chapter 15, section 1.

BERESINA, Passage of the.

See RUSSIA: A. D. 1812 (OCTOBER-DECEMBER).

BERESTECZKO, Battle of (1651).

See POLAND: A. D. 1648-1654.

BERGEN, Battles of (1759 and 1799).

See GERMANY: A. D. 1759 (APRIL-AUGUST); and FRANCE: A. D. 1799 (SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER).

BERGEN-OP-ZOOM, A. D. 1588. The siege raised.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1588-1593.

BERGEN A. D. 1622. Unsuccessful siege by the Spaniards.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1621-1633.

BERGEN: A. D. 1747-1748. Taken by the French and restored to Holland.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1746-1747, and AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, THE CONGRESS.

BERGEN: End----------

BERGER.

See BIRGER.

BERGERAC, Peace of.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1577-1578.

BERING SEA CONTROVERSY AND ARBITRATION.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1886-1893.

BERKELEY, Lord, The Jersey Grant to.

See NEW JERSEY: A. D. 1664.-1667, to 1688-1738.

BERKELEY, Sir William, Government of Virginia.

See VIRGINIA: A. D. 1642--1649, to 1660-1677.

BERLIN: A. D. 1631.--Forcible entry of Gustavus Adolphus.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1631.

BERLIN: A. D. 1675. Threatened by the Swedes.

See BRANDENBURG: A. D. 1640-1688.

BERLIN: A. D. 1757. Dashing Austrian attack.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1757 (JULY-DECEMBER).

BERLIN: A. D. 1760. Taken and plundered by the Austrians and Russians.

See GERMANY: A.D. 1760.

BERLIN: A. D. 1806. Napoleon in possession.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1806 (OCTOBER).

BERLIN: A. D. 1848. Mistaken battle of soldiers and citizens. Continued disorder. State of siege.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1848 (MARCH), and 1848-1850.

BERLIN: End----------

BERLIN CONFERENCE (1884-5), The.

See AFRICA: A. D. 1884-1889; and CONGO FREE STATE.

BERLIN, Congress and Treaty of.

See TURKS: A. D. 1878.

BERLIN DECREE, The.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1806-1810; and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1804-1809.

BERMUDA HUNDRED.

See HUNDRED, THE.

BERMUDA HUNDRED, Butler's Army at.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (MAY: VIRGINIA), THE ARMY OF THE JAMES.

BERMUDAS, The. English Discovery of the islands (1609).

See VIRGINIA: A. D. 1609-1616.

BERMUDO, King of Leon and the Asturias, or Oviedo, A. D. 788-791. Bermudo II., A. D. 982-999. Bermudo III., A. D. 1027-1037.

BERN, Dietrich of.

See VERONA: A. D. 493-525.

BERNADOTTE, Career of.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1798-1799 (AUGUST-APRIL); 1799 (NOVEMBER); 1806 (JANUARY-OCTOBER); 1814(JANUARY-MARCH); 1806-1807; SCANDINAVIAN STATES (SWEDEN): A. D. 1810; GERMANY: A. D. 1812-1813; 1813 (AUGUST), (SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER), (OCTOBER-DECEMBER).

BERNARD, St., and the Second Crusade.

See CRUSADES: A. D. 1147-1149.

BERNE, A. D. 1353. Joined to the original Swiss Confederation, or Old League of High Germany.

See SWITZERLAND: A. D. 1332-1460.

BERNE: A. D. 1798. Occupation by the French. The plundering of the Treasury.

See SWITZERLAND: A. D. 1792-1798.

BERNE: End----------

BERNICIA, The Kingdom of.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 547-633; and SCOTLAND: 7th CENTURY.

BERSERKER.--BÆRSÆRK.

"The word Bærsærk is variously spelt, and stated to be derived from 'bar' and 'særk,' or 'bareshirt.' The men to whom the title was applied [among the Northmen] ... were stated to be in the habit of fighting without armour, and wearing only a shirt of skins, or at times naked. In Iceland they were sometimes called Ulfrhedin, i. e., wolfskin. The derivation of Bærsærk has been questioned, as in philology is not uncommon. The habit of their wearing bear (björn) skins, is said to afford the meaning of the word. In philology, to agree to differ is best. The Bærsærks, according to the sagas, appear to have been men of unusual physical development and savagery. They were, moreover, liable to what was called Bærsærkegang, or a state of excitement in which they exhibited superhuman strength, and then spared neither friend nor foe. ... After an attack of Bærsærk frenzy, it was believed that the superhuman influence or spirit left the Bærsærk's body as a 'ham,' or cast-off shape or form, with the result that the Bærsærk suffered great exhaustion, his natural forces being used up."

_J. F. Vicary, Saga Time, chapter 3._

ALSO IN: _P. B. Du Chaillu, The Viking Age, volume 2, chapter 26._

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BERWICK-UPON-TWEED: A. D. 1293-1333. Conquest by the English.

At the beginning, in 1293, of the struggle of the Scottish nation to cast off the feudal yoke which Edward I. had laid upon it, the English king, marching angrily northwards, made his first assault upon Berwick. The citizens, whose only rampart was a wooden stockade, foolishly aggravated his wrath by gibes and taunts. "The stockade was stormed with the loss of a single knight, and nearly 8,000 of the citizens were mown down in a ruthless carnage, while a handful of Flemish traders who held the town-hall stoutly against all assailants were burned alive in it. ... The town was ruined forever, and the great merchant city of the North sank from that time into a petty seaport." Subsequently recovered by the Scotch, Berwick was held by them in 1333 when Edward III. attempted to seat Edward Balliol, as his vassal, on the Scottish throne. The English laid siege to the place, and an army under the regent Douglas came to its relief. The battle of Halidon Hill, in which the Scotch were utterly routed, decided the fate of Berwick. "From that time the town remained the one part of Edward's conquests which was preserved by the English crown. Fragment as it was, it was viewed as legally representing the realm of which it had once formed a part. As Scotland, it had its chancellor, chamberlain, and other officers of state: and the peculiar heading of acts of Parliament enacted for England 'and the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed' still preserves the memory of its peculiar position."-

_J. R. Green, Short History of the English People,