrey, duke of Gloucester. In 1424 he became chancellor
for the third time, and was mainly responsible for the conduct of
affairs during Gloucester's expedition to Hainaut. He was disliked by
the citizens of London; and this ill-feeling was heightened when
Gloucester, who was a favourite of the Londoners, returned to England
and was doubtless reproached by Beaufort for the folly of his
undertaking. A riot took place in London, and at the bishop's entreaty,
the protector, John, duke of Bedford, came back to England. As this
dispute was still unsettled when the parliament met at Leicester in
February 1426, Bedford and the lords undertook to arbitrate. Charged by
Gloucester with treason against Henry IV. and his successors, Beaufort
denied the accusations. But although a reconciliation was effected, the
bishop evidently regarded this as a defeat; and having resigned the
chancellorship his energies were diverted into another channel.
Anxious to secure his aid for the crusade against the Hussites, Pope
Martin again offered him a cardinal's hat, which Beaufort accepted. He
went to France in 1427, and was then appointed papal legate for Germany,
Hungary and Bohemia; and proceeding eastwards, he made a bold but futile
effort to rally the crusaders at Tachau. Returning to England to raise
money for a fresh crusade, he was received with great state in London;
but his acceptance of the cardinalate had weakened his position and
Gloucester refused to recognize his legatine commission. Beaufort gave
way on this question, but an unsuccessful attempt was made in 1429 to
deprive him of his see. Having raised some troops he set out for
Bohemia; but owing to the disasters which had just attended the English
arms in France, he was induced to allow these soldiers to serve in the
French war; and in February 1431 the death of Martin V. ended his
commission as legate. Meanwhile an attempt on the part of Gloucester to
exclude the cardinal from the council had failed, and it was decided
that his attendance was required except during the discussion of
questions between the king and the papacy. He accompanied King Henry VI.
to Normandy in April 1430, and in December 1431 crowned him king of
France. About this time Gloucester made another attempt to deprive
Beaufort of his see, and it was argued in the council that as a cardinal
he could not hold an English bishopric. The general council was not
inclined to press the case against him; but the privy council, more
clerical and more hostile, sealed writs of praemunire and attachment
against him, and some of his jewels were seized. On his return to
England he attended the parliament in May 1432, and asked to hear the
charges against him. The king declared him loyal, and a statute was
passed freeing him from any penalties which he might have incurred under
the Statute of Provisors or in other ways. He supported Bedford in his
attempts to restore order to the finances. In August 1435 he attended
the congress at Arras, but was unable to make peace with France; and
after Bedford's death his renewed efforts to this end were again opposed
by Gloucester, who favoured a continuance of the war. On two occasions
the council advised the king to refuse him permission to leave England,
but in 1437 he obtained a full pardon for all his offences. In 1439 and
1440 he went to France on missions of peace, and apparently at his
instigation the English council decided to release Charles, duke of
Orleans. This step further irritated Gloucester, who drew up and
presented to the king a long and serious list of charges against
Beaufort; but the council defended the policy of the cardinal and
ignored the personal accusations against him. Beaufort, however,
gradually retired from public life, and after witnessing the conclusion
of the treaty of Troyes died at Wolvesey palace, Winchester, on the 10th
of April 1447. The "black despair" which Shakespeare has cast round his
dying hours appears to be without historical foundation. He was buried
in Winchester cathedral, the building of which he finished. He also
refounded and enlarged the hospital of St Cross near Winchester.
Beaufort was a man of considerable wealth, and on several occasions he
lent large sums of money to the king. He was the lover of Lady Alice
Fitzalan, daughter of Richard, earl of Arundel, by whom he had a
daughter, Joan, who married Sir Edward Stradling of St Donat's in
Glamorganshire. His interests were secular and he was certainly proud
and ambitious; but Stubbs has pictured the fairer side of his character
when he observes that Beaufort "was merciful in his political enmities,
enlightened in his foreign policy; that he was devotedly faithful, and
ready to sacrifice his wealth and labour for the king; that from the
moment of his death everything began to go wrong, and went worse and
worse until all was lost."
See _Historiae Croylandensis continuatio_, translated by H.T. Riley
(London, 1854); _Proceedings and Ordinances of the Privy Council_,
edited by N.H. Nicolas (London, 1834-1837); Aeneas Sylvius
Piccolomini, _Historica Bohemica_ (Frankfort and Leipzig, 1707); W.
Stubbs, _Constitutional History_, vol. iii. (Oxford, 1895): M.
Creighton, _A History of the Papacy during the Period of the
Reformation_ (London, 1897); and L.B. Radford, _Henry Beaufort_
(1908).
BEAUFORT, LOUIS DE (d. 1795), French historian, of whose life little is
known. In 1738 he published at Utrecht a _Dissertation sur l'incertitude
des cinq premiers siecles de l'histoire romaine_, in which he showed
what untrustworthy guides even the historians of highest repute, such as
Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, were for that period, and pointed
out by what methods and by the aid of what documents truly scientific
bases might be given to its history. This was an ingenious plea, bold
for its time, against traditional history such as Rollin was writing at
that very moment. A German, Christopher Saxius, endeavoured to refute it
in a series of articles published in vols. i.-iii. of the _Miscellanea
Liviensia_. Beaufort replied by some brief and ironical _Remarques_ in
the appendix to the second edition of his _Dissertation_ (1750).
Beaufort also wrote an _Histoire de Cesar Germanicus_ (Leyden, 1761),
and _La Republique romaine, ou plan general de L'ancien gouvernement de
Rome_ (The Hague, 1766, 2 vols. quarto). Though not a scholar of the
first rank, Beaufort has at least the merit of having been a pioneer in
raising the question, afterwards elaborated by Niebuhr, as to the
credibility of early Roman history.
BEAUFORT SCALE, a series of numbers from 0 to 12 arranged by Admiral Sir
Francis Beaufort (1774-1857) in 1805, to indicate the strength of the
wind from a calm, force 0, to a hurricane, force 12, with sailing
directions such as "5, smacks shorten sails" for coast purposes, and
"royals, &c., 'full and by'" for the open sea. An exhaustive report was
made in 1906 by the Meteorological Office on the relation between the
estimates of wind-force according to Beaufort's scale and the velocities
recorded by anemometers belonging to the office, from which the
following table is taken:--
+---------------+--------------------+------------------+
| | | Limits of hourly |
|Beaufort scale.| Corresponding wind.| velocity. |
+---------------+--------------------+------------------+
| Numbers. | | Miles per hour. |
| 0 | Calm | Under 2 |
| 1-3 | Light breeze | 2-12 |
| 4-5 | Moderate wind | 13-23 |
| 6-7 | Strong wind | 24-37 |
| 8-9 | Gale | 38-55 |
| 10-11 | Storm | 56-75 |
| 12 | Hurricane |Above 75 |
+---------------+--------------------+------------------+
BEAUFORT WEST, in Cape province, South Africa, the capital of a division
of this name, 339 m. by rail N.E. of Cape Town. Pop.(1904) 5481. The
largest town in the western part of the Great Karroo, it lies, at an
elevation of 2792 ft., at the foot of the southern slopes of the
Nieuwveld mountains. It has several fine public buildings and the
streets are lined with avenues of pear trees, while an abundant supply
of water, luxuriant orchards, fields and gardens give it the appearance
of an oasis in the desert. It is a favourite resort of invalids. The
town was founded in 1819, and in its early days was largely resorted to
by Griquas and Bechuana for the sale of ivory, skins and cattle. The
Beaufort West division has an area of 6374 sq. m. and a pop. (1904) of
10,762, 45% being whites. Sheep-farming is the principal industry.
BEAUGENCY, a town of central France, in the department of Loiret, 16 m.
S.W. of Orleans on the Orleans railway, between that city and Blois.
Pop. (1906) 2993. It is situated at the foot of vine-clad hills on the
right bank of the Loire, to the left bank of which it is united by a
bridge of twenty-six arches, many of them dating from the 13th century.
The chief buildings are the chateau, mainly of the 15th century, of
which the massive donjon of the 11th century known as the Tour de Cesar
is the oldest portion; and the abbey-church of Notre-Dame, a building in
the Romanesque style of architecture, frequently restored. Some of the
buildings of the Benedictine abbey, to which this church belonged,
remain. The hotel de ville, the facade of which is decorated with
armorial bearings of Renaissance carving, and the church of St Etienne,
an unblemished example of Romanesque architecture, are of interest.
Several old houses, some remains of the medieval ramparts and the Tour
de l'Horloge, an ancient gateway, are also preserved. The town carries
on trade in grain, and has flour mills.
The lords of Beaugency attained considerable importance in the 11th,
12th and 13th centuries; at the end of the 13th century the fief was
sold to the crown, and afterwards passed to the house of Orleans, then
to those of Dunois and Longueville and ultimately again to that of
Orleans. Joan of Arc defeated the English here in 1429. In 1567 the town
was sacked and burned by the Protestants. On the 8th, 9th and 10th of
December 1870 the German army, commanded by the grand-duke of
Mecklenburg, defeated the French army of the Loire, under General
Chanzy, in the battle of Beaugency (or Villorceau-Josnes), which was
fought on the left bank of the Loire to the N.W. of Beaugency.
BEAUHARNAIS, the name of a French family, well known from the 15th
century onward in Orleanais, where its members occupied honourable
positions. One of them, Jean Jacques de Beauharnais, seigneur de
Miramion, had for wife Marie Bonneau, who in 1661 founded a female
charitable order, called after her the Miramiones. Francois de
Beauharnais, marquis de la Ferte-Beauharnais, was a deputy in the
states-general of 1789, and a devoted defender of the monarchy. He
emigrated and served in Conde's army. Later he gave his adherence to
Napoleon, and became ambassador in Etruria and Spain; he died in 1823.
His brother Alexandre, vicomte de Beauharnais, married Josephine Tascher
de la Pagerie (afterwards the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte) and had two
children by her--Eugene de Beauharnais (q.v.) and Hortense, who married
Louis Bonaparte, king of Holland, and became mother of Napoleon III.
Claude de Beauharnais, comte des Roches-Baritaud, uncle of the marquis
and of the vicomte de Beauharnais, served in the navy and became a
vice-admiral. He married Marie Anne Francoise (called Fanny) Mouchard, a
woman of letters who had a celebrated salon. His son, also named Claude
(d. 1819), was created a peer of France in 1814, and was the father of
Stephanie de Beauharnais, who married the grand-duke of Baden. The house
of Beauharnais is still represented in Russia by the dukes of
Leuchtenberg, descendants of Prince Eugene. (M. P.*)
BEAUHARNAIS, EUGENE DE (1781-1824), step-son of Napoleon I., was born at
Paris on the 3rd of September 1781. He was the son of the general
Viscount Alexandre de Beauharnais (1760-1794) and Josephine Tascher de
la Pagerie. The father, who was born in Martinique, and served in the
American War of Independence, took part in the politics of the French
Revolution, and in June-August 1793 commanded the army of the Rhine. His
failure to fulfil the tasks imposed on him (especially that of the
relief of Mainz) led to his being arrested, and he was guillotined (23rd
June 1794) not long before the fall of Robespierre. The marriage of his
widow Josephine to Napoleon Bonaparte in March 1796 was at first
resented by Eugene and his sister Hortense; but their step-father proved
to be no less kind than watchful over their interests. In the Italian
campaigns of 1796-1797 Eugene served as aide-de-camp to Bonaparte, and
accompanied him to Egypt in the same capacity. There he distinguished
himself by his activity and bravery, and was wounded during the siege of
Acre. Bonaparte brought him back to France in the autumn of 1799, and it
is known that the intervention of Eugene and Hortense helped to bring
about the reconciliation which then took place between Bonaparte and
Josephine. The services rendered by Eugene at the time of the _coup
d'etat_ of Brumaire (1799) and during the Consulate (1799-1804) served
to establish his fortunes, despite the efforts of some of the Bonapartes
to destroy the influence of the Beauharnais and bring about the divorce
of Josephine.
After the proclamation of the Empire, Eugene received the title of
prince, with a yearly stipend of 200,000 francs, and became general of
the _chasseurs a cheval_ of the Guard. A year later, when the Italian
republic became the kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as king, Eugene
received the title of viceroy, with large administrative powers. (See
ITALY.) Not long after the battle of Austerlitz (2nd December 1805)
Napoleon dignified the elector of Bavaria with the title of king and
arranged a marriage between Eugene and the princess Augusta Amelia of
Bavaria. On the whole the government of Eugene gave general satisfaction
in the kingdom of Italy; it comprised the districts between the Simplon
Pass and Rimini, and also after the peace of Presburg (December 1805),
Istria and Dalmatia. In 1808 (on the further partition of the papal
states) the frontier of the kingdom was extended southwards to the
borders of the kingdom of Naples, in the part known as the Abruzzi. In
the campaign of 1809 Eugene commanded the army of Italy, with General
(afterwards Marshal) Macdonald as his _adlatus_. The battle of Sacile,
where he fought against the Austrian army of the Archduke John, did not
yield proofs of military talent on the part of Eugene or of Macdonald;
but on the retreat of the enemy into Austrian territory (owing to the
disasters of their main army on the Danube) Eugene's forces pressed them
vigorously and finally won an important victory at Raab in the heart of
the Austrian empire. Then, joining the main army under Napoleon, in the
island of Lobau in the Danube, near Vienna, Eugene and Macdonald
acquitted themselves most creditably in the great battle of Wagram (6th
July 1809). In 1810 Eugene received the title of grand-duke of
Frankfort. Equally meritorious were his services and those of the large
Italian contingent in the campaign of 1812 in Russia. He and they
distinguished themselves especially at the battles of Borodino and
Malojaroslavitz; and on several occasions during the disastrous retreat
which ensued, Eugene's soldierly constancy and devotion to Napoleon
shone out conspicuously in 1813-1814, especially by contrast with the
tergiversations of Murat. On the downfall of the Napoleonic regime
Eugene retired to Munich, where he continued to reside, with the title
duke of Leuchtenberg and prince of Eichstadt. He died in 1824, leaving
two surviving sons and three daughters.
For further details concerning Eugene see _Memoires et correspondance
politique et militaire du Prince Eugene_, edited by Baron A. Ducasse
(10 vols., Paris, 1858-1860); F.J.A. Schneidewind, _Prinz Eugen,
Herzog van Leuchtenberg in den Feldzugen seiner Zeit_ (Stockholm,
1857); A. Purlitzer, _Une Idylle sous Napoleon I^er: le roman du
Prince Eugene_ (Paris, 1895); F. Masson, _Napoleon et sa famille_
(Paris, 1897-1900). (J. Hl. R.)
BEAUJEU. The French province of Beaujolais was formed by the development
of the ancient seigniory of Beaujeu (department of Rhone, arrondissement
of Villefranche). The lords of Beaujeu held from the 10th century
onwards a high rank in feudal society. In 1210 Guichard of Beaujeu was
sent by Philip Augustus on an embassy to Pope Innocent III.; he was
present at the French attack on Dover, where he died in 1216. His son
Humbert took part in the wars against the Albigenses and became
constable of France. Isabeau, daughter of this Humbert, married Renaud,
count of Forez; and their second son, Louis, assumed the name and arms
of Beaujeu. His son Guichard, called the Great, had a very warlike life,
fighting for the king of France, for the count of Savoy and for his own
hand. He was taken prisoner by the Dauphinois in 1325, thereby losing
important estates. Guichard's son, Edward of Beaujeu, marshal of France,
fought at Crecy, and perished in the battle of Ardres in 1351. His son
died without issue in 1374, and was succeeded by his cousin, Edward of
Beaujeu, lord of Perreux, who gave his estates of Beaujolais and Dombes
to Louis II., duke of Bourbon, in 1400. Pierre de Bourbon was lord of
Beaujeu in 1474, when he married Anne of France, daughter of Louis XI.,
and this is why that princess retained the name of lady of Beaujeu.
Louise of Savoy, mother of Francis I., got Beaujolais assigned to
herself despite the claims of the constable de Bourbon. In 1531 the
province was reunited to the crown; but Francis II. gave it back to the
Montpensier branch of the Bourbons in 1560, from which house it passed
to that of Orleans. The title of comte de Beaujolais was borne by a son
of Philippe "Egalite," duke of Orleans, born in 1779, died in 1808.
(M. P.*)
BEAULIEU, a village in the French department of Alpes-Maritimes. Pop.
(1906) 1460. It is about 4 m. by rail E. of Nice (1-1/4 m. from
Villefranche), and on the main line between Marseilles and Mentone; it
is also connected with Nice and Mentone by an electric tramway. Of late
years it has become a much frequented winter resort, and many handsome
villas (among them that built by the 3rd marquess of Salisbury) have
been constructed in the neighbourhood. The harbour has been extended and
adapted for the reception of yachts. (W. A. B. C.)
BEAULY (pronounced _Bewley_; a corruption of _Beaulieu_), a town of
Inverness-shire, Scotland, on the Beauly, 10 m. W. of Inverness by the
Highland railway. Pop. (1901) 855. Its chief interest is the beautiful
remains of the Priory of St John, founded in 1230 by John Bisset of the
Aird, for Cistercian monks. At the Reformation the buildings (except the
church, now a ruin) passed into the possession of Lord Lovat. On the
right bank of the river is the site of Lovat Castle, which once belonged
to the Bissets, but was presented by James VI. to Hugh Fraser and
afterwards demolished. To the south-east is the church of Kirkhill
containing the vault of the Lovats. Three miles south of Beauly is
Beaufort Castle, the chief seat of the Lovats, a fine modern mansion in
the Scottish baronial style. It occupies the site of a fortress erected
in the time of Alexander II., which was besieged in 1303 by Edward I.
This was replaced by several castles in succession, of which one--Castle
Dounie--was taken by Cromwell and burned by the duke of Cumberland in
1746, the conflagration being witnessed from a neighbouring hill by
Simon, Lord Lovat, before his capture on Loch Morar. The land around
Beauly is fertile and the town drives a brisk trade in coal, timber,
lime, grain and fish.
BEAUMANOIR, a seigniory in what is now the department of Cotes-du-Nord,
France, which gave its name to an illustrious family. Jean de
Beaumanoir, marshal of Brittany for Charles of Blois, and captain of
Josselin, is remembered for his share in the famous battle of the
Thirty. This battle, sung by an unknown trouvere and retold with
variations by Froissart, was an episode in the struggle for the
succession to the duchy of Brittany between Charles of Blois, supported
by the king of France, and John of Montfort, supported by the king of
England. John Bramborough, the English captain of Ploermel, having
continued his ravages, in spite of a truce, in the district commanded by
the captain of Josselin, Jean de Beaumanoir sent him a challenge, which
resulted in a fight between thirty picked champions, knights and
squires, on either side, which took place on the 25th of March 1351,
near Ploermel. Beaumanoir commanded thirty Bretons, Bramborough a mixed
force of twenty Englishmen, six German mercenaries and four Breton
partisans of Montfort. The battle, fought with swords, daggers and axes,
was of the most desperate character, in its details very reminiscent of
the last fight of the Burgundians in the _Nibelungenlied_, especially in
the celebrated advice of Geoffrey du Bois to his wounded leader, who was
asking for water: "Drink your blood, Beaumanoir; that will quench your
thirst!" In the end the victory was decided by Guillaume de Montauban,
who mounted his horse and overthrew seven of the English champions, the
rest being forced to surrender. All the combatants on either side were
either dead or seriously wounded, Bramborough being among the slain. The
prisoners were well treated and released on payment of a small ransom.
(See _Le Poeme du combat des Trente_, in the _Pantheon litteraire_;
Froissart, _Chroniques_, ed. S. Luce, c. iv. pp. 45 and 110 ff., and pp.
338-340).
JEAN DE BEAUMANOIR (1551-1614), seigneur and afterwards marquis de
Lavardin, count of Negrepelisse by marriage, served first in the
Protestant army, but turned Catholic after the massacre of St
Bartholomew, in which his father had been killed, and then fought
against Henry of Navarre. When that prince became king of France,
Lavardin changed over to his side, and was made a marshal of France. He
was governor of Maine, commanded an army in Burgundy in 1602, was
ambassador extraordinary to England in 1612, and died in 1614. One of
his descendants, Henry Charles, marquis de Lavardin (1643-1701), was
sent as ambassador to Rome in 1689, on the occasion of a difference
between Louis XIV. and Innocent XI.
BEAUMANOIR, PHILIPPE DE REMI, SIRE DE (c. 1250-1296), French jurist, was
born in the early part of the 13th century and died in 1296. The few
facts known regarding his life are to be gathered from legal documents
in which his name occurs. From these it appears that in 1273 he filled
the post of _bailli_ at Senlis, and in 1280 held a similar office at
Clermont. He is also occasionally referred to as presiding at the
assizes held at various towns. His great work is entitled _Coutumes de
Beauvoisis_ and first appeared in 1690, a second edition with
introduction by A.A. Beugnot being published in 1842. It is regarded as
one of the best works bearing on old French law, and was frequently
referred to with high admiration by Montesquieu. Beaumanoir also
obtained fame as a poet, and left over 20,000 verses, the best known of
his poems being _La Manekine_, _Jehan et Blonde_ and _Salut d'amour_.
BEAUMARCHAIS, PIERRE AUGUSTIN CARON DE (1732-1799), French dramatist,
was born in Paris on the 24th of January 1732. His father, a watchmaker
named Caron, brought him up to the same trade. He was an unusually
precocious and lively boy, shrewd, sagacious, passionately fond of music
and imbued with a strong desire for rising in the world. At the age of
twenty-one he invented a new escapement for watches, which was pirated
by a rival maker. Young Caron at once published his grievance in the
_Mercure_, and had the matter referred to the Academy of Sciences, which
decided in his favour. This affair brought him into notice at court; he
was appointed, or at least called himself, watchmaker to the king, who
ordered from him a watch similar to one he had made for Mme de
Pompadour. His handsome figure and cool assurance enabled him to make
his way at court. Mme Franquet, the wife of an old court official,
persuaded her husband to make over his office to young Caron, and, on
her husband's death, a few months later, married the handsome
watchmaker. Caron at the same time assumed the name Beaumarchais; and
four years later, by purchasing the office of secretary to the king
obtained a patent of nobility.
At court his musical talents brought him under the notice of the king's
sisters, who engaged him to teach them the harp. This position enabled
him to confer a slight favour on the great banker Joseph Duverney, who
testified his gratitude by giving Beaumarchais a share in his
speculations. The latter turned the opportunity to good account, and
soon realized a handsome fortune. In 1764 he took a journey to Spain,
partly with commercial objects in view, but principally on account of
the Clavijo affair. Jose Clavijo y Fajardo had twice promised to marry
the sister of Beaumarchais, and had failed to keep his word. The
adventure had not the tragic ending of Goethe's _Clavigo_, for
Beaumarchais did not pursue his vengeance beyond words. Beaumarchais
made his first essay as a writer for the stage with the sentimental
drama _Eugenie_ (1767), in which he drew largely on the Clavijo
incident. This was followed after an interval of two years by _Les Deux
Amis_, but neither play had more than moderate success. His first wife
had died within a year of the marriage and in 1768 Beaumarchais married
Mme Leveque. Her death in 1771 was the signal for unfounded rumours of
poisoning. Duverney died in 1770; but some time before his death a
duplicate settlement of the affairs between him and Beaumarchais had
been drawn up, in which the banker acknowledged himself debtor to
Beaumarchais for 15,000 francs. Duverney's heir, the comte de La Blache,
denied the validity of the document though without directly stigmatizing
it as a forgery. The matter was put to trial. Beaumarchais gained his
cause, but his adversary at once carried the case before the parlement.
In the meantime the duc de Chaulnes forced Beaumarchais into a quarrel
over Mdlle Menard, an actress at the Comedie Italienne, which resulted
in the imprisonment of both parties. This moment was chosen by La Blache
to demand judgment from the parlement in the matter of the Duverney
agreement. Beaumarchais was released from prison for three or four days
to see his judges. He was, however, unable to obtain an interview with
Goezman, the member of the parlement appointed to report on his case. At
last, just before the day on which the report was to be given in, he was
informed privately that, by presenting 200 _louis_ to Mme Goezman and 15
to her secretary, the desired interview might take place, if the result
should prove unfavourable the money would be refunded. The money was
sent and the interview obtained; but the decision was adverse, and 200
_louis_ were returned, the 15 going as business expenses to the
secretary. Beaumarchais, who had learned that there was no secretary
save Mme Goezman herself, insisted on restitution of the 15 _louis_, but
the lady denied all knowledge of the affair. Her husband, who was
probably not cognisant of the details of the transaction at first,
doubtless thought the defeated litigant would be easily put down, and
at once brought an accusation against him for an attempt to corrupt
justice. The battle was fought chiefly through the _Memoires_, or
reports published by the adverse parties, and in it Beaumarchais's
success was complete. For vivacity of style, fine satire and broad
humour, his famous _Memoires_ have never been surpassed. Even Voltaire
was constrained to envy them. Beaumarchais was skilful enough to make
his particular case of universal application. He was attacking the
parlement through one of its members, and the parlement was the
universally detested body formed by the chancellor Maupeou. The
_Memoires_ were, therefore, hailed with general delight; and the author,
from being perhaps the most unpopular man in France, became at once the
idol of the people. The decision went against Beaumarchais. The
parlement condemned both him and Mme Goezman _au blame_, i.e. to civic
degradation, while the husband was obliged to abandon his position.
Beaumarchais was reduced to great straits, but he obtained restitution
of his rights within two years, and finally triumphed over his adversary
La Blache.
During the next few years he was engaged in the king's secret service.
One of his missions was to England to destroy the _Memoires secrets
d'une femme publique_ in which Charles Theveneau de Morande made an
attack on Mme Du Barry. Beaumarchais secured this pamphlet, and burnt
the whole impression in London. Another expedition to England and
Holland to seize a pamphlet attacking Marie Antoinette led to a series
of incidents more amazing than the intrigues in Beaumarchais's own
plays, but his own account must be received with caution. Beaumarchais
pursued the libeller to Germany and overtook him in a wood near
Neustadt. After a struggle he had gained possession of the document when
he was attacked by brigands. Unfortunately the wound alleged to have
been received in this fight was proved to be self-inflicted. The
Austrian government regarded Beaumarchais with a suspicion justified by
the circumstances. He was imprisoned for some time in Vienna, and only
released on the receipt of explanations from Paris.
His various visits to England led him to take a deep interest in the
impending struggle between the American colonies and the mother-country.
His sympathies were entirely with the former; and by his unwearied
exertions he succeeded in inducing the French government to give ample,
though private, assistance in money and arms to the Americans. He
himself, partly on his own account, but chiefly as the agent of the
French and Spanish governments, carried on an enormous traffic with
America. Under the name of Rodrigue Hortalez et Cie, he employed a fleet
of forty vessels to provide help for the insurgents.
During the same period he produced his two famous comedies. The earlier,
_Le Barbier de Seville_, after a prohibition of two years, was put on
the stage in 1775. The first representation was a complete failure.
Beaumarchais had overloaded the last scene with allusions to the facts
of his own case and the whole action of the piece was laboured and
heavy. But he cut down and remodelled the piece in time for the second
representation, when it achieved a complete success. The intrigues which
were necessary in order to obtain a licence for the second and more
famous comedy, _Le Mariage de Figaro_, are highly amusing, and throw
much light on the unsettled state of public sentiment at the time. The
play was completed in 1778, but the opposition of Louis XVI., who alone
saw its dangerous tendencies, was not overcome till 1784. The comedy had
an unprecedented success. The principal character in both plays, Figaro,
is a completely original conception; in fact Beaumarchais drew a
portrait of himself in the resourceful adventurer, who, for mingled wit,
shrewdness, gaiety and philosophic reflection, may not unjustly be
ranked with Tartuffe. To English readers the Figaro plays are generally
known through the adaptations of them in the grand opera of Mozart and
Rossini; but in France they long retained popularity as acting pieces.
The success of _Le Mariage de Figaro_ was helped on by the methods of
self-advertisement so well understood by Beaumarchais. The proceeds of
the fiftieth performance were devoted to a charity, the choice of which
provoked numerous epigrams. Beaumarchais had the imprudence to retaliate
by personalities that were reported by his enemies to be dedicated
against the king and queen. Beaumarchais was imprisoned for a short time
by royal order in the prison of St Lazare. Brilliant pamphleteer as he
was, Beaumarchais was at last to meet more than his match. He undertook
to defend the company of the "Eaux de Paris," in which he had a large
interest, against Mirabeau, and brought down on himself an invective to
which he could offer no reply. His real influence was gone from that
date (1785-1786). Shortly afterwards he was violently attacked by
Nicolas Bergasse, whom he sued for defamation of character. He gained
his case, but his reputation had suffered in the pamphlet war.
Beaumarchais's later productions, the bombastic opera _Tarare_ (1787)
and the drama _La Mere coupable_ (1792), which was very popular, are in
no way worthy of his genius.
By his writings Beaumarchais contributed greatly, though quite
unconsciously, to hurry on the events that led to the Revolution. At
heart he hardly seems to have been a republican, and the new state of
affairs did not benefit him. The astonishing thing is that the society
travestied in _Le Mariage de Figaro_ was the most vehement in its
applause. The court looked on at a play justly characterized by Napoleon
as the "revolution already in action" apparently without a suspicion of
its real character. His popularity had been destroyed by the Mirabeau
and Bergasse affairs, and his great wealth exposed him to the enmity of
the envious. A speculation into which he entered, to supply the
Convention with muskets from Holland, proved a ruinous failure. He was
accused of concealing arms and corn in his house, but when his house was
searched nothing was discovered but some thousands of copies of the
edition (1783-1790) of the works of Voltaire which he had had printed at
his private press at Kehl, in Baden. He was charged with treason to the
republic and was imprisoned in the Abbaye on the 20th of August 1792. A
week later he was released at the intercession of Mme Houret de la
Mariniere, who had been his mistress. He took refuge in Holland and
England. His memoirs entitled, _Mes six epoques_, detailing his
sufferings under the republic, are not unworthy of the Goezman period.
His courage and happy disposition never deserted him, although he was
hunted as an agent of the Convention in Holland and England, while in
Paris he was proscribed as an _emigre_. He returned to Paris in 1796,
and died there, suddenly, on the 18th of May 1799.
Gudin de la Brenellerie's _Histoire de Beaumarchais_ (1809) was edited
by M. Maurice Tourneux in 1888. See also L. de Lomenie, _Beaumarchais
et son temps_ (1855), Eng. trans. by H.S. Edwards, (4. vols., 1856);
A. Hallay's _Beaumarchais_ (1897); M. de Lescure, _Eloge de
Beaumarchais_ (1886); and Sainte-Beuve, _Causeries du lundi_, vol. vi.
Beaumarchais's works have been edited by Gudin (7 vols., 1809); by
Furne (6 vols., 1827); and by E. Fournier (1876). A variorum edition
of his _Theatre complet_ was published by MM. d'Heylli and de Marescot
(4 vols., 1869-1875); and a _Bibliographie des oeuvres de
Beaumarchais_, by H. Cordier in 1883.
BEAUMARIS, a market town and municipal borough, and the county town of
Anglesey, N. Wales, situated on the Bay of Beaumaris, not far from
Penmon, the northern entrance of the Menai Strait. Pop. (1901) 2326. It
has but one considerable street. The large castle chapel, dedicated to
the Virgin, has some fine monuments. David Hughes, of Jesus College,
Oxford, founded the free grammar school in 1603. Buildings include
town-hall and county-hall, with St Mary's church of the 13th century,
with chancel of the 16th. Practically without trade and with no
manufactures, Beaumaris is principally noted as a bathing-place. Its
earliest charter dates from 1283 and was revised under Elizabeth. The
town was formerly called Barnover and, still earlier, Rhosfair, and
bears its present name of French origin since Edward I. built its castle
in 1293. This extensive building was erected on low ground, so that the
fosse might communicate with the sea, and vessels might unload under its
walls. The castle capitulated, after siege, to General Mytton (1646).
BEAUMONT, BELMONT, or BELLOMONT, the name of a Norman and English
family, taken from Beaumont-le-Roger in Normandy. Early in the 11th
century Roger de Beaumont, a kinsman of the dukes of Normandy, married a
daughter of Waleran, count of Meulan, and their son, ROBERT DE BEAUMONT
(d. 1118), became count of Meulan or Mellent about 1080. Before this
date, however, he had fought at Hastings, and had added large estates in
Warwickshire to the Norman fiefs of Beaumont and Pont Audemer, which he
received when his father entered the abbey of St Peter at Preaux. It was
during the reigns of William II. and Henry I. that the count rose to
eminence, and under the latter monarch he became "the first among the
counsellors of the king." A "strenuous and sagacious man" he rendered
valuable service to both kings in their Norman wars, and Henry I. was
largely indebted to him for the English crown. He obtained lands in
Leicestershire, and it has been said he was created earl of Leicester;
this statement, however, is an error, although he exercised some of the
privileges of an earl. His abilities as a counsellor, statesman and
diplomatist gained him the admiration of his contemporaries, and Henry
of Huntingdon describes him as "the wisest man between this and
Jerusalem." He seems to have been a man of independent character, for he
assisted Anselm against William Rufus, although he supported Henry I. in
his quarrel with Pope Paschal II. When Robert died on the 5th of June
1118 his lands appear to have been divided between his twin sons, Robert
and Waleran, while a third son, Hugh, became earl of Bedford in 1138.
ROBERT DE BEAUMONT (1104-1168), justiciar of England, married a
granddaughter of Ralph Guader, earl of Norfolk, and receiving his
father's English fiefs in 1118 became earl of Leicester. He and his
brother, Waleran, were the chief advisers of Stephen, and helped this
king to seize the bishops of Salisbury and Lincoln in 1139; later,
however, Robert made his peace with Henry II., and became chief
justiciar of England. First among the lay nobles he signed the
Constitutions of Clarendon, he sought to reconcile Henry and Archbishop
Becket, and was twice in charge of the kingdom during the king's
absences in France. The earl founded the abbey of St Mary de Pre at
Leicester and other religious houses, and by a charter confirmed the
burgesses of Leicester in the possession of their merchant-gild and
customs. His son, Robert, succeeded to the earldom of Leicester, and
with other English barons assisted prince Henry in his revolt against
his father the king in 1173. For this participation, and also on a later
occasion, he was imprisoned; but he enjoyed the favour of Richard I.,
and died in Greece when returning from a pilgrimage in 1190. His son and
heir, Robert, died childless in 1204.
WALERAN DE BEAUMONT (1104-1166) obtained his father's French fiefs and
the title of count of Meulan in 1118. After being imprisoned for five
years by Henry I. he spent some time in England, and during the civil
war between Stephen and the empress Matilda he fought for the former
until about 1150, when he deserted the king and assisted the empress.
His later history appears to have been uneventful. The county of Meulan
remained in possession of the Beaumont family until 1204, when it was
united with the royal domain.
Another member of the Beaumont family, possibly a relative of the
earlier Beaumonts, was LOUIS DE BEAUMONT (d. 1333), bishop of Durham
from 1317 until his death. This prelate was related to the English king,
Edward II., and after a life spent in strife and ostentation, he died on
the 24th of September 1333. JOHN BEAUMONT, master of the rolls under
Edward VI., was probably a member of the same family. A dishonest and
corrupt judge, he was deprived of his office and imprisoned in 1552.
The barony of Beaumont dates from 1309, when HENRY BEAUMONT (d. 1340),
who was constable of England in 1322, was summoned to parliament under
this title. It was retained by his descendants until the death of
William, the 7th baron and the 2nd viscount,[1] in 1507, when it fell
into abeyance. In 1840 the barony was revived in favour of Miles Thomas
Stapleton (1805-1854), a descendant of Joan, Baroness Lovel, a daughter
of the 6th baron, and it has since been retained by his descendants.
In 1906 WENTWORTH BLACKETT BEAUMONT (1829-1907), the head of a family
well known in the north of England, was created Baron Allendale.