Chapter IV: Preface (4)

=Bruny=, =Byrne=, or =Byrnan=. Saxon for a breastplate or cuirass, called by the Normans “_broigne_.”

=Brushes.= (See HAIR PENCILS.)

=Brussels Point à l’Aiguille= differs somewhat from the lace usually known as Brussels Lace or Point d’Angleterre, but resembles Point d’Alençon in the réseau ground. (Fig. 114.) (See POINT D’ANGLETERRE.)

=Buccina= (Gr. βυκάνη). A kind of trumpet anciently made of a conch-shell, represented in the hands of Tritons.

=Buccula=, R. (_bucca_, a cheek). The chin-piece or cheek-piece of a helmet, which could be raised or lowered by the soldier at will.

=Bucentaur.= A monster, half man and half ox. The name of the Venetian state galley.

=Buckets=, Anglo-Saxon. (See BOWLS.)

=Buckle=, Her. The crest of the Pelham family, now represented by the Earls of Chichester. It is a common ornament of ecclesiastical buildings, houses, and other objects in Sussex. (Fig. 115.)

=Buckler.= (See CLIPEUS and SCUTUM.)

=Buckram.= A cloth stiffened with gum, so called from Bokhara, where it was originally made.

=Bucranium=, R. (βουκράνιον). An ox’s head from which the flesh has been stripped; an ox-skull employed in the decoration of friezes by Greek and Roman architects. Fig. 116 represents a _bucranium_ in the temple of Vespasian at Rome.

=Budge=, O. E. Lambskin with the wool dressed outwards. Mentioned by Chaucer.

=Buffett-stoole=, O. E. A stool with three legs.

=Buffin=, O. E. Coarse cloth of Elizabeth’s time.

=Bugles=, O. E. Glass beads in the hair, _temp._ Elizabeth and James I.

=Buldiellus=, Med. Lat. A baudric.

=Bulga=, R. A purse or leathern bag for money which was carried on the arm. According to Festus the word is of Gallic origin.

=Bulla=, R. (_bullo_, to bubble). A term denoting objects of various kinds, but all more or less approximating in shape to a water-bubble. The heads of certain nails were called _bullæ_; Fig. 117 shows one of the _bullæ_ decorating an ancient bronze door in the Pantheon at Rome. The _bulla aurea_ was an ornament of globular shape, worn round the neck by children of patrician family. The _bulla scortea_ was an ornament made of leather, worn by freedmen or individuals of the lower orders.

=Bulting-pipe=, O. E. A bolting-cloth for sifting meal.

=Bullula=, R. (_bulla_). Diminutive of BULLA (q.v.).

=Bur.= A term in etching for the rough edge of a line, commonly removed, but by Rembrandt and other great masters made effective.

=Burdalisaunder=, =Bourde de Elisandre=. Burda, a stuff for clothing (mentioned in the 4th century) from Alexandria. A silken web in different coloured stripes; 14th century.

=Burgau.= A univalve shell, _Turbo marmoratus_, producing a mother-of-pearl; and hence all works in mother-of-pearl, of whatever material, are called “burgau.” (_Jacquemart._)

=Burin.= An instrument for engraving on copper.

=Burnisher.= A steel instrument used by engravers to soften lines or efface them. An agate is used to burnish gold.

=Burnt Sienna.= (See SIENNA.)

=Burnt Terra Verde.= (See GREEN EARTH.)

=Burnt Umber.= (See UMBER.)

=Burr=, O. E. (1) The broad iron ring on a tilting-lance, just below the gripe, to prevent the hand slipping back. (2) Projecting defences at the front of a saddle. (_Meyrick._) (3) The rough edge produced on the metal by an incised or etched line in an engraving.

=Buskin.= (See COTHURNUS.)

=Bustum=, R. (_buro_, to burn). An open spot upon which a pyre was raised for burning the corpse of a person of distinction. When the area adjoined the burying-ground, it was called _bustum_; when it was separate from it, it was called _ustrina_.

=Buttress=, Arch. An abutment employed to increase the solidity or stability of a wall; it may either immediately abut on the wall, or be connected with it by a flying or arch-buttress (Fig. 118). In the Romano-Byzantine and lanceolated styles buttresses are largely employed to strengthen the walls of naves which have to support high vaulted roofs.

=Buxum=, R. (πύξος). Box, an evergreen, the wood of which was used for various purposes, as with us. By analogy, the term _buxum_ was applied to objects made of this wood, such as combs, flutes, children’s shoes, and waxed tablets for writing.

=Buzo=, O. E. The arrow for an arquebus, or cross-bow. French, _boujon_: “a boult, an arrow with a great or broad head.” (_Cotgrave._)

=Byrrus.= (See BIRRUS.)

=Byssus=, Gr. and R. (βύσσος). The precise meaning of this term is unknown; there is no doubt it was a texture made of some very costly material, since we learn from Pliny that the byssus cloth which he calls _linum byssinum_ was exceedingly dear. Everything leads us to suppose that it was a linen material of the finest quality. This opinion would seem to be confirmed by Herodotus and Æschylus. The word comes from the Hebrew _butz_.

=Byzantine Period.= Time, about 6th to 12th century A. D. (_Byzantium_, the Latin name of Constantinople.) Byzantine Architecture is noteworthy for a bold development of the plan of Christian places of worship. It introduced the cupola, or dome, which was often surrounded by semi-domes; an almost square ground-plan in place of the long aisles of the Roman church; and piers instead of columns. The apse always formed part of Byzantine buildings, which were richly decorated, and contained marble in great profusion. St. Sophia, Constantinople (A. D. 532–537), is the finest example of Byzantine architecture. St. Mark’s, Venice (A. D. 977), and the Cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle (A. D. 796–804), are also of pure Byzantine style. Byzantine Painting was that which succeeded the decline of the early Christian Art in the catacombs and basilicas of Rome, and which preceded and foreshadowed the Renaissance of Art in Italy. In style it was based on that of the catacombs, but with a reminiscence of the excellence of ancient Greece; it was, however, restrained and kept within narrow limits by the conventionalities which were imposed upon it by the Church, and which almost reduced it to a mechanical art. The mosaics of the 10th and 11th centuries in St. Mark’s, Venice, are perhaps the best existing examples of the Byzantine period. Specimens are also to be seen in St. Sophia, Constantinople; and at Ravenna.