of Things above Reason (1681); High Veneration Man owes to God
(1685); A Free Inquiry into the vulgarly received Notion of Nature
(1686); and the Christian Virtuoso (1690). Several other works
appeared after his death, among them The General History of the Air designed and begun (1692); a “collection of choice remedies,”
Medicinal Experiments (1692–1698); and A Free Discourse against Customary Swearing (1695). An incomplete and unauthorized
edition of Boyle’s works was published at Geneva in 1677, but the
first complete edition was that of Thomas Birch, with a life, published
in 1744, in five folio volumes, a second edition appearing in
1772 in six volumes, 4to. Boyle bequeathed his natural history
collections to the Royal Society, which also possesses a portrait of
him by the German painter, Friedrich Kerseboom (1632–1690).
BOYLE, a market town of Co. Roscommon, Ireland, in the
north parliamentary division, on the Sligo line of the Midland
Great Western railway, 10614 m. N.W. by W. from Dublin and
28 m. S. by E. from Sligo. Pop. (1901) 2477. It is beautifully
situated on both banks of the river Boyle, an affluent of the
Shannon, between Loughs Gara and Key. Three bridges connect
the two parts of the town. There is considerable trade in agricultural
produce. To the north of the town stand the extensive
ruins of a Cistercian abbey founded in 1161, including remains
of a cruciform church, with a fine west front, and Norman
and Transitional arcades with carving of very beautiful detail.
The offices of the monastery are well preserved, and an interesting
feature is seen in the names carved on the door of the lodge,
attributed in Cromwell’s soldier, who occupied the buildings.
Neighbouring antiquities are Asselyn church near Lough Key,
and a large cromlech by the road towards Lough Gara. Boyle
was incorporated by James I., and returned two members to
the Irish parliament.
BOYNE, a river of Ireland, which, rising in the Bog of Allen,
near Carbery in Co. Kildare, and flowing in a north-easterly
direction, passes Trim, Navan and Drogheda, and enters the
Irish Sea, 4 m. below the town last named. It is navigable for
barges to Navan, 19 m. from its mouth. Much of the scenery on
its banks is beautiful, though never grand. About 2 m. west of
Drogheda, an obelisk, 150 ft. in height, marks the spot where the
forces of William III. gained a celebrated victory over those of
James II., on the 1st of July[1] 1690, known as the battle of the
Boyne.
BOYS’ BRIGADE, an organization founded in Glasgow by
Mr (afterwards Sir) W. A. Smith in 1883 to develop Christian
manliness by the use of a semi-military discipline and order,
gymnastics, summer camps and religious services and classes.
There are about 2200 companies connected with different
churches throughout the United Kingdom, the British empire
and the United States, with 10,000 officers and 100,000 boys. A
similar organization, confined to the Anglican communion, is the
Church Lads’ Brigade. Boys’ and girls’ life brigades are a more
recent movement; they teach young people how to save life from
fire and from water, and hold classes in hygiene, ambulance and
elementary nursing.
BOZDAR, a Baluch tribe of Rind (Arab) extraction, usually
associated with the mountain districts of the frontier near Dera
Ghazi Khan. They are also to be found in Zhob, Thal-Chotiali
and Las Bela, whilst the majority of the population are said to
live in the Punjab. They are usually graziers, and the name
Bozdar is probably derived from Buz, the Persian name for goat.
Within the limits of their mountain home on the outer spurs of the
Suliman hills they have always been a turbulent race, mustering
about 2700 fighting men, and they were formerly constantly at
feud with the neighbouring Ustarana and Sherani tribes. In
1857 their raids into the Punjab drew upon them an expedition
under Brigadier-General Sir N. B. Chamberlain. The
Sangarh pass was captured and the Bozdars submitted. Since
Baluchistan has been taken over they have given but little
trouble.
BOZRAH. (1) A capital of Edom (Gen. xxxvi. 33; Amos i. 12;
Is. xxxiv. 6, lxiii. 1), doubtfully identified with el-Buseireh, S.E. of
the Dead Sea, in the broken country N. of Petra; the ruins here
are comparatively unimportant. It is the centre of a pastoral
district, and its inhabitants, who number between 100 and 200,
are all shepherds. (2) A city in the Mishor or plain country of
Moab, denounced by Jeremiah (xlviii. 24). It has been identified
(also questionably) with a very extensive collection of ruins of
various ages, now called Bosrā (the Roman Bostra), situated in
the Hauran, about 80 m. south of Damascus. The area within the
walls is about 114 m. in length, and nearly 1 m. in breadth, while
extensive suburbs lie to the east, north and west. The principal
buildings which can still be distinguished are a temple, an
aqueduct, a large theatre (enclosed by a castle of much more
recent workmanship), several baths, a triumphal and other
arches, three mosques, and what are known as the church and
convent of the monk Boheira. In A.D. 106 the city was beautified
and perhaps restored from ruin by Trajan, who made it the capital
of the new province of Arabia. In the reign of Alexander
Severus it was made a colony, and in 244, a native of the place,
Philippus, ascended the imperial throne. By the time of Constantine
the Great it seems to have been Christianized, and not
long after it was the seat of an extensive bishopric. It was one of
the first cities of Syria to be subjected to the Mahommedans, and
it successfully resisted all the attempts of the Crusaders to wrest
it from their hands. As late as the 14th century it was a populous
city, after which it gradually fell into decay. It is now inhabited
by thirty or forty families only. Another suggested identification
is with Kusūr el-Besheir, equidistant (2 m.) from Dibon and
Aroer. This is perhaps the same as the Bezer mentioned in
Deuteronomy and Joshua as a levitical city and a city of refuge.
In 1 Macc. v. 26 there is mention of Bosor and of Bosora. The latter is probably to be identified with Bosra, the former perhaps with the present Busr el-Hariri in the south-east corner of the Lejā. (R. A. S. M.)
BRABANT, a duchy which existed from 1190 to 1430, when it
was united with the duchy of Burgundy, the name being derived
from Brabo, a semi-mythical Frankish chief.
The history of Brabant is connected with that of the duchy of Lower Lorraine (q.v.), which became in the course of the 11th century split up into a number of small feudal states. The counts of Hainaut, Namur, Luxemburg and Limburg asserted their independence, and the territory of Liége passed to the bishops of that city. The remnant of the duchy, united since 1100 with the margraviate of Antwerp, was conferred in 1106 by the emperor Henry V., with the title of duke of Lower Lorraine, upon Godfrey (Godefroid) I., “the Bearded,” count of Louvain and Brussels. His title was disputed by Count Henry of Limburg, and for three generations the representatives of the rival houses contested the possession of the ducal dignity in Lower Lorraine. The issue was decided in favour of the house of Louvain by Duke Godfrey III. in 1159. His son, Henry I., “the Warrior” (1183–1235), abandoned the title of duke of Lower Lorraine and assumed in 1190 that of duke of Brabant. His successors were Henry II., “the Magnanimous” (1235–1248), Henry III., “le Debonnair” (1248–1261), and John I., “the Victorious” (1261–1294). These were all able rulers. Their usual place of residence was Louvain. John I., in 1283 bought the duchy of Limburg from Adolf of Berg, and secured his acquisition by defeating and slaying his competitor, Henry of Luxemburg, at the battle of Woeringen (June 5, 1288). His own son, John II., “the Pacific” (1294–1312), bestowed liberties upon his subjects by the charter of Cortenberg. This charter laid the foundation of Brabantine freedom. By it the imposition of grants (beden) and taxes was strictly limited and regulated, and its execution was entrusted to a council appointed by the duke for life (four nobles, ten burghers) whose duty it was to consider all complaints and to see that the conditions laid down by the charter concerning the administration of justice and finance were not infringed. He was succeeded by his son, John III., “the Triumphant” (1312–1355), who succeeded in maintaining his position in spite of formidable risings in Louvain and Brussels,
- ↑ This was the “old style” date, which in the new style (see Calendar) would be July 11th (not 12th, as Lecky says, Hist, of Ireland, iii. p. 427). The 12th of July is annually celebrated by the Orangemen in the north of Ireland as the anniversary, but this is a confusion between the supposed new style for July 1st and the old style date of the battle of Aughrim, July 12th; the intention being to commemorate both.
