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 BURGIS

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BURGOS

admired. An attractive genre picture with a back- ground of harmonious tone that brings out the effect is the Holy Family in the Berlin Museum.

The best of Burckmair's later panel pictures are: the Crucifixion, with St. George and the Emperor Ilcinrich on the wings, painted in 1519 and now at irg; St. John in Patmos, and Esther before As- suerus. painted in 1528 (these two at Munich). Sev- eral portraits still exist which Burckmair painted in the later years of his life. Among these is one of the artist himself and his wife, painted in 1529, now at Vienna. In this picture his wife holds a mirror in her hand in which two skulls are reflected.

A woodcut of earlier date (1510) resembles a pic- ture from a Dance of Death. In tins engraving Death stops a pair of lovers, throws the youth down, and strangles him; at the same time he seizes with his teeth the dress of the young woman, who is flee- ing. The woodcuts that Burckmair produced in the middle part of his career (1510-19), at the command of the Emperor Maximilian, possess unusual merit. Only one of them, or, at most, very few were in- serted in the emperor's Prayer Book. For the other books concerned with Maximilian or his an- cestors Burckmair's work was as follows: for the " Osterreichische Heiligen" (Austrian Saints) Burck- mair made 124 engravings on wood ; for " Teuerdank " 12; for "The Triumph" over 60; for the "Weiszku- nig" more than 200; he finally completed the "Ge- nealogie" with some 70 illustrations. As an example of his decorative work may be mentioned the adornments, which are full of imaginative power, in the so-called "Damenhof" of the house of the I agger family at Augsburg. Under the influence of Italian art Burckmair modified the old realistic method of treating a subject, gradually replaced Gothic architecture in his work by that of the Ren- ie, substituted colour for gold in painting, and developed the use of landscape as a background.

Janxtbchek, Qeachichte der deutschen Malerei (Berlin. 1890): Hvbeh in Zetischrift tit's hist. Vtreirus fur Schwaben. I. Parts II, III; Mother in Zeitschrift fur bildewlr Kunst.XlX; [deu in Repertorium fur Kunstwissenschaft. IX.

G. GlETMAN'N.

Burgis, Edward AMBROSE, a Dominican historian and theologian, b. in England c. 1(573; d. in Brussels, L'7 Vpril, 1747. When a young man lie left the Church of England, of which his father was a minis- ter, and became a Catholic, joining the Dominican Order at Rome, where he passed his noviceship in the convent of Sts. John anil Paul on the Ccelian Hill, then occupied by the Enelish Dominicans. After his religious profession (1696) he was sent to Naples to the Dominican school of St. Thomas, where he dis- played unusual mental ability. Upon the comple- tion of his studies he was sent to Eouvain, where for nearly thirty years he taught philosophy, theology, Sacred Scripture, and church history in the College of St. Thomas, established in 1697 for the Dominicans of England through the bequest of Cardinal Thomas Howard, O.P. He was rector of the college from 171.". t.i 1720 and again from 1724 to 1730. In the latter year he was elected to the office of provincial; in 1711 he became Prior of the English Dominican convent at Bomhem, and in 1746 he was appointed Vicar-General of the English Dominicans in Belgium. He published a number of pamphlets ot considerable merit containing theses written in Latin on Scriptural, theological, and historical subjects. But it was as a writer of English that he excelled, especially along historical lines: liis style is easy anil |> he is accurate in his statements. In 1712 he pub- lished in London "The Annals of the Church", a volume embracing the period from A. D. 34 to 300. ted in the preface it was his intention to bring the annals down to his own time in a work of nine volumes, but he abandoned this plan, rewrote the III.— 5

first period, and published "The Annals of the Church from the Death of Christ ". in five octavo volumes (London, 1738), the first work of the kind written in English by Catholic or Protestant. The book en- titled "An Introduction to the Catholic Faith", by Father Thomas Worthington, O.P. (London, 1709), was completed by Father Burgis, although his name does not appear in connexion with it.

Pai.mf.k, Obituary Notices O.S.D. (London, 1SS4); Olliver, Collections.

A. L. McMahon.

Burgoa, Francisco, b. at Oaxaca about 1600; d. at Teopozotlan in 16S1. lie entered the Dominican Order 2 August, 1629, and soon became master in theology. The voluminous books written by him on the past of his native Mexican State, Oaxaca, are very rare. They are valuable, though not absolutely reliable on several topics. He was curate of several Indian parishes and his knowledge of the Indian languages, the Zapotec and Mixteco, is stated to have been very thorough. In 1649 he became Provincial of the Province of San Hipolito and took part in the chapiter general of his order at Rome, 1656. Returning to Mexico with the title of vicar- general, a member of the Inquisition of Spain, and Commissary and Inspector of Libraries of New Spain (Mexico), he again became Provincial of Oaxaca in 1662. He was interested in several ecclesiastical foundations and improvements, and highly respected at the time of his death. The two historical and geographical works through which he is best known are the " Palestra historica, 6 Historia de la Provincia de San Hipolito de Oaxaca, de la Orden de Predica- dores" (Mexico, 1670), and the " Description geo- grafica de la America setentrional" etc. (Mexico, 1674). He published a number of sermons and also wrote "Itinerario de Oaxaca ;i Roma y de Roma 6. Oaxaca", which is still in manuscript.

Pinelo. Epitome de la biblioteca oriental y occidental (Madrid,

1737); Antonio, Bibliotheca hispnna nova (Madrid, 1733-38):

,*. liiblwteca mexicana (Mexico, 1755): Beristain,

Biblioteca hispano-amerieana etc. (Amecameca, 1883); Bras-

seur DE Bourdourg, Bibl. meiieo-uuatirwslu nnr (Pans, 1871).

Ad. F. Bandelier.

Burgos (Burgensis), Archdiocese of. — Burgos (from burgi, burgorutn, signifying a consolidation of districts or small villages) has been since the tenth century an episcopal see of Spain, to which in the eleventh century the ancient Sees of Oca and Valpuesta were transferred. In 1571 Gregory XIII raised it to metropolitan rank, at the request of Philip II. The archdiocese now (Concordat of 1851) comprises almost the entire province of Burgos. Its suffragans are: Calahorra (Logrono), El Burgo de Osma, Palencia, Santander, Leon, and Vitoria. Its area is approximated 8694 square miles, with a popu- lation of 340,000. The diocese is divided into 1220 parishes, which form forty-seven vicariates.

Physical Features. — The northern and eastern portion of the diocese is mountainous, thickly wooded, and traversed by rivers, among which is the Ebro, which rises in the mountains and serves as the eastern boundary for Miranda. The Arlanza which crosses the diocese from east to west flows by Salas de los Infantes, near the famous monastery of Silos, and through the centre of the well-known town of I.erma. The mountainous region is unproductive of cereals, but fruits grow in abundance, and line pasture-lands sustain great herds of cows and sheep, which furnish excellent meat and milk. Deli. ate cheeses which take their name from the city and are famous through- out Spain, are made in this section. Minerals are abundant, especially sulphate of soda, common salt, iron, and hard coal. The southern part of the diocese, especially the valley and plains, is fertile and pro- duces abundantly vegetables, cereals, and quite a quantity of wine. The climate, cold but healthy, if