Part 5

This title is given to John XII, who was elected Pope in 956, at the age of eighteen, and Benedict IX, who was Pope from 1033 to 1044, having been chosen at the age of ten.

Boyars.

In early Russian history, the large landowners, under the authority of the great princes who ruled the various Principalities into which Russia was divided.

Boycotting.

One of the weapons employed by the Irish Land League, in its campaign against the landlords. It consists in ostracizing the person aimed at, and forbidding any one to deal with or work for him, or supply his wants. Its first victim was Captain Boycott, the agent of the Earl of Erne in 1880, and from his name the word is derived.

Boys.

The name given by Walpole to the party of young Whigs, under William Pitt, who acted with the “Patriots” in 1733.

Braemar Gathering.

_See_ Hunting of Braemar.

Brahmins.

The highest or priestly caste among the Hindus.

Brahmo Somaj.

A Hindu sect, founded in 1830 by Rammohun Roy. Its tenets are monotheistic, rejecting the numerous gods of the Hindu Pantheon, and adoring Brahma as the supreme deity. Its adherents ignore all caste distinctions.

Brandy Nan.

Queen Anne was so called by the Londoners.

Bras de Fer.

The sobriquet of Baldwin, first Count of Flanders.

Bras Droit du Cardinal.

A nickname of François du Tremblay, the familiar of Cardinal Richelieu. He was also called the _Alter Ego_ of Richelieu, and _l’Eminence Grise_.

Brass Band, The Pope’s.

A band of agitators in Ireland, under the leadership of John Sadleir, who stumped the country in opposition to the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill in 1851.

Brave des Braves, Le Plus.

The sobriquet of Marshal Ney, conferred on him by Napoleon during the Russian campaign of 1812.

Bread and Cheese War.

A peasant revolt in Kemmerland and Friesland in 1491, caused by the exaction of the Ruytergeld, notwithstanding the enormous price of bread.

Bread Riots.

A series of disturbances in various parts of England, in 1816, caused by the high prices of food-stuffs, due to the bad harvest and the cessation of the Great War. In many places it was necessary to call out the military to disperse the rioters.

Breda, Compromise of.

The agreement between the Catholic and Protestant nobles of the Netherlands to agitate for the exclusion of the Inquisition. It was signed at Breda in 1566, and from it originated the Society of the _Gueux_.

Breda, Declaration of.

A manifesto issued by Charles II, in 1660, after the retirement of Richard Cromwell. By this instrument he promised a general amnesty, liberty of conscience, the settlement by Parliament of the various claims to forfeited estates, and payment of all arrears due to the army, subject always to such advice as might subsequently be tendered him by Parliament.

Breda, Peace of.

Three treaties signed by England with Holland, France and Denmark respectively in 1667, after the naval war with Holland, in which de Witte had succeeded in penetrating to Sheerness. By the treaty with Holland, each country retained her conquests, England thus securing New York and New Jersey, and Holland, Surinam. By the treaty with France, England acquired St. Kitts, Antigua and Montserrat, and restored to France Nova Scotia and Cayenne. By that with Denmark, the latter power reserved her right to the Orkneys.

Brehon Law.

The Irish Law which prevailed throughout Ireland after the conquest by Henry II, excepting within the Pale. It was abolished in the reign of James I.

Breslau, Treaty of.

A treaty between Prussia and Austria, signed in 1742, after Frederick’s victory at Chotusitz. Austria ceded Silesia to Prussia.

Brétigny, Peace of.

A treaty, signed in 1360, four years after the battle of Poitiers, between Edward III and the Dauphin Charles. By it France surrendered to England, Gascony, Guienne, and Poitou, Saintonge, Périgord, Limoges and other counties in the south, Montreuil, Ponthieu and Calais in the north, freed from all feudal claims. England surrendered her claim to the French crown, and to all sovereignty in Normandy, Touraine, Anjou, Maine, Brittany and Flanders, and agreed to release King John on payment of a ransom of three million gold pieces.

Breton Club.

A revolutionary club formed in Paris in the early days of the Revolution. Its founders were certain Breton deputies, and among its members were many who were afterwards prominent Jacobins, amongst others Robespierre.

Bretts and Scots, Laws of the.

The code of laws under which the Celtic inhabitants of Scotland were governed, up to the thirteenth century. This code was abolished by an edict of Edward I, when he conquered Scotland in 1305.

Bretwalda.

Under the Saxon Heptarchy, the sovereign of one of the seven kingdoms was often acknowledged as the leader of the Federation, under the title of Bretwalda.

Brewer of Ghent.

James van Arteveldt, the leader of the Burgher party in Flanders in 1338, was so called.

Bridal of Norwich.

A conspiracy against William I, entered into at the bridal feast of Ralph of Gwader, Earl of Norfolk, and Emma, sister of the Earl of Hereford. The two earls, with Waltheof, Earl of Nottingham, designed to depose William and divide the kingdom between them. Waltheof seems to have repented, and confessed the plot to Lanfranc. The conspiracy was at once suppressed, Waltheof executed, and Hereford imprisoned for life, while Ralph escaped to Brittany.

Bride of the Sea.

Venice was so called, in allusion to the annual ceremony of the Marriage of the Adriatic.

Brig-bot.

In Anglo-Saxon times, a tax levied on freemen for the repair of bridges.

Brigham, Treaty of.

A treaty between England and Scotland signed in 1290, by which a marriage was arranged between the Maid of Norway, heiress to the Scottish throne, and the son of Edward I. It was agreed that the two kingdoms, though under one crown, should remain separate, each under its own laws. England was not to call on Scotland for military aid, and no appeal was to lie from the Scotch to the English courts. The death of the Maid of Norway, however, rendered the stipulations of this treaty null and void.

Bright Clauses.

The clauses in the Irish Land Act of 1870, dealing with the sale of land to tenants are so called, John Bright having for many years advocated State aid in the creation of a peasant proprietary in Ireland.

Brilliant Madman.

Charles XII of Sweden is so called.

Brissotins.

The followers of Brissot, one of the leaders of the Gironde, during the French Revolution. The name fell into disuse, as the party became merged in the Girondins.

Bristol Riots.

A riot in Bristol in 1831, consequent upon the rejection of the Reform Bill by the House of Lords. The Recorder of Bristol, Sir Charles Wetherell, was mobbed on his entrance into the city, and the rioters seized the town hall. The weakness of the authorities left the disorder unchecked for two days, but at the last the military were called out and the disturbance suppressed.

British Empire League.

An association formed in 1896 to carry on the work of the Imperial Federation League, in educating the nation to an understanding of the needs of the Empire. The Duke of Devonshire was the first president.

Broad-bottomed Administration.

Pelham’s Ministry as reconstructed in 1744 was so called, because it contained members representing every shade of Whig opinion, and even a certain admixture of Toryism.

Brömsebro, Treaty of.

A treaty between Sweden and Denmark, signed in 1645, by which Denmark surrendered Jämtland, Hejealand and Halland, and granted to Swedish vessels exemption from the payment of Sound Dues.

Brother Jonathan.

The nickname of the American nation.

Brothers, Battle of the.

The name given to the battle of Fontenay, June 25, 841, at which Charles the Bald and Louis the German, sons of Louis le Debonaire, totally defeated their brother Lothair.

Brownists.

A dissenting sect, who seceded from the Church in 1582. They objected to general church government, and claimed for each congregation the right to regulate its own worship. They may be considered the forerunners of the Independents.

Brunnen, League of.

_See_ Perpetual League.

Brussels Conference, 1874.

A conference of the Powers held in Brussels in 1874, at the suggestion of the Russian Government, to consider the usages of war. Great Britain entered the conference with many reservations, declining to send a plenipotentiary, and no changes of any importance were agreed to.

Brussels Conference, 1876.

A conference of the Powers held at Brussels in 1876, at which an International Association was formed for the purpose of exploring and civilizing Central Africa. This association was the germ of the Congo Free State.

Brussels Convention.

A convention signed by the sugar-producing countries in 1902, by which the contracting parties undertook that in the event of any sugar-producing country declining to abolish bounties, they would prohibit the importation of sugar from such country, or impose countervailing duties.

Brussels, Union of.

An agreement, signed in 1517 by certain Catholic noblemen of the Netherlands, to unite for the purpose of expelling the Spanish garrison, while at the same time maintaining the Catholic religion, and the sovereignty of the king.

Buccaneers.

An association of sea-rovers formed about 1525, to harry the Spanish possessions in South America, and prey upon their commerce. They were of various nationalities, but chiefly English and French, and their most famous leaders were Montbars, known as the Exterminator, and Henry Morgan, afterwards Sir Henry, and Deputy-Governor of Jamaica. Under the latter leader they crossed the Isthmus and sacked the city of Panama in 1671, and for years they paralyzed the Spanish trade, both in the Caribbean Sea and in the Pacific. They ceased to exist as an association early in the eighteenth century, but some of them continued a career of indiscriminate piracy for many years longer. They were called by the French Flibustiers.

Bucharest, Treaty of.

A treaty, signed by Russia and Turkey in 1812, after the war which began in 1806, and ended in the defeat of the Turks by Kutusoff in the later year. Turkey by this treaty surrendered all her territory north of the Pruth.

Buckeye State.

The popular name of the State of Ohio, U.S.A., from the number of buckeye-trees found within its borders.

Budchaz, Treaty of.

A treaty between Poland and Turkey, signed in 1670, by which Poland surrendered the Ukraine, and agreed to pay an annual tribute of 20,000 ducats.

Bulgarian Atrocities.

A rising of the Mohammedan inhabitants of Bulgaria, assisted by the Bashi-Bazouks, or Turkish Irregulars, against the Christians in 1876. Thousands of Christians were massacred, and horrible cruelties perpetrated, though it is held by some authorities that the stories told were grossly exaggerated. Turkey refused redress, and Russia consequently declared war in the following year.

Bulls, Papal.

_See_ Adrian, Ausculta Fili, Clericis Laicos, Cum ex Apostolatus, Decet Romanum, Demarcation, Deposition, Dominus ac Redemptor, Exsurge Domine. Golden, Greater, In Coena Domini, In Eminenti, Ineffabilis Deus, Inter Gravissimas, Lesser, Regimen Militantis, Unam Sanctam, Unigenitus, Vox in Excelso.

Bundesrath.

The assembly of representatives of the twenty-two states forming the North German Confederation.

Bundschuh.

A peasant revolt in Germany in 1502.

Burgage.

The tenure by which burgesses of towns held their lands. It was similar to socage.

Burgfrieden.

A confederation of the cities of the Rhine, formed for commercial purposes, circ. 1255.

Burgher Senate.

A council of six members, established at the Cape in 1796, after the capture of that Colony by the English. Its duties were to advise the Governor in matters of internal administration. It was abolished in 1828.

Burgos, Laws of.

A code of laws regulating the employment of Indian labour in the Spanish-American Colonies, promulgated at Burgos in 1572.

Burgundians.

_See_ Armagnacs.

Burlaw.

_See_ Jedburgh Justice.

Burning of Frendraught.

A feud between the Crichtons of Frendraught and the Gordons of Huntly having been temporarily adjusted, the Gordons escorted the Crichtons home. The Gordon party, including Lord Aboyne, Huntly’s heir, were entertained for the night by the Crichtons, and during the night the tower in which they were sleeping was burnt to the ground. The fire was believed to be incendiary, but the crime was not brought home to the Crichtons.

Burnt Candlemas.

The name given to the march of Edward III into Scotland in 1355. He burnt every building, and laid waste the country for a distance of twenty miles from the coast.

Burr’s Conspiracy.

A plot initiated by Aaron Burr and Harman Blennerhassett in 1805, to free Mexico from Spanish rule, and unite it into an independent empire with some of the Western American States. Burr was arrested and tried for treason in Kentucky, and again in Virginia in 1807, but was on both occasions acquitted.

Burschenschaft.

A club of German students who had fought in the Napoleonic wars, founded at Jena in 1815. It was suspected of revolutionary tendencies, and was dissolved by the Prussian Government in 1819.

Butcher, The.

The Duke of Cumberland was so called by the Scots, on account of his cruelties after the battle of Culloden in 1746.

Bye Plot.

A conspiracy in 1603, under the leadership of George Brooke and Markham, to unite the Roman Catholics and Puritans in an attempt to secure toleration for the extremists of both classes. Their idea was to seize James I, and hold him to ransom. At the same period a plot to overthrow Cecil was entered into by Sir Walter Raleigh, Lord Cobham, the Duke of Northumberland and others, known as the Main Plot. These plots were betrayed to Cecil by the Jesuits, one of whom named Watson had been concerned in them, and the ringleaders were arrested. Watson and another were executed, Raleigh imprisoned, and the others pardoned.

Bywoners.

Boers in the Transvaal and Orange Free State who had no land of their own, and lived by working on the farms of others, or sometimes as small tenant farmers.

C

Ça Ira.

A revolutionary song, highly popular in Paris, composed in 1789 for the Fête de la Fédération.

Caaba.

The sacred shrine of Mecca, the holy place of the whole Moslem world. A Mohammedan who has made the pilgrimage to Mecca is known as a Hadji.

Cabal.

The Ministry which succeeded to power when Charles II dismissed Clarendon in 1667. Its members were Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley (afterwards Lord Shaftesbury), and Lauderdale, the initials of these names forming the word “Cabal.”

Cabal, American.

A low intrigue in the American Congress in 1777, directed against Washington. Those concerned in it were mostly representatives of the Northern States, and its object was the advancement of Lee. It is also known as Conway’s cabal, from the name of its leader.

Cabanagem.

The rebels who overran the Amazon Valley and other parts of Brazil, in 1833 to 1836, after the abdication of Pedro I. The name means cottagers.

Cabinet Noir.

A department of the French Post Office, established in the reign of Louis XIV, for the surveillance of the correspondence of suspected persons. Napoleon III availed himself of its services freely, and it was only abolished in 1886.

Cabochiens.

The guild of butchers in Paris, so called from Caboche, one of their leaders. They were bitter opponents of the Armagnacs, and were guilty of terrible atrocities on the persons of their political foes. The corporation was dissolved in 1416.

Cacos.

A political party in Guatemala in 1820, who favoured complete separation from Spain, and the establishment of a republic. The word means pickpockets.

Cadan, Treaty of.

A treaty between the leading German Princes, signed in 1534, by which Ferdinand of Austria acknowledged Ulrich, Duke of Würtemberg, with the proviso that Würtemberg was to be considered an _arrière-fief_ of the Empire, dependent on Austria. The League of Schmalkald acknowledged Ferdinand as King of the Romans, but stipulated that in future that dignity should only be conferred by the unanimous vote of the electors.

Caen, Treaty of.

A treaty between William Rufus and Robert of Normandy, signed in 1091, by which Robert renounced all claim to England, and recognized William’s feudal rights over certain Norman Seigneuries, among others those of Cherbourg, Fécamp, and Mont St. Michel.

Cahiers de Doléances.

The instructions given to the Deputies of the States-General, as to the grievances to be laid before the King in 1789. The principal demands were: equality in punishments; suppression of the sale of public offices; suppression of seignorial judicial powers, of the Gabelle, the corvée and the militia ballot; religious toleration, and amelioration of the condition of the parish clergy.

Caisse de Poissy.

A species of bank, established at Poissy, near Paris, under municipal control, to secure the proper provisioning of the Paris market. It proceeded by way of loan to the butchers, charging interest on the advances and a percentage on all meat purchased, and as none could enter the markets without a certificate of the payment of this fee, it had absolute control of the trade. It was abolished in 1791, re-established in 1810, under the control of the Prefect of the Seine, and finally abolished in 1858.

Calatrava, Knights of.

A Spanish order of religious chivalry, established by Papal Bull in 1164. The rules of the order were similar to those of the Benedictines, the knights being bound, among other vows, to perpetual celibacy. The object of the order was the expulsion of the Mussulman power from Spain.

Calendar Act.

An Act passed in 1751 substituting the Gregorian for the Julian Calendar. With the exception of Sweden and Russia, England was the last country to adopt the new style.

Calixtines.

The more moderate of the two sections into which the Hussite sect was divided after the death of Jerome of Prague. The more fanatical section was that of John Zisca, known as the Taborites.

Calvin, Institutes of.

The profession of the Calvinistic doctrine, issued by Calvin, 1535.

Camarilla.

The name given to the favourites and admirers of Ferdinand VII of Spain, after his restoration in 1814. They were in reality the rulers of Spain, distributing justice and office throughout the kingdom to the highest bidder.

Cambray, League of.

An alliance between Louis XII and the Emperor Maximilian, formed in 1508, for the partition of the Venetian provinces between the contracting parties. The Venetian armies were forced to retreat before the allies, but the partition was never carried into effect, and the league was dissolved by the Treaty of Noyon in 1516.

Cambray, Treaty of.

A treaty between Charles V and Francis I, signed in 1529, confirming the main provisions of the Treaty of Madrid (1526), which had been found unacceptable by the French notables. This treaty is generally known as the Paix des Dames.

Camel-driver of Mecca.

A nickname of Mohammed.

Cameronians.

An extreme section of the Covenanters who followed Richard Cameron in 1679. They were afterwards (1689) formed into a regiment, and served against the Jacobites in the Highlands in that year. The regiment later became the Twenty-sixth Regiment of the Line, and is now known as the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles).

Camissards.

The Protestants of the Cevennes, who rose in rebellion in 1702. The revolt was suppressed in 1704.

Camorra.

A secret society in Naples, which for many years terrorized the kingdom. An attempt was made by Francis II of Naples to suppress the society, and many of its members were deported, but the remainder joined the Garibaldians and were largely instrumental in the expulsion of the Bourbons in 1867.

Campo Formio, Treaty of.

A treaty between France and Austria, following Napoleon’s successful campaign in Northern Italy, signed in 1797. France secured possession of the Belgian provinces, the left bank of the Rhine, and the Ionian Islands, and recognized the Cisalpine Republic, formed out of the territories conquered from Austria, Venice and the Pope. Austria resigned the city of Venice, and her eastern provinces, Dalmatia, Friuli and Istria.

Canada Act.

An Act passed in 1774, giving a constitution to Canada.

Canada, Confederation of.

An Act was passed in 1867, for the purpose of confederating the two provinces of Canada with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and providing a federal constitution. Provision was also made for the admission into the Dominion of such other of the North American Colonies as might desire to come in. Under this clause Manitoba joined the confederation in 1870, British Columbia and Vancouver’s Island in 1871, and Prince Edward’s Island in 1873. The Hudson’s Bay Territory having been acquired in 1869, the whole of the British possessions in North America are now included in the Dominion, with the exception of Newfoundland.

Canadian Fisheries Question.

A long-standing dispute between Canada and the United States, dating from the treaty of peace of 1783, when American fishermen were given fishing rights on the coast of Canada. The Americans claimed that this right was inalienable, England that it was forfeited during the second war. In 1818 a _modus vivendi_ was arrived at by which the Americans were allowed to fish outside the three mile limit, but friction still continued till 1871, when a treaty was signed at Washington giving the two countries reciprocal rights. Canada maintained that the right to fish off the American coast was of little value to her, and in 1877 a commission was appointed, which met at Halifax, to assess the damage she had sustained. The award of the commission was that Canada and Newfoundland should receive five and a half million dollars as compensation.

Canons of 1604.

The new canons, issued by Convocation in 1604, contained regulations for the conduct of public worship. They excommunicated all who attacked the Prayer Book, the Thirty-nine Articles, or the Supremacy of the Crown, as also those who seceded from the Church. They were, however, held by the Courts at Westminster to be binding only on the clergy.

Canons of 1640.

A series of seventeen canons, supplementary to the canons of 1604, issued by Convocation, and confirmed by the King, under the Great Seal. Parliament subsequently passed a measure giving them full canonical validity, but not the force of an Act of Parliament.

Canossa.

The castle of Matilda of Tuscany, where Gregory VII was staying when the Emperor Henry IV made a pilgrimage to Italy, in 1077, to make his submission to the Pope, who had excommunicated him. He was treated in the most humiliating fashion by Gregory, who left him for three days in the snow in the courtyard of the Castle before consenting to receive him. It is to this incident that Bismarck referred in the famous phrase, “Nach Canossa gehen wir nicht” (We are not going to Canossa), uttered in the Reichstag in 1872, during the Kulturkampf.

Canossa Bill.

A bill introduced into the Prussian Landstag in 1880, making great concessions to the Catholic clergy, but maintaining the supremacy of the State over the Church.

Capitularies.

The edicts of the early French Kings were so called.

Capitulations.

Arrangements by which foreigners are subject to the jurisdiction of their own consuls, and not to the tribunals of the country in which they are residing. These are generally in force in Mohammedan and other non-Christian states, where Western ideas of justice are non-existent.

Caporal Violet.

Napoleon was so called by his adherents in France, during his exile in Elba in 1814-15.

Cappel, Treaty of.

A treaty between the five Catholic Cantons of Switzerland, and Zurich and Berne, following the defeat of the two latter States at Cappel, and the death of Zwingli, in 1531. Zurich and Berne consented to tolerate Catholicism in their dominions.