Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/479

BALDACHIN. such as were used in the East, either to place or carry over the heads of dignitaries or to pitch as tents. They formed an indis])cnsable part of the court and traveling cqviipnent of Byzantine and Mohammedan rulers and maenates, and were among the most sumptuous presents interchanged (e.g. that sent by Harun-el-Rascliid to Charle- magne). Baldachins became well known in Eu- lope, tlirough the Italian trade with Constan- tinople and the ilohammedan East, and also through the crusades. Supported on four poles, they were carried over the heads of civil and religious dignitaries in all processions, corona- tions, marriages, religious rites, etc., and this custom is still continued in the processions of the ('atholic and Greek churches. Fi.Ked baldachins were used in royal and feudal throne-rooms, in Papal and episcopal halls, and over State tribu- nals: the term is also used for the canopies over State bedsteads. During the Renaissance, when the more purely architectural forms of the cano- pies over high altars, side altars, tombs, etc., were superseded by others of more pictorial type, the term 'baldachin' was applied to these perma- nent structures of marble or metal, such as Ber- nini's famous bronze baldachin over the high altar of Saint Peter's in Rome.

BALD COOT, BALD EAGLE, etc. See Coot; Eagle; etc.

BALD CY'PRESS. See Cypress.

BALDE, bal'dfi, Jakob (1G04-08). A poet, native of Alsace, who wrote in Latin. He was a .Jesuit, and for a time professor of rhetoric at Ingolstadt and court preacher at ilunich. He excelled as a lyric poet, and was especially suc- cessful as an imitator of Horace. Of his poems the following deserve mention: Lyricorum Libri IV., Epoilon Lihcr I. (104.3); fii/lvw Li/ricw (1043): I'rania Victrix (1663) — an allegory.

BALDER, b.al'der. A narrative poem by Sydney Dobell, written at Amberley Hill in 1853, and published in 1834. Its plot is singularly painful, and it abounds in monotonous descrip- tions. It evinces, however, a lofty imagination and a fine appreciation of nature.

BALDER, bal'der (Old Norse baldi; AS. heaUlui; OUG. balder, prince, lord; cf. OHG. hold, liold. Old Xin-se bnllr. bold, impudent). In Scandinavian mythology, the son of Odin and Frigg, symbol of summer, light, beauty, amia- bility, persuasive eloquence, and gracious wisdom. According to the (Ji/lfeginning (see Edda) he lived at Brejdablik. 'The Voluspii tells a story of his death sviggesting the myths of Adonis and Persephone. Here Balder is killed by the evil god, Loki, aiming for the blind god, Hidur, an arrow of mistletoe (symbol of mid-winter). He was the first of the ^E.si)- to die. Hel, the god- dess of the underworld, promised to release Balder, if heaven and earth unanimously asked it. Loki, as Thiikt, refused, and escaped ven- geance. But Balder will return after Ragnariik, the Twilight of the Gods, and usher in a golden age. Use has been made of this myth by Richard Wagner, in his Xibelungen tetralogy. See Scan- dinavian and Teutonic Mythology.

BALDER DEAD. (1) A dramatic poem by the Danish writer, .lohannes Ewald, published in 1773. (2) A stately and pathetic narrative poem by Matthew Arnold, founded on the death and funeral of the Norse god and his journey to the underworld, where he was held in honor. See Balder.

BALDERSTONE, bal'der-stijn', Caleb. A faithful old butler in the family of the Master of Ravenswood, in Scott's liride of Lammermoor. BALDI, biil'de, Bern.vbdino (1553-1617). An Italian savant and poet. He is said to have been master of a dozen languages, and to have written upward of 100 different works. He became tutor to Ferrante Gonzaga, through whom he was made Abbot of Guastalla, an office which he held for 25 years. He was famous as a theologian, mathematician, geograjjlier, an- tiquarian, historian, and poet. He devoted 12 years to the work of which the Croiiica dei mate- mntici is an abridgment, and also wrote La Xautica, a poem on navigation, an Arabic gram- mar and dictionary, and a translation of the Tar- ynm of Onkelos. For his biography, consult AfTo, Vita di Bernardino Baldi (Parma, 1.783).

BALD'NESS. Absence of hair upon the scalp, or loss of hair already grown. The term aJoiteeia is often used synonymously with the term baldness, but strictly speaking" should not l)e applied to lack of hair that is congenital. I'lntire absence of development of the hair is termed congenital baldness, or hypotrichosis congenita. Senile baldness is termed calvities or calvitium. Pincus is authority for the state- ment that the life of a hair is 'from two to si.x years, at the end of which time it falls and is replaced by new growth. According to this calculation, from 50 to 60 hairs are shed each day. During vigorous health and until the prime of life has been passed, enough new hairs grow to replace the dead ones, and baldness does not occur. Baldness occurring at 40 or 50 years of age is called premature alopecia, and is due to disease. A frequent cause of baldness in the young is seborrhoeie eczema of the scalp, which is characterized by increased formation of dand- ruff, and is of bacterial origin. It occurs as early as the eighteenth year. In the absence of this cause, baldness in young men has been ascribed to the effects of the lead used in pre- paring the 'sweat-leather' which lines the hat where it touches the head. Anemia, wasting diseases, such as fevers, child-bearing, and de- bility due to dissipation, are all ascribed as causes of baldness. It is also hereditary in cer- tain families, and in such cases appears to be due to failure in the nutrition of the scalp. Wo- men are less lial)le to baldness than men — a fact probably due to the circumstance that they take better care of the hair, wet it less often, and less frequently exhaust the natural oil of the seba- ceous glands of the scalp by the use of strong alkaline shampoos. Syphilis and favus (q.v. ) cause baldness in both sexes. Shaving the head, when the hair falls in great quantity, was once thought of advantage ; but the wearing of a wig impedes the growth of the hair upon a shaven scalp. Chloral, ointment of mercury, cantharides, sulphur, tar, and resorcin, are used with success in checking baldness in some cases. Consult: Kaposi, Diseases of the Skin (Eng. trans., New York, 1805) ; Unna, in Archiv fiir Dermatologie und Syphilis i 1882).

BALDO, bal'di'i, Monte (It., bold mountain). A mountain in Lombardy, Italy, between Lake Garda and the Adige. Its highest peaks are the