BELLORI (JOHN PETER), a celebrated Italian antiquary, was born at Rome about the year 1616, and was intended by his father for a place in some chancery, and with that view he was sent to his maternal uncle Francis Angeloni, secretary to the cardinal Aldobrandini; but here he imbibed a very different taste from that of official routine. Angeloni had early contracted a love for the study of antiquities, and purchased the best books he could find on the subject, and his pupil insensibly fell into the same track of curiosity, and even surpassed his master. Christina, queen of Sweden, having heard of his character, made him her librarian, and keeper of her museum. Bellori died in

1696, aged near eighty, the greater part of which long life he passed in the composition of his various works. He had also acccumulated a valuable collection of books, antiquities, &c. which afterwards made part of the royal collection at Berlin. One of his first works was written in defence of his master Angeloni, who, having, in 1641, published his "Historia Augusta, &c." (see ANGELONI) it was attacked in France by Tristan, the sieur de St. Amant, in his "Commentaires Historiques." Bellori published a new edition of Angeloni's work in 1685, much improved. His own works are, 1. "Notæ in numismata, tum Ephesia, tum aliarum urbium, Apibus insignita, cum eorum iconibus æneis," Rome, 1658, 4to. 2. "Fragmenta vestigii veteris Romæ, ex lapidibus Farnesianis," ibid, 1673, fol. 3. "La Colonna Trajana," &c. ibid. oblong fol. 4. "Le pitture antiche del sepolcro de' Nasoni nella via Flaminia, &c." ibid, 1680, fol. 5. “ J. P. Bellorii nummus Antonini Pii de anni novi auspiciis explicatus," ibid, 1676, 8vo. 6. "Gli antichi sepolcri, ovvero Mausolei Romani et Etruschi, &c." Rome, 1699, fol. Leyden, 1728. It was translated also into Latin by Alex. Duker, and published at Leyden, 1702, fol. Haym mentions an edition of the original at Rome, 1704. 7. "Le antiche lucerne sepolcrali, &c." ibid. 1691, fol. 8. "Veteres arcus Augustorum, triumphis insignes, ex reliquiis quæ Romæ adhuc supersunt," Leyden, 1690, fol. 9. "Vite de pittori, scultori et architetti moderni," Leyden, 1672, 4to. 10. "Vet. Philosophorum, Poetarum, &c. Imagines," Rome, 1685, fol. and several of his antiquarian tracts are inserted in Gronovius's Antiquities.'

.

1 Moreri.-Mazzuchelli-Saxii Onomast.

BELLOSTE, or BELOSTE (AUGUSTINE), a French surgeon, was born at Paris in 1654, and after studying medicine and surgery, became surgeon-major to the French army in Italy, and afterwards first surgeon to the duchess dowager of Savoy. His practice was extensive and successful, and he had also cultivated polite literature with considerable enthusiasm. He is now, however, principally known by a work, which was long very popular, under the title of "Le Chirurgien de l' hospital," Paris, 1695, 1705, and translated into English and most of the continental languages. There were five editions at least of the Dutch translation. In 1725 the author published a second volume at Paris, in which he advances many facts and experiments relative to the effects of mercury, of which Bianchi, professor of anatomy at Turin, availed himself in his Latin dissertation on the use of that mineral, and is said to have claimed discoveries which were really made by Belloste. The latter, however, appears to have been somewhat of a quack, as we are told that he bequeathed to his son the secret of compounding those mercurial pills, of which he speaks so often in his " Hospital Surgeon." 1

BELMEIS or BEAUMES (RICHARD DE) I. bishop of London in the reign of Henry I. was advanced to that see through the interest of Roger Montgomery, earl of Shropshire, and consecrated 26th July, 1108. Immediately after his consecration, he was appointed, by the king, warden of the marches between England and Wales, and lieutenant of the county of Salop; which offices he held about three years, residing for the most part of the time at Shrewsbury. This prelate expended the whole revenues of his bishopric in the structure of St. Paul's cathedral, for which purpose he purchased several adjoining houses of the owners, which he pulled down, and converted the ground they stood upon into a church-yard, and this he surrounded with a very high wall. Bishop Godwin thinks this wall remained entire in his time, though no part of it was to be seen by reason of the houses, with which it was on all sides covered. Despairing, however, of seeing it finished, he turned the stream of his liberality another way; and, exchanging the manor of Landsworth for a place in the diocese of London called St. Osith de Chich, near Colchester in Essex, he built there a convent of regular canons. Being

1 Moreri.-Dict. Hist.

seized with a dead palsy, and thereby disqualified for the exercise of his episcopal functions, he intended to have, resigned his bishopric, and to have spent the remainder of his life in the monastery of his own foundation: but whilst he delayed his purpose from day to day, he died Jan. 16, 1127: and he was buried in the convent of St. Osith. Tanner informs us, that, in the monastery of Peterborough there was formerly a treatise, written in verse, by bishop Belmeis, and addressed to Henry I.1

BELMEIS or BEAUMES (RICHARD DE) II. bishop of London in the reign of king Stephen, was nephew to the preceding, and son of Walter de Belmeis. Before be came of age, he was appointed by his uncle archdeacon of Middlesex: but the bishop was prevailed upon by William,, dean of London, his nephew by his sister Adelina, and by the prior of Chich, to commit the administration of the archdeaconry, during Richard's minority, to Hugh, one of his chaplains. It was with no small difficulty that Richard afterwards recovered his archdeaconry out of the hands of this faithless guardian. In the beginning of October 1151, he was advanced to the see of London, in the room of Robert de Sigillo, and consecrated at Canterbury by archbishop Theobald, in the presence of all the bishops of England, excepting Henry of Winchester, who excused his absence, but warmly approved the choice of Richard, in a letter to the archbishop. This prelate died 4th May, 1162, leaving behind him a reputation for singular eloquence. According to Dr. Richardson, whose authority is a manuscript of the late Roger Gale, esq. our prelate was the writer of the "Codex niger," or Black Book of the Exchequer. *

2

BELMEYS (JOHN), commonly called Joannes Eboracensis, or John of York, an eminent divine in the twelfth century, was born of a good family. After having laid the foundation of learning in his own country, he travelled abroad, and visited the most famous universities of France and Italy, where he acquired the reputation of being the most learned man of his age. He then returned home, and was made a canon, and treasurer of the cathedral church of York: but he soon quitted this post, and went back again into Italy, lived a considerable time at Rome, and had the honour of conversing familiarly with pope Adrian IV. who was an Eng

1 Biog. Brit.-Tanner.-Godwin.-Camden's Britannia.

2 Ibid.

lishman by birth. Alexander III. who succeeded Adrian in 1159, made him bishop of Poitou in France, and he was consecrated at the abbey of Dole, in the diocese of Berry. He sat there above twenty years, and was translated to the archbishopric of Lyons, and became thereby primate of all France. He was archbishop of that city nearly eleven years. It is said, he returned into England in 1194, being then a very old man; but we are not told when or where he died. Bale informs us, that he vehemently opposed archbishop Becket in the contests he had with king Henry II. and that he was very expert in controversial writing. Bale and Pits mention the titles of some of his works, but it does not appear that any of them are extant. Leland could not discover any thing certainly written by him.'

BELON (PETER), M. D. of the faculty of Paris, was born about 1518, in the Maine. He travelled into Judea, Greece, and Arabia; and published in 1555, in 4to, a relation of whatever he had remarked most worthy of notice in those countries. He composed several other works, now rare, which were much esteemed at the time, for their correctness, and the erudition with which they abound. The chief of them are, 1. "De Arboribus coniferis," Paris, 1553, 4to, with plates. 2." Histoire de la nature des Oiseaux,"1555, folio. 3. " Portraits d'Oiseaux," 1557, 4to. 4. "Histoire des Poissons," 1551, 4to, with plates. 5. "De la nature et diversité des Poissons," 1555, 8vo. The same in Latin. He was preparing other works for the press, when he was assassinated from private resentment near Paris, in 1564. Henry II. and Charles IX. vouchsafed him their esteem, and the cardinal de Tournon his friendship, defraying the expences of his travels. *

BELSUNCE (HENRY FRANCIS Xavier de), bishop of Marseilles. This illustrious prelate was of a noble family in Guienne, had been of the order of Jesuits, and was made bishop of Marseilles in 1709. The assistance he gave his flock during the plague of 1720, that desolated the city of Marseilles, deserves to be commemorated. He was seen every where during that terrible calamity, as the magistrate, the physician, the almoner, the spiritual director of his flock. In the town-house of Marseilles there is a picture representing him giving his benediction to some poor wretches who are

Biog. Brit.-Tanner.-Godwin.-Camden's Britannia. 2 Diet. Hist.-Moreri.-Haller and Manget.

dying at his feet; in this he is distinguished from the rest of his attendants by a golden cross on his breast. Louis the XVth, in 1723, in consideration of his exemplary behaviour during the plague, made him an offer of the bishopric of Laon, in Picardy, a see of greater value and of higher rank than his own. Of this, however, he would not accept, saying, that he refused this very honourable translation that he might not leave a church already endeared to him by the sacrifices of life and property which he had offered. The pope honoured him with the pallium (a mark of distinction in dress worn only by archbishops), and Louis XV. insisted upon his acceptance of a patent, by which, even in the first instance, any law-suit he might be so unfortunate as to have, either for temporal or spiritual matters, was permitted to be brought before the parliament of Paris. He died in 1755, closing a life of the most active benevolence with the utmost devotion and resignation. He founded at Marseilles a college, which still bears his name. He wrote "L'histoire des Evêques de Marseille ;"" Des Instructions Pastorales ;" and in 1707, when he was very young, he published "La vie de Mademoiselle de Foix Candale," a relation of his, who had been eminent for her piety. A particular account of the exertions of this benevolent prelate during the terrible calamity that afflicted Marseilles is to be found in the "Relation de la Peste de Marseilles, par J. Bertrand," 12mo, and in "Oratio funebris illust. domini de Belsunce Massiliensium episcopi," with the translation by the abbé Lanfant, 1756, 8vo.

The "Relation de la Peste de Marseilles," by M. Bertrand, is well written and authentic. He was a physician, and staid in the town during the whole time of its ravages.

The following letter from this excellent bishop to the bishop of Soissons speaks so much in his favour, that we shall make no apology for inserting it.

"Sept. 20, 1720, N. S.

"I wish, my lord, I were as eloquent as you are full of zeal and charity, to testify my grateful acknowledegment of your liberality, and the charities you have procured us; but in our present consternation, we are not in a condition to express any other sentiment than that of grief. Your alms came at a very seasonable time, for I was reduced almost to the last penny. I am labouring to get money for two bills for 1000 livres, which the bishop of Frejus was