OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Balanaea

From volume 2 of the work.
A titular see of Syria. The city of this name, a colony of Aradus (Strabo, XVI, 753), is placed by Stephanus Byzantius in Phoenicia, though it belongs rather to Syria. Its first known bishop was present at the Council of Nicaea in 325 (Lequien, Oriens Christ., II, 923). From that time to the sixth century the names of three others are known. At the latter date it was a suffragan of Apamea, the metropolis of Syria Secunda. When Justinian established a new civil province, Theodorias, with Laodicea as metropolis, Balanaea was incorporated with it, but continued to depend ecclesiastically on Apamea, till it obtained the status of an exempt bishopric. This was its condition in the tenth century, when it was directly subject to the Patriarch of Antioch. The Crusaders created there a Latin see, of which a bishop is known about 1200 (Lequien, III, 1189); the river near by it served as a boundary between the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the principality of Antioch. The Franks called if Valania according to the Greek pronunciation, the Musselmans Bulunvoas. Owing to the unsafe conditions of the country the Latin bishop lived at Margat, a neighbouring castle of the Hospitallers. Balanaea, today called Banias, is a little village at the foot of the hill of Qalcat el-Marquab, between Tartous (Tortosa) and Latakia (Laodicea); it is the residence of the kaïmakam of the district. It numbers about 1,550 inhabitants, 1,200 Maronites, and 230 non-Catholic Christians; they cultivate chiefly onion, olive-trees, and a very good tobacco. The roadstead is excellent, but is visited only by small boats.
S. VAILHÉ
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Baldachinum of the Altar

From volume 2 of the work.
A dome-like canopy in wood, stone, or metal, erected over the high altar of larger churches, generally supported on four columns, though sometimes suspended by chains from the roof. Other forms will be noted in tracing the cause of its history. The name is late medieval, baldacchino, from Baldocco, Italian form of Bagdad whence came the precious cloths of which in their later development these canopies were made. It was called earlier ciborium, from the Greek kiborion (the globular seed-pod of the lotus, used as a drinking-cup) because of the similarity of its dome top to an inverted cup. The early history of the baldachinum is obscure, but it probably originated in the desire to give to the primitive altar table a more dignified and beautiful architectural setting. The arcosolium altars of the catacombs perhaps foreshadow this tendency. With the construction or adaptation of the larger church edifices of the fourth century, the baldachinum became their architectural centre, emphasizing the importance of the sacrificial table as the centre of Christian worship. Thus, while the altar retained its primitive simplicity of form and proportions, the baldachinum gave it the architectural importance which its surroundings demanded. By its dais-like effect, it designated the altar as a throne of honour. It served also the practical purpose of supporting, between its columns, the altar-curtains, while from its roof were suspended lamps, vases, richly ornamented crowns, and other altar decorations. The summit was surmounted by the altar-cross. The earliest reference to the baldachinum is found in the "Liber Pontificalis" (ed. Duchesne, I, 172, 191, 233, 235) which described the Fastidium argenteum given by Constantine to the Lateran basilica during the pontificate of Sylvester I (314-335) and replaced, after the ravages of Alaric's Gothic hordes, by another erected during the pontificate of Sixtus III (432- 440). The oldest representation in art is the early sixth-century mosaic in the church of St. George in Thessalonica; while the oldest actual specimen is that in the church of St. Apollinare in Classe at Ravenna (c. 810). The use of the baldachinum was general up to the twelfth century, when it yielded to the growing importance of the reliquary as an adjunct to the altar, sometimes disappearing altogether, sometimes taking the form of a canopy over the relic-casket. With the placing of the altar against the wall, the baldachinum took the form of a projecting dais canopy (v. Altar-Canopy under ALTAR: IN LITURGY) or became the ciborium-like superstructure of the tabernacle or central tower of the altar. Italy was less affected by this evolution than were the centres of Gothic art, and the use of the older form is common there to-day. The most magnificent baldachinum in the world is that in St. Peter's in Rome designed by Bernini for Pope Urban VIII.
John B. Peterson.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Balderic

From volume 2 of the work.
(Or Baudry).
Bishop of Dol, in France, chronicler, b. about 1050; d. 7 January, 1130. After a brilliant course of studies at the famous school of Angers, he entered the Abbey of Bourgueil in Anjou, where he became abbot in 1079. In 1107 he received from Pascal II the pallium of Bishop of Dol. He assisted at all the councils held in his day, went several times to Rome, and left an account of a journey to England. He exercised considerable activity in reforming monastic discipline. The last years of his life were spent in retirement. He is remembered as the author of important or interesting contributions to history, poetry, and hagiography.
Balderic's most valuable work is his "Historiae Hierosolymitanae libri IV", an account of the First Crusade, based in part on the testimony of eyewitnesses, and submitted for correction to the Abbot Peter of Maillesais, who had accompanied the Crusaders. Among his other works are poems on the conquest of England and on the reign of Philip I; lives, in Latin, of his friend Robertus de Arbrissello (published by the Bollandists under 25 Feb.), of St. Valerian (published by Bouquet, Hit. Eccl. De France), and of St. Hugh of Rouen (published by Du Monstier, "Neustria Pia"); finally a letter to the monks of Fecamp which contains some valuable material relating to Breton manners, and to English and Norman monasteries (Duchesne and Bouquet, Historiens de France).
Histoire litteraire de la France, VIII, 400; Molinier, Sources de l'hist. de France.
J. V. Crowne.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Balderic (Baudry)

From volume 2 of the work.
A monk of Liège, a writer and teacher of the twelfth century, b. date unknown, at Florennes in Belgium; d. about 1157. He was proctor at the court of Pope Eugene III, and accompanied him to France when the machinations of Arnold of Bescia compelled the pontiff to leave Rome. At a synod held in Paris in 1147, Balderic became acquainted with Albero, the Archbishop of Trier, who induced him to become head of the cathedral school in Trier. As long as Albero lived, Balderic remained his friend and adviser, and, after his death, wrote his biography, which is remarkable for its classical Latin. It is published in Mon. Germ: Script., VIII, 243 sqq., and in P.L., CLIV, 1307 sqq.
Wattenbach. Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen (Berline, 1894), II, 3; Hauck, Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands (Leipzig, 1903), IV, 476.
MICHAEL OTT
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Baldassare Peruzzi

From volume 11 of the work.
An architect and painter, born at Siena, 7 March, 1481; died at Rome, 6 Jan., 1537. He derived much benefit from the years of apprenticeship under Bramante, Raphael, and Sangallo during the erection of St. Peter's. An evidence of his genius for independent work is the Palazzo Massimi alle Colonne, which he began in 1535. Almost all art critics ascribe also to him the Villa Farnesina. In this, two wings branching off from a central hall, a simple arrangement of pilasters, and a beautiful frieze on the exterior of the building, airy halls, and a few splendid rooms are combined in excellent taste. The paintings which adorn the interior are for the most part by Peruzzi. The decoration of the façade, the work of Peruzzi, has almost entirely perished. To decorate this villa on the Tiber a number of second-rate artists were employed, and just as the style of the villa in no wise recalls the old castellated type of country-house, so the paintings in harmony with the pleasure-loving spirits of the time were thoroughly antique and uninspired by Christian ideas. It seems that Raphael designed the composition of the story of Amor and Psyche as a continuation of the Galatea. On a plate-glass vault Peruzzi painted the firmament, with the zodiacal signs, the planets, and other heavenly bodies, his perspective being so skilful as to deceive even the eye of Titian. The close proximity of Raphael's work has overshadowed Peruzzi in the ceiling decoration of the Stanza d'Eliodoro in the Vatican. While Raphael designed the mural paintings and, it may be, the entire plan for the decoration of the hall, it is certain that the tapestry-like frescoes on the ceiling are to be ascribed to Peruzzi. Four scenes represent God's saving omnipotence as shown in the case of Noe, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses. The manifestation of the Lord in the burning bush and the figure of Jehovah commanding Noe to enter the ark were formerly considered works of Raphael. But some time before, Peruzzi had produced for the church of S. Croce in Gierusalemme a mosaic ceiling, the beautiful keystone of which represented the Saviour of the world. Other paintings ascribed to him are to be found in S. Onofrio and S. Pietro in Mostorio. That Peruzzi improved as time went on is evident in his later works, e.g., the "Madonna with Saints" in S. Maria della Pace at Rome, and the fresco of Augustus and the Triburtine Sibyl in Fontegiusta at Siena. As our master interested himself in the decorative art also, he exercised a strong influence in this direction, not only by his own decorative paintings but also by furnishing designs for craftsmen of various kinds.
REDTENBACHER, Peruzzi und seine Werke (Karlsruhe, 1875); WEESE, Baldassare Peruzzi's Anteil an dem malerischen Schumcke der Villa Farnesina (Leipzig, 1894); RICHTER, Siena (Leipzig); STEINMANN, Rem in der Renaissance (Leipzig); GEUNER, Fresco Decorations and Stuccoes of Churches and Palaces in Italy (London, 1854).
G. GIETMANN.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Baldwin of Canterbury

From volume 2 of the work.
Thirty-ninth Archbishop, a native of Exeter, date of birth unknown; d. 19 Nov., 1190. He was ordained priest and made archdeacon by Bartholomew, Bishop of Exeter. He subsequently became a Cistercian monk at the Abbey of Ford, in Devonshire, and within a year was made Abbot of Ford. In 1180 he was promoted to the Bishopric of Worcester and in the same year was elected to the primatial see by the bishops of the province. The election was disputed by the monks of Canterbury, who chose first the Abbot of Battle, then Theobald, Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia. King Henry II interfered. Baldwin, who, according to Gervase, refused to accept the archbishopric unless he was elected by the monks, was installed, and an arrangement was entered into by which, in the future, the bishops' elections were to be disallowed. He was several times engaged in disputes with the Canterbury monks, necessitating the further interference of King Richard and of the Holy See. The prior, Norreys, whom he had nominated, was deposed; but his right to appoint the priors was acknowledged.
Baldwin acted as legate in Wales, where he held a visitation in 1187, and in 1188 preached the Crusade, after having himself taken, The cross on hearing the news of the loss of Jerusalem. In 1190 he set out for the Holy Land, in company with Hubert, Bishop of Salisbury, and others, providing at his own costs two hundred knights and three hundred retainers. While there he acted a vicegerent of the patriarch. Girdles Cambrensis describes he as gentle, kindly disposed, learned, and religious. He died during the siege of Acre, leaving all he possessed for the relief of the Holy Land and naming Bishop Hubert as his executor. His works (to be found in the "Bibliotheca Patrum Cisterciensium", V) are "De Commendiatione Fide"; "De Sacramento Altaris". There are also some discourses and a penitential in MS. Preserved in the Lambeth Library.
Gervas of Canterbury, Chronicle, I; Giraldus Cambrensis, De Sex Episcop. Vit.; Idem, Itin. Kambriae Epp. Cantuar.; Gesta Regis Henrici; Introduction to Memorials of Richard I (all in Rolls Series).
FRANCIS AVELING
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Baldassare Castiglione

From volume 3 of the work.
An Italian prose-writer, b. at Casatico, near Mantua, 6 December, 1478; died at Toledo, Spain, 7 February, 1529. After receiving a classical education at Milan, he went to the court of Ludovico il Moro. Soon, however, owing to his father's death in 1499, he left the Sforza and became a retainer of Francesco Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua. In September, 1504, Urbino became his new residence, and here, in the service of Duke Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, he spent the best years of his life. The splendour of the Montefeltro court was such as to attract thither the most distinguished writers and artists of the time, and in their midst Castiglione, though engrossed in momentous affairs of state, drank at the fountain-head of art and literature. In 1513 Francesco Maria della Rovere, Guidobaldo's successor, made him a count and later his ambassador to the Holy See. In 1524 Pope Clement VII sent him as a special envoy to Charles V, but, in spite of his good offices on behalf of the pontiff Rome was sacked on the 6th of May, 1527, and Clement made a captive. This melancholy event broke Castiglione in health and spirits and hastened his death. Great honours were paid to his memory, and Charles the Fifth was said to have called him "one of the best knights in the world". His fame, however, mainly rests on his "Cortegiano" (Courtier), a work in four books, describing the accomplishments and moral character of the ideal courtier. He began writing it in 1514 and finished it four years later, but polished its style so elaborately as to delay its publication until 1528, one year before his death. A truly representative son of the Renaissance, he exhibited in his "Courtier" brilliant classical scholarship and exquisite taste, combined with a keen spirit of observation and noble conceptions. As a result, "Il Cortegiano" gradually acquired a world-wide reputation, and was translated into a dozen languages, including Japanese. The latest edition is that of Opdyke (New York, 1902). His many letters, in part unpublished, are of considerable importance.
CIAN, Il Cortegiano del Conte B.C. annotato e illustrato (Florence, 1894); MARTINATI, Notizie storico-bibliografiche intorno al Conte B.C. (Florence, 1890).
EDOARDO SAN GIOVANNI
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Basruvōgaru

​Basruvōgaru (basru, belly).—An exogamous sept of Gauda.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Baththāla

​Baththāla (rice).—An exogamous sept of Kamma.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Bejjo

​Bejjo.— A sub-division of Bhondāri, and title of Kevuto.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Bardēshkar

​Bardēshkar (people of twelve countries). — Some families among Konkani Brāhmans go by this name.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Basavi

​Basavi.— See Dēva-dāsi.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Basiya Korono

​Basiya Korono.—A sub-division of Korono.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Batlu

​Batlu (cup).—An exogamous sept of Kuruba.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Bauri

​Bauri.—There are found in the Madras Presidency nomad gangs of Bauris or Bāwariyas, who are described † as " one of the worst criminal tribes of India. The sphere of their operations extends throughout the length and breadth of the country. They not only commit robberies, burglaries and thefts, but also practice the art of manufacturing and passing counterfeit coin. They keep with them a small quantity of wheat and sandal seeds in a small tin or brass case, which they call Dēvakadana or God's grain, and a tuft of peacock's feathers, all in a bundle. They are very superstitious, and do not embark on any enterprise without first ascertaining by omens whether it will be attended with success or not. This they do by taking at random a small quantity of grains out of their Dēvakadana and counting the number of grains, the omen being considered good or bad according as the number of seeds is odd or even. For a detailed record of the history of ​this criminal class, and the methods employed in the performance of criminal acts, I would refer the reader to the accounts given by Mr. Paupa Rao * and Mr. W. Crooke. †
* ↑ † M. Paupa Rao Naidu. The Criminal Tribes of India. No. III, Madras,1907.
* ↑ * Op. cit.
* ↑ † Tribes and Castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh. Bawariya, 1906.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Barrellu

​Barrellu (buffaloes). — An exogamous sept of Kāpu.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Basari

​Basari (fig tree). — A gōtra of Kurni.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Decalogue

From volume 4 of the work.
(Greek deka, ten and logos, word).
The term employed to designate the collection of precepts written on two tables of stone and given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. The injunctions and prohibitions of which it is composed are set forth in Exodus (20:1-17) and in Deuteronomy (5:6-21). The differences discernible in the style of enumerating them in Exodus as contrasted with Deuteronomy are not essential and pertain rather to the reasons alleged for the precepts in either instance than to the precepts themselves. The division and ordering of the commandments in use in the Catholic Church is that adopted by St. Augustine (Quæstiones in Exodum, q. 71). That which is commonly in vogue amongst Protestants seems to have Origen for its sponsor. He regarded Exodus 20:3-6, as containing two distinct commandments and in this hypothesis in order to keep the number ten, verse 17 would have but one. The practice now universally adhered to among Catholics is just the reverse. See COMMANDMENTS OF GOD.
JOSEPH F. DELANY
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Vēngai Puli

​Vēngai Puli (cruel-handed tiger). — An exogamous section of Kallan.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Vētagiri

​Vētagiri.— A Tamil class found in the Chingleput district. The members thereof are employed in hunting, cultivation, and the manufacture of wild date baskets. Their title is Nāyakan.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Vēlampan

​Vēlampan (rope-dancer). — Possibly a name for the Koravas of Malabar, who perform feats on the tight-rope.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Vēshya

​Vēshya (Sansk: Bēshya). — A name denoting prostitute, applied to dancing-girls.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Vīrabhadra

​Vīrabhadra.— A synonym of the Tamil washermen (Vannān), whose patron deity is Vīrabhadra, from whom they claim descent.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Vēl

​Vēl (lance). — A sub-division of Malayālam Paraiyans, and an exogamous sept or sub-division of Kānikars in ​Travancore. Vēlanmar (spearmen) occurs as a name for the hill tribes of Travancore.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Vēmu

​Vēmu (margosa or nīm: Melia Azadirachta). — An exogamous sept of Mūka Dora.
# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Vīra Māgāli

​Vīra Māgāli (a god). — An exogamous section of Kallan.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Giovanni Maria Cornoldi

From volume 4 of the work.
Professor, author, and preacher, born at Venice, 29 Sept., 1822; d. at Rome, 18 Jan., 1892. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1840 and taught philosophy at Bressanone and Padua for many years. From 1880 until his death he belonged to the editorial staff of the "Civiltà Cattolica", at Rome and often preached at the church of the Gesù. He was an ardent disciple of St. Thomas and wrote many works in explanation of his doctrine and in refutation of Rosminianism. His "Lezioni di Filosofia" (Rome 1872) was translated into Latin by Cardinal Agostini under the title "Institutiones Philosophicæ ad mentem divi Thomæ Aquinatis". In addition to his purely philosophical writings he published a commentary on the "Divina Commedia" of Dante, illustrated from philosophy and theology. He founded academies in honour of St. Thomas at Bologna and at Rome and established two periodicals, "La Scienza Italiana" and the journal of the "Accademia di. S. Tommaso". He was a man of great amiability, zealous and fervent in religious life.
Civilità Cattolica, 1892, I, 348-352, gives a full list of his writings; Hurter, Nomenclator.
JOHN CORBETT
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Giovanni Paolo Lancelotti

From volume 8 of the work.
Canonist, b. at Perugia in 1522; d. there, 23 September, 1590. He graduated doctor of law in 1546, and taught that science shortly afterwards (1547 or 1548) in the university of his native town. Except for two short sojourns at Rome, he passed the remainder of his life in Perugia, in the study of law and belles-lettres. He owes his world-wide reputation to his "Institutiones Juris Canonici", the text of which is reproduced in most editions of the "Corpus Juris Canonici". Following the example of Emperor Justinian, who had entrusted to three professors the task of drawing up an elementary work on Roman law entitled the "Institutiones", intended for use in the schools, Lancelotti conceived the plan of a like work on canon law. Paul IV charged him officially with the execution of his plan, and for this purpose he went to Rome in 1557. To his great regret, neither Paul IV who died in 1559, nor his successor Pius IV, gave authentic and official approbation to his work, published by Lancelotti at Perugia in 1563 as an entirely private venture. The "Institutiones" are divided into four books, and treat successively of persons, things (especially marriage), judgments, and crimes. This division was inspired by the principle of Roman law: "Omne jus quo utimur vel ad personas attinet, vel ad res, vel ad actiones". (All our law treats of persons, or things, or judicial procedure.) It is a small and very simple didactic work, and may be considered a clear, convenient resume of canon law. Its divisions have been followed on broad lines by all authors of elementary treatises on canon law, and they have also borrowed its title "Institutiones". Lancelotti, however, erred when he applied to canon law the unsuitable divisions of Roman law. Having been published before the promulgation of the Council of Trent, this work had not the advantage of following its decrees; subsequent editors have remedied this defect by notes and commentaries. The best-known editions are those of Doujat (Paris, 1684; Venice, 1739), and Thomasius (Halle, 1715-17). Lancelotti's other writings are: "Institutionum juris canonici commentarium" (Perugia, 1560; Lyons, 1579), in which he gives the history of his aforesaid work; "De comparatione juris pontificii et caesarei et utriusque interpretandi ratione" (Lyons, 1574); "Regularum ex universo pontificio jure libri tres" (Perugia, 1587); "Quaestio an in cautione de non offendendo praestita comprehendantur banniti nostri temporis" (Lyons, 1587).
VERMIGLIOLI, Biografia degli Scrittori Perugini, II (Perugia, 1829), 40 sqq.; SCHULTE, Die Geschichte der Quellen und Literatur des canonischen Rechts (STUTTGART, 1875-80), III, 451 sqq.; SCHERER in Kirchenlex, s.v.
A. VAN HOVE