Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/805

BELFORT. construction of a vast system of new works, into one nf tlic most impregnable fortresses in Europe. Population, in IS'Jl, 25,445; in 1890,27,715. Con- sult iiarilv, Etude historique sur Belfort (Bei- fort, 1898-1(100).

BELFORT,. A department on the eastern frontier of France (Map: France, N 4). Area. 235 square miles. Population, in 189fi. 88, 109 : in 1901. 91,705. It is named after its capital, and is the remnant of the former Department of Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine), the major portion of which was ceded to Germany by the Treaty of Frankfort in 1871.

BEL'FRY (ME. ierfrey, berfreit, M. Lat. her_c]frcdi(s, JIHG. bercfrit, a watchtower, from berc, protection, Ger. bergen, to cover, hide -f- frit, frid, place of security, tower, Ger. Friede, peace ) . Originally a wooden movable tower for protecting a besieging force in an attack on a fortification, such as Ciesar more than once mentions. Froissart describes one that was employed at the siege of the Castle of Breteuil in 1356: and at the siege of Jerusalem, by the Crusaders, one was carried in pieces, put to- gether just beyond bowshot, and then pushed on wheels to a proper position. Such towers some- times rested on six or eight wheels, and had as many as fifteen stories or stages ; but the height was usually limited to three or four. They were often covered with rawhides to protect them from boiling oil or grease thrown upon them by the besieged, and there was a hinged drawbridge at the top, which was let down upon the parapet of the wall to assist in landing. The lower stage frequently had a battering-ram, while the others were crowded with archers and slingers. See Fortification.

From this use, the word came to be applied to a wateli-tower, beacon, or liell-tower used for alarm and refuge in towns and monasteries, and particularly to the wooden framework from wliieh the bell was hung. In media'val toi-ns the bell was used not only on special occasions, but regularly, to annoiuice work-hours, sunrise and sunset, to%'n gatherings, as well as fire-alarms and calls to arms. The bell and belfry thus be- came the emblems of conununal freedom ; the most conspicuous belfries were those of the town- halls, such as those of Florence and Siena, Saint Quentiu and Douai, Brussels and Ypres, Glas- gow and Aberdeen ; others were isolated square towers, as at Venice, Auxerre and Evreu.x, Bruges and Ghent, and this was the primitive form; others were connected with city gates, as in .some of the Hanse towers, Bordeaux, etc. In the Fourteenth Century clocks as well as sun-dials were for the first time placed on belfries. The term belfry is even more conunonly used of the wooden frame for the bell in any bell-tower, even any chvirch-tower, and it was e.tended to in- clude that part of the structure containing it, tliat is the upper part of the tower, the bell- cliamber or bell-eage. But it is an error to use belfr;/ and bell-toirer or cKinpanile as synony- mous. The extension of the term belfry from civil structures to include religious ones is late and incorrect. See Bei.l-Towek; Campanile.

BELFRY OF BRU'GES, Fr. pron. bruzh, The. See Longfellow.

BEL'GÆ (Lat. nom. pi. of Belga). The northernmost of the three great groups into which the Celtic tribes of ancient Gaul were divided. They occupied the territory between the tiequaiia (Seine), Matruiia (Marne), Mo- sella. (Moselle), lihenus (Rhine), and the ocean, comprising the modern Belgium, with parts of Holland and northeastern France. To their south lay the Celt;E, or Gauls proper, and to their east the Germans. The chief of their many tribes were the Remi, Bellovaci, Suessiones, and Atrel)ates. The BelgiE had also crossed the Channel and settled in southern Britain, in Kent and Sussex. Ca?sar came in conllict with the Gallic Belgoe in B.C. 57, and crushed them after a long campaign (Css. B. G. 11. 1-33) ; but sev- eral of the tribes revolted later on. In the reor- ganization of the Empire under Augustus, the BelgsE were included in the province of Gallia Belgica on the west of the Rhine from the North Sea to the Lake of Constance.

BELGAUM, bel-gam'. The chief city of a district of the same name in the Presidency of Bombay, British India, situated east of the di- viding ridge of the West Ghats, about 2500 feet above the sea (Map: India, B 5). Its latitude is 15° 50' N., and longitude 74° 36' E., 42 miles northwest of Dharwar. Belgaum possesses a fort, which in 1818 was taken from the Peishwa by the British. The town lies between the fort on the east and the military cantonment. Under its new masters the place has made consider- able progress. In 1848 the citizens spontaneous- ly subscribed a considerable sum for the recon- struction of their roads and lanes — a liberality which, besides drawing forth a supplementary grant of public money, roused the enuilation of adjacent towns and villages. It has a superior institution for the education of native youths, which is supported by the neighboring princes, the British Government, and private individuals. The town has manufactures of cotton cloth and a trade in salt, fish, coir, dates, and eocoanuts. The average annual rainfall at Belgaum is about 36 inches. Belgaum is one of the principal mili- tary stations of the presidency. Population of town, in 1891, 40,700; in 1901, 26,200; of mili- tary cantomnent, 12,300. Area of Belgaum dis- trict, 4050 square miles; population, in 1891, 1,013,000; in 1901, 994.200.

BEL'GIC CONFES'SION. A statement of faith based on Calvinistic principles, written in French, formed by Guido de Bres, of Brabant, and others in 1561, and sent to Philip II. of Spain, to induce him to tolerate the Reformed Faith. It was published in the vernacular in 1562, afterwards translated into Dutch and German, and was received as a symbolical book by the synods of Antwerp (1506) and Dort (1619). It is reprinted in French with English translation, in Schaff's Creeds, iii. 383-436.

BELGIOJOSO, bel'jA-yo'so, Cristi.xa, Princess (1808-71). An Italian patriot and author, born at Milan. She did mucli to assist the Italian patriots in their struggles against Austria. In 1830 she removed to Paris, where she edited the Gaxtta Italiana and the Atisonia in behalf of Italian liberation. In 1848 she returned to Italy, spoke in the cause of freedom, and equipped at her own expense a volunteer corps. Exiled upon the capture of Rome by the French (1849), she returned to Italy in 1801 to found the periodicals-/?a/ia and Perseveranza. Her works include Souvenirs d'exi,