Bernardo Buil

Bernardo Buil, a Spanish Benedictine, the first missionary to the new world, born in Catalonia, died in 1520 as abbot of the convent of Cuxa. In 1493 he was appointed by the pope his vicar apostolic in the new world, and accompanied Columbus to Hispaniola on his second voyage, taking with him several priests. He differed with Columbus concerning the treatment of the natives, and in 1495 returned to Spain, where he bore a prominent part in the charges which led to the ruin of Columbus.

Bernardo De Balbuena

Bernardo De Balbuena, a Spanish poet and prelate, born at Val de Pefias in 1568, died in Porto Rico in 1627. He was educated in Mexico, became provost in Jamaica, and in 1620 bishop of Porto Rico. He wrote El siglo de oro ("The Age of Gold"), a pastoral romance, the scene of which is laid in the new world; La grandeza Mejicana (new edition, 1821); and El Bernardo (3 vols., Madrid, 1624; new ed., 3 vols. 8vo, 1808), an epic which is among his most finished productions.

Bernardo Tasso

Bernardo Tasso, an Italian poet, born in Bergamo, Nov. 11, 1493, died in Ostiglia in September, 1569. He became in 1531 secretary to the prince of Salerno, and accompanied him in several expeditions of Charles V. In 1539 he settled at Sorrento with his bride, the celebrated Porzia de' Rossi. After her death he fled from the inquisition, became connected with the courts of Urbino and Mantua, and ended his life as governor of Ostiglia. He wrote a heroic poem entitled L'Amadigi, founded on the story of Amadis de Gaul, containing 100 cantos. One of the episodes was expanded into a poem called Floridante, published after his death by his son. He also wrote sonnets, odes, and lyrics, a " Discourse on Poetry," and " Three Books of Letters".

Bernarrdines

Bernarrdines, a name given in France and Spain to some of the Cistercian monks and nuns. See Cistercians.

Bernau

Bernau, a town of Prussia, in the province of Brandenburg, 18 m. N. E. of Berlin; pop. in 1871. 5,466. The town hall contains many interesting Hussite antiquities from the year 1432, when the Hussites besieged the place.

Bernay

Bernay, a town of Normandy, France, department of Eure, on the left bank of the Cha-rentonne, a branch of the Rille, and upon the railway from Paris to Cherbourg, 25 m. W. N. W. of Evreux; pop. in 1866, 7,510. A horse fair held here every year is the largest in France, and sometimes draws together 40,000 persons. The manufactures are of woollen cloth, linen, flannel, leather, and cotton yarn. Judith, wife of Richard II., duke of Normandy, founded here an abbey in 1027. Its chapel, one of the oldest examples of the Romanesque style of architecture in Normandy, is now used for a market hall. Near the city is an ancient Gothic church to which pilgrimages are made. The city was formerly the capital of the Pays d'Ouche, the level district that lies between the Charentonne and the Rille.