Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/485

BALINGHEM. town near Calais, in the Department of Pas-de- I Calais, France. See Field of the Cloth of Gold.

BALIOL, ba'll-ol or bfil'yol. Edward de ( ? - 13(i7). Tlic son of John Baliol. He was re- ceived as the vassal King of Scotland at the English Conrt. and made himself conspicuous, in 133'2, by his daring and successful invasion of Scotland, then under the regency of Randolph, Earl of Jloray. Accompanied by some English noblemen, bent on recovering their forfeited es- tates in Scotland, he landed with a few hundred followers at Kingluini. in Fifeshire; defeated the Earl of Fife ; ]nished lioldly into the country and, on Dupplin Moor, in Perthshire, routed with innnense slaughter an army more numerous than his own. On September 24, he was crowned King of Scotland at Scone. He acknowledged English suzerainty, and promised to give up Berwick. He had enjoyed the kingly dignity for about . three months, when he was surprised in his camp at Annan by a party of Scottish nol^les, and nearly lost his life as well as the crown. After the capture of Berwick, in 1333, he regained the throne. He was used as a tool by Edward III. until 13.56, when he surrendered to the latter the whole kingdom of Scotland. He died at Doncas- ter in 1367, and with him ended the house of Baliol. Consult Longman, llintori/ of the Life and Times of Edn-ard HI. (London, 1809).

BALIOL, ( 1240-1315). Lord of Galloway, and King of Scotland from 1292 to 1290. On the death of Princess Margaret, in 1290. he became a competitor for the ero^^•n of Scotland. As the grandson of the eldest daughter of David, Earl of Huntington, brother of William the Lion, and grandson of David I., his claim was pro- nounced superior to that of his principal competitor, Robert Bruce, Lord of Annandale, son of a second daughter. The arbiter on the occa- sion was Edward I., of England, who found this a fit opportunity for asserting his claim as Lord- paramount of Scotland. This claim was ac- knowledged by the Scottish Estates in submit- ting the contest to his decision; and, consistently with this submission, Baliol, before and after receiving the crown (November 30, 1292), swore fealty to Edward as his feudal superior. He was soon made to feel that his sovereignty was merely nominal, and the indignities which he experienced mused him to an assertion of his rights as king. With the advice of his nobles, he concluded an alliance in 129,t, with France, then at war with England — an act of revolt followed by speedy chastisement. Edward invaded Scotland with a large force: defeated the Scottish troops ( took Baliol prisoner, and compelled him formally to surrender his crown. ,Tuly 10, 1296. Baliol was held as a prisoner for three years, enjoying, how- ever, a limited freedom, and something of royal state. At the end of that time he was permitted to retire to his patrimonial estates in France, where he died in 131.5. The estimate by his sub- jects of this prince was significantly indicated l)y the surname of 'Toom Tabard,' or Empty Jacket.

BALIOL, Mrs. JI.rtii.v Bethune. The imaginary narrator of some of Scott's Chronicles of the ('(inon(i(ite.

BALIOL COLLEGE. See Balliol College. BALISARDA, bii'le-siir'da. A magic and all- penetrating sword, mentioned in Ariosto's Or- hiiidu Furioso. It was made by a witch, Faler- ina, to kill Orlando. Orlando surprised her in the act of looking at herself in the polished blade and took it. It was afterwards stolen b^' Bru- nello, and finally came into the possession of Eogero.

BALISAUR, bfil'i-sii'oor. An East Indian badger. See Badgeii.

BAL'ISTRA'RIA (Low Lat. lalistra, Lat. hiilliula, cros^,bo^^ I . One of the names given to those narrow apertures so often seen in the walls of old castles, through which the orossbowmen discharged their bolts. Their lower termina- tions are generally circular, but sometimes in the form of a shovel. They do not seem to have come into use till the Thirteenth Century. See Artilleky ; Loopholes.

BALIZE, ba-lez'. See British Honduras; Belize.

BALKAN (bal-kiin' or bnll^an) MOTJN'- TAINS (Turk., high ridge; the ancient H;e- mus). A mountain range in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkan Peninsula, forming a continuation of the Carpathian system. As such they may be considered to begin at the western extremity of the Transylvanian Alps, at the gorge known as the Iron Gates of the Danube, where the bound- aries of Hungary, Rumania, and Servia meet. Thence they extend due south through Servia and along the borders of Servia and Bulgaria, then bend alirnptly to the east, and continue in that direction as far as Cape Emineh, on the Black Sea (Map: Balkan Peninsula, E 3). The first section of the Balkans — that'extending north and south — is formed b.y rounded hills and ridges, which attain an extreme elevation of about 7000 feet. The main range consists of several sec- tions, including the Etropol, Kodja, and Ship- ka Balkans, which are arranged successively along an east and west axis, constituting the watershed between the Danube and the Maritza rivers and the boundary between Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. In this nuiin division, com- prising the Central Balkans, are the highest sum- mits of the range, several of which exceed 7000 feet (Yiimriicktchal, 7789; Kadimlia, 7410; Ambarica, 70,52). The Eastern Balkans, from the vicinity of Sliven to the Black Sea, con- sist of numerous ridges, usually less than 3000 feet high, and of more broken character than the mountains in the western and central sections. From the Balkans various ranges extend south- ward toward the .Egcan, the principal being the Rhodope ( Despoto-Dagh ), whose summits over- top those of the Balkans. Among the passes of the Balkans n>ay be mentioned the Troyan, Rosalita, and Shipka passes, which are at eleva- tions of 4000 to 5000 feet. The Balkan Range is composed largely of folded sedimentary strata; but in the west, crystalline schists containing deposits of copper, lead, and iron ore, are prominent.

BALKAN PENIN'SULA. A name commonly applied to the easternmost of the three great southern peninsulas of Europe, bounded by the Adriatic Sea on the west and the Black and Ægean seas on the east. Its northern boundary is generally considered to be the Danube, with its tributary, the Save. Thus defined, the peninsula comprises, within an area of about 175,000 square miles, the following countries: European Turkey, Bulgaria (including Eastern Rumelia), Servia, Montenegro, Bosnia, and Herzegovina,