BRA 



400 



BRA 



Brajanti* open, but most of the houses are small, as in all in- 

 land towns in Portugal. Among the objects of cu- 

 riosity here, is the large old Gothic built cathedral, 

 with its antiquities and treasures ; also the church 

 and monastery of St Fructuosa, containing a mira- 

 culous picture of the virgin, and rich in treasures 

 and relics, stand on a hill with the town, so situated 

 as to form a fine object, as seen from a broad ancient 

 street. 



" Braga was a more considerable place in the 

 15th century than now. It has a hat manufactory, 

 which supplies a great part of Portugal with hats 

 for the common people, nor are the hats bad, though 

 they do not equal the English. There is also a ma- 

 nufactory of knives, which is inconsiderable. The 

 women are every where seen knitting, sewing, or 

 making linen, and signs of industry and activity 

 every where appear. The rich inhabitants of Bra- 

 ga have a bad name in the other very social towns of 

 Minho. They are accused of being quarrelsome, 

 fond of scandal, and their manners are very much 

 disliked." Population 13,000. The diocese includes 

 1200 parishes, and 150 convents. W. Long. 8 5', 

 N. Lat. 41 33'. See Link's Travels in Portugal, 

 p. 33*. (*) 



BRAGANTIA, a genus of plants of the class 

 Gynandria, and order Hexandria. See BOTANY, 

 p. 319. (tu) 



BRAGANZA, Berganca, Brigantia, and Bri. 

 gentium of the ancients, supposed by some to be the 

 Coeliobrigia of the ancients, is a town of Portugal, 

 in the province of Tralos Monies, situated in a spa- 

 cious plain near the river Fervenca, on the bor- 

 ders of Leon and Gallicia. Braganza consists of a 

 city, defended with towers and a castle, and a town 

 under the protection of a fort. Two parish churches, 

 two hospitals, and four convents, are the principal 

 public buildings. Stuffs of silk, velvet, and grogram 

 are the only manufactures of the place. The Oyder 

 f Braganza comprehends the city itself, and tsvelve 

 other towns, and contains about 75,000 inhabitants. 

 Theie were mines of silver in the Duchy. Popu- 

 lation of the town, 2,700. W. Long. 6 25', N. Lat. 

 41 44'. (o) 



BRAHE, TYCHO, a celebrated astronomer, was 

 Lorn on the 14th December, 1546, at Knudstorp, 

 a small lordship, near Helsingborg, in Schonen, and 

 was descended from a noble Swedish family that had 

 for some time been settled in Denmark. Blessed, or 

 burdened perhaps, with a large family, his father, 

 Otto Brahe, was anxious to educate his sons at the 

 least expence, and therefore chose for them the ho- 

 nourable and easy profession of a soldier. His son 

 Tycho, however, had the good fortune to be adopt- 

 ed as the heir of his uncle, George Brahe, who, per- 

 eeiving the capacity of his nephew, and his fondness 

 for study, got him instructed in the Latin language, 

 without the knowledge of his father. 



At the age of twelve, after the death of Otto 

 Brahe, his uncle sent Tycho to Copenhagen to com- 

 plete his studies, preparatory to his entering upon the 

 profession of the law. After he had spent two years at 

 this university without exhibiting a predilection for any 

 particular branch of knowledge, his passion for astro- 

 aomy was excited by one of those accidental circum- 

 u;ce to which science hat so often been indebted 



for her most able cultivators. The great eclipse of 

 the sun on the 21 st of August 1560, attracted his * 

 notice, and he was struck with astonishment when 

 he perceived that it happened at the precise time at 

 which it was predicted. From that moment he de- 

 termined to understand a science so correct in its 

 principles, and he immediately purchased a copy of 

 the Tabulce Bergenscs by Jo. Stadius, from which 

 he acquired some information respecting the plane- 

 tary motions. 



After finishing his studies at Copenhagen, he was 

 sent to Leipsic, to acquire a knowledge of the law ; 

 but the attractions of astronomy withdrew his atten- 

 tion from every other subject, unless when his tutor 

 urged him, by his remonstrances, to prepare for 

 the profession to which he was destined. The poc- 

 ket money allowed him by his uncle, was uniformly 

 expended in the purchase of astronomical books ; 

 and with a little celestial globe, he studied the names 

 of the stars, when sleep had disarmed the vigilance of 

 his preceptor. 



After remaining three years at Leipsic, he was 

 preparing to make the tour of Germany ; but, in con- 

 sequence of his uncle's death, in 1565, he returned 

 to inherit the fortune which had been bequeathed ta 

 him. His relations seem to have seized this oppor- 

 tunity of making their last effort to subdue his love 

 of science, and to bend his mind to the level of his 

 profession. They loaded him with reproaches for ha- 

 ving neglected his studies : and they treated his astro- 

 nomical knowledge as useless, and even degrading, 

 till his situation became so uncomfortable, that he 

 left the country with the design of travelling through 

 Germany. 



At the beginning of his travels, when Tycho had 

 arrived only at Rostoch, an accident occurred, which 

 had nearly terminated his career. At a wedding 

 feast to which he was invited, he quarrelled with a 

 Danish nobleman about some subject in geometry, and 

 being both of impetuous dispositions, the mathematici- 

 ans resolved to settle the difference in the field. In thi* 

 duel Tycho lost a considerable portion of his nose, 

 a loss which he very dexterously supplied with a sub- 

 stitute made of gold and silver, and fastened by 

 means of glue, so as to resemble the real member. 



During his visits to the principal cities of Ger- 

 many and Italy, Tycho became acquainted with the 

 most illustrious astronomers of the times, and ne- 

 glected no opportunity of improving in his favourite 

 study. Among these were the Landgrave of Hesse,, 

 one of the most accurate observers of his age, wha 

 contributed much to the future comfort of 1 ycho. 



During his stay at Augsburgh, he formed an inti- 

 mate acquaintance with the celebrated Peter Ramiit, 

 and he inspired with a love of astronomy Peter Hain- 

 zell, the consul or burgomaster of the city. This 

 public-spirited magistrate built an excellent obser- 

 vatory at his own expence, under the direction of 

 Tycho, in which they made many valuable observa- 

 tions before Tycho left Augsburgh. Hainzell con- 

 tinued to observe the heavens with great assiduity, 

 and afterwards published his observations on the 

 new star which appeard in 1572. 



In 1570, Tycho returned to Copenhagen ; but 

 from the fame which he had already acquired, he 

 was invited to court, and harassed with the visits and. 



