B A S 



2zEdw. III., whence Laurence de Hartings, earl of Pem- 

 broke, appears to have held the manor of Allon Cantloue, in 

 capite, by the fingular tenure of finding, in every war with 

 Wales, for forty days, a fcot-foldier, armed with a bovv 

 without a ih-ing, and a bafinet (cum uno bafueto fine cappa). 

 See Co'.vEL. 



BASINGSTOKE, or Basinge, John, in Biography, 

 a man of di;Hnguifl-ed learning in the thirteenth century, 

 was born at Bafingiloke in Hampfhire, and educate-^ partly 

 in the univtrfity of Oxford, and partly in that of Paris. 

 From Paris he travelled to Athene ; and on his return to 

 England brought with him a great number of Greek MSS., 

 and introduced the ufe of the Greek numeral figures into 

 this kingdom. He was eminentiy inilrumenlal in promoting 

 tlie ftudy of the Greek language ; and with this vieu he 

 tranilated from the Gree.k, into Latin, a grammar, v.-hich 

 he intitled " The Donatus of the Greeks." His olher 

 works were " A Latin tranflation of the Harmony of the 

 Gofpels ;" a volume of Sern-.ons; and "A L:;tin Commen- 

 tary upon Lombard's Sentences." He was preferred tirit 

 to the archdeaconry of London, and afttrivards to that of 

 Leicefter ; and died in 1252. Gen. Diet. 



Basingstoke, in Geography, a large pop'-dons town of 

 Hampfhire, in England, 16 miles N.E. of Winchefter, and 

 46 W. from London, whence it is a great thoroughfare to 

 the weftern counties. It appears that this place was of in- 

 ferior confideratiou to Bafmg, in its neighbourhood, previous 

 to the concjueil ; the latter phcc being the head of the 

 barony of Ports. In 1233, Peter de Rupibis, bifhop of 

 Winchefter, was poirefled of the advowfon of both the 

 churches, and gave the prefeutationi to tlie priory of Scl- 

 borne in Hampihire. Thefe afterwards were given, among 

 other el'ates, by bi/hop Waiuflcet to Magdalen college, Ox- 

 ford, in which the patronage is now veiled. In the church 

 lies buried the mother of Walter de Merton, bilhop of 

 Rochefter, founder of Merton college. Bafmguoke gave 

 birth to John de Bafingiloke, a learned Grecian ic'iolar, in 

 1252, and the intimate friend of Matthew Paris, and bifiiop 

 Groilhead. Henry III., at the defire of bifliop Merton, 

 founded an hofpital at this place for aged pvieiL from his 

 college at Oxford : of this collegiate chapel, which was en- 

 dowed in 1261, there are now no remains. A beautiful ruin 

 overlooks the town on the north fide, called Holy Ghoft 

 chapel. This was fonnded by fir William, afterwards lord, 

 Sandes, who, with bilhop Fox, obtained a licence from 

 Henry VIII. to found a brotherhood, to continue in per- 

 petual fucceffion, for the maintenance of a pried to perform 

 divine fervice, and for the inllruclion of youth in literature. 

 The town is a corporation, governed by a mayor, higli- 

 fteward, recorder, &:c. Its trade confifts in the manufafture 

 of druggets and (balloons; and the market, held on Wednef- 

 day, is very confiderable for corn ; the trade of the town alfo 

 is much benefited by a navigable canal. Bafing-lioufe, in 

 this neighbourhood, is rendered famous by the bold itand its 

 pofleiTor, Powlet m.arquis of Wnicheller, made againll the 

 parliament forces, during the civil wars iu tlie reign of 

 Charles I. Population; houfes 512, inhabited by 25S9 

 perfons. 



Basingstoke Canal. This was the firft channel of com- 

 munications with the Thames by means of canal naviga- 

 tion ; and in 1777, an aft was obtaiued for ui.iting tlie 

 waters of the river Lodden at a place called Newman 

 fprings, near the village of Bafing, to the river Wey, near 

 Weybridge in Surrey, where it falls into the Thames. One 

 important objeft of this canal is the carriage of fliip-timber 

 from the woods in Hampihire, to the public and private 

 dockyards on the Thames. The length of the courfe of 



Vol. IIL 



B A S 



Bafingftoke canal is nearly 44 miles. Warner's- Hiftory of 

 Hampihire, 4to. 



BASIOGLOSSUS Muscle, in Anatomy, the front 

 part of the Hyoglossus ; which see. 



BASJOURA, in Geography. See Bagiura. 



BASiRE, or Basier, Isaac, m Biography, a learned 

 and active divine in the feventeenth centur)-, was born in 

 1607, according to Wood (Athen. Oxon.), in the iHe of 

 Jcrlcy, but according to others in France, and after an edu- 

 cat:on in fome ichocl or univerfity, not afcertaincd, he be- 

 came mafler of the free-fchool at Guernfey. At ler.gth he 

 obtamcd iomo preferments in England, the laft of which 

 was the archdeaconry of Northumberland, with the annexed 

 rcftory of Ho wick ; and in 1640, he received the degree of 

 doiior in divinity at Canibri;!ge by m,-ndate. In the be- 

 ginning of the civil wars, he was plundered and comptlied t* 

 fly ; upon which he repaired to ki:.g Charks at Oxford ; 

 and in 1641, a licence was granted to him, under the public 

 (cal of the univerfity, to preach tlieword of God throi;ghcut 

 J^nglaiid. Upon the funcnderof Oxford to the Brit.lTi par- 

 ha;vent, he determined to leave the kingdom, and to propa- 

 gate the doftrine of the Englidi church" among the Greeks, 

 Arabians, &c. Accordingly he firll went to Zante, an 

 ifland near the Moiea ; and there imparted to the Greek in- 

 habitants the doftrine of the eftabli-Oied church, in a vulgar 

 Greek tranflation of our church catechifm. From hence he 

 was com.pelledby the Latins to retreat to the Morea, where, 

 at the defire of the m.etropolitan of Achaia, he preached 

 twice in Greek, at a meeting of fome of the bifhi ps and 

 clergy. He afterwards em-barked for Syria, ar.d during his 

 abode at Aleppo, furniflKd the patriarch of Antiocli v.'ith an 

 Arabic tranllation of our church catechifm. From Aleppo 

 he travelled, in 1652, to Jerufalem, and through the whole 

 of Faleftine. At Jerufalem he was honoured by the Greek 

 patriarch with liis bull, or patriarchal feal, and he received 

 mar-y tokens of refpeft from the Latins. At his departure from 

 Jerufalem, the pope's vicar gave him his diploma in parch- 

 ment, under his own hand and feal, in which he was ftyled 

 " a pi-iell of the church of England, and doftor of divinity." 

 On his return to Aleppo, he pilfed over the Euphrates into 

 Mefopotamia, intending to convey the chi;rch catechifm in 

 Turkiih to fome of their bifhops, who were moftly Arme- 

 nians. In 1653, after wintering at Aleppo, he travelled 

 by land to Conllantinoplc, where the Fiench Proteftants 

 defired him to be their minifter, promifing to fecure to him 

 a competent llipend. Before he quitted the eaftern parts, it 

 was his intention to have paffed into Egypt, to vifit the 

 Coptic churches, to confer with the patriarch of Alexandria, 

 and to impart to them a competent knowledge of the doc- 

 trines and forms of the church of England. But it is not 

 known whetlier he accompliihed this defign. In Tranfyl- 

 vania, whither he next removed, he was honoured by Ra- 

 gotzi II., prince of that country, with the divinity-chair in 

 his new-founded univerfity of Alba Julia or WeiiTenburg, 

 and endowed with a very ample falary. During his travels, 

 he collated the feveral conftflions of faith of the different 

 forts of Chrifiians, Greeks, Armenians, Jacobites, Maronitcs, 

 &c. which he kept by him in their own languages ; and it 

 was his conilant endeavour, as long as he remained in the 

 Eaft, to perfuade the feveral fefts of Chriftans to introduce a 

 canonical reformation of fome errors, and to unite with the 

 church of England. But it is laid, that his good inten- 

 tions for this purpofe were defeated by the artifices of the 

 court of France. Upon the reiloration of king Charles II., 

 Dr. Bafire was recalled by his majelly to England, and 

 rellored to his preferments and dignities. Having quietly en- 

 joyed his ample revenues for fevcrd -vears after the reiloration, 

 5 C ■ kc 



