Page:Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography Volume 1.pdf/472

BEA be held by the same person, Beaufort should be deprived of his bishopric, and should refund its emoluments from the date of his cardinalate. Gloucester charged him with having incurred the penalties of præmunire in accepting the papal bull in opposition to the injunction of the late king; accused him of amassing wealth by fraudulent practices, and of usurping the functions of royalty, appointing embassies, releasing prisoners, and of estranging all but his own favourites from the king, and the council of the regency. How far the accusations urged against the cardinal were justifiable, may be inferred from the fact that he sought more than once the shield of legislative indemnity. In 1432 and 1437 acts were passed pardoning all the crimes committed by him to the 20th July in the latter year. The cardinal sought his revenge upon Gloucester by a cowardly assault upon his domestic happiness. Gloucester was devotedly attached to his wife, and this was enough to incite the cardinal to conspire against and procure the death of the innocent wife, in order to wound the more deeply his political adversary. The duchess was accused of a secret attempt upon the king's life, attributing to her the design of wasting, by insensible degrees his force and vigour, under the influence of witchcraft, by the magical process of melting before a slow fire a waxen image of the king, with the gradual decrease of which his decay was assumed to keep pace. She fell a victim to the malice of her husband's arch-enemy, being condemned to public penance and perpetual incarceration. It is more than probable that he was a believer in sorcery, for he was one of those who sat in judgment upon, and condemned to the stake, the intrepid Maid of Orleans. This atrocious cruelty only served to excite public sympathy for the duchess and commiseration for the duke, who came to be regarded as a martyr to the malice of his enemies. These signs of popularity in favour of Gloucester, incited him to more deadly schemes of vengeance. He conceived the desperate resolution of compassing the death of a foe whose resentment, backed by public feeling, filled him with apprehension. For the accomplishment of this design, a meeting of parliament was convened at Bury St. Edmunds, where Gloucester could calculate on little protection. On his appearance there, he was suddenly thrown into prison on a charge of treason, where he was soon afterwards, on the 28th February, 1447, found a corpse. Whatever may have been the fact, the prevailing opinion was that Gloucester fell a victim to the vengeance of the cardinal; nor could that belief be shaken by any plausible attempts to ascribe his death to natural causes. The cardinal himself, at the age of fourscore years, survived his victim only six weeks.

History scarcely furnishes a parallel to the tenacity with which he pursued his ambitious schemes. Indomitable energy, triumphing over the infirmities of age, presented the melancholy spectacle of a man of princely rank, great attainments, and withal one of the highest dignitaries of the church, carrying into execution, with relentless vigour, the murder of a rival in the person of his own nephew. He has had his apologists, who have plausibly glossed over his crimes, and sought to soften the aspersions which cling to his name; but the stubborn facts forbid us to attempt the rescue of his memory from execration. He died impenitent, though agonized by remorse.—F. J. H.  BEAUFORT,, the eldest son of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, by Catherine Swinford, rose to high honours both in the reign of King Richard II. and of Henry IV. Being brother to the latter by the father's side, he was by him constituted chamberlain of England for life, February 9, 1399-1400. He was the second on whom the title of marquis, then new in England, was conferred. The isle of Thanet was assigned to him in 1404 for his maintenance, and the garrison of Calais consisted of his soldiers. He was one of the commissioners appointed to receive such sums as remained unpaid for the ransom of John, king of France, taken prisoner at the battle of Poitiers. He was afterwards appointed admiral of the whole fleet. He died April 21, 1410, and was buried in St. Michael's chapel, on the south side of Canterbury cathedral.—T. J.  BEAUFORT,, a historian, member of the Royal Society of London, died at Maestricht in 1795. Author of some historical works, among the rest a "History of Rome," characterized by simplicity of style, sound criticism, and lucid arrangement of materials.  BEAUFORT,, countess of Richmond and Derby, born in 1441; died in 1509. She was daughter of John Beaufort, grandson of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, third son of Edward III. She was thrice married; first, to Edmund Tudor, half-brother of Henry VI.; next, to Sir Henry Stafford; and lastly, to Thomas, Lord Stanley, afterwards earl of Derby. By her first marriage she had one son, who mounted the throne of England as Henry VII. By her subsequent marriages she had no children. After the death of her third husband in 1504, she took a vow of chastity, though she was then sixty-three years of age. She is said to have been very pious and charitable. She founded and endowed Christ college, Cambridge, and projected that of St. John, which, however, was not chartered until two years after her death. She also established two professorships of divinity, in Cambridge and in Oxford.—G. M.  BEAUFORT DE THORIGNY,, a French general, born at Paris, 18th October, 1761; died at Corbeil, 1st February, 1825. He entered the army in his sixteenth year, and at the opening of the first campaign of Nord in 1792 was appointed adjutant-major. He rose rapidly during a brief period of active service, in which he distinguished himself, to the rank of general of brigade. He took part in the campaign of Belgium in 1792, as well as in the war of La Vendée.—G. M.  BEAUFORT D'HAUTPOUL,, Comte, afterwards marquis de, a French military engineer, born at Paris, 16th October, 1782; died 24th July, 1831. After finishing his studies at the polytechnic school, he was admitted into the corps of engineers, and served in the campaigns of Italy, from 1802 to 1810. He subsequently served in Portugal, where he distinguished himself by his activity and valour. In 1821 he was appointed colonel of the third regiment of engineers.—G. M.  BEAUFRANCHET D'AYAT, , a French general, born in 1757 at Saint Hilaire d'Ayat, near Riom; died in 1812. He is said to have been a son of Louis XV. He took part in the campaigns of Flanders and La Vendée, in both of which he displayed such courage and capacity, that he was promoted to the rank of mareschal-de-camp. In 1805 he was chosen member of the legislative body.—G. M.  BEAUGARD,, a French painter, died about 1828, painted "The Departure of Tobias," and a scene from the Incas. <section end="472H" /> <section begin="472I" />BEAUGARD,, a litterateur and advocate, born in 1754; died in 1828. Author of "The Spanish Lovers," a comedy in five acts. He left an important manuscript on criminal law. <section end="472I" /> <section begin="472J" />BEAUGEARD,, a French revolutionist, and member of the national convention, born at Vitré in 1764; died in his native town in October, 1832. He belonged to the party of the Mountain, and voted for the death of the king. He was banished in 1816, among others who had been implicated in the death of Louis XVI.—G. M. <section end="472J" /> <section begin="472K" />BEAUGENCI or BEAUGENCY, the name of a noble French family, of which the following were among the most remarkable members:—

or I., lived about the end of the tenth century. He was noted for his liberality towards churches and convents.

or II., son of the preceding, succeeded in 1060. He was distinguished by an amount of learning rare at that period.

I., son of the preceding. He was renowned for his valour, which he chiefly displayed in the crusade of 1096, under Godfrey de Bouillon.

The brothers of Beaugency— I., III., I.—all distinguished by their military exploits. <section end="472K" /> <section begin="472Lnop" />BEAUHARNAIS,, vicomte de, a French general, born at Martinique in 1760; died 23rd June, 1794. He distinguished himself under Rochambeau in the American war of independence. Proceeding afterwards to Paris, he became major of infantry, and married Mdlle. Josephine Tascher de la Pagerie, who subsequently became empress of France. In 1789 he was elected to the states-general and the national convention, and distinguished himself by his eloquence, as well as his upright sentiments. He was twice president of the convention; an office which he exercised with prudence and dignity. He afterwards joined the army of the north as general, but was shortly obliged to retire, in consequence of a decree of the convention excluding noblemen from the army. Being accused of treason in contributing by his inaction to the loss of Mayne, he was brought before the revolutionary tribunal, condemned to death, and guillotined.—G. M. <section end="472Lnop" />