B I R 



K. hx. 53« 4'. W. long. 7° 52'. Beaufort.— Coote's Sur^ 

 vcv o; Kiii>;'s County. 



niRRETUM, or BiRFTfM. in Jl^rllcrs of the Middit 

 and Loiuer Ages, a tlii>i Uh(.k cap or cover for the head, 

 made of hncn, fitted clofc to the head, and pointed by a 

 pyramid, anciently worn by pricth, foldiers, doClorf, &c. 

 Du-Can re. The word hirretum, fonietimcs written birrct- 

 ium and btrelHtn, is alfo applied to a cap ii<- coif of a jnt'pe, 

 or fcrieant at law. The birretum alfo ctnotes the cap 

 worn by the novices in the Jcfaits order, formerly of a 

 fquare, now a roinid figure. The birrtt was the ordinary 

 cover of the liead in France 500 years ago. It took its 

 denomination from Lirrus or blnum, the coat ancitntly nfed 

 by ecclcfiailics ; with which tlie cap was then of a piece, 

 and made part of it ; fo that the whole covered, not only 

 the head, but the fliouKltrs. Afterwards, when they 

 began to retrench the lo«er part, Hill ret:iii:ine; the upper, 

 it was no longer called birriis, or blnum, bnt diminutively 

 birrd, or bim/um, 



BIRRUS, an ancient habit worn by the Chrirtians in 

 Africa. Tiie word is alfo written byrnis, fuppofed to be 

 formed from rzv'fi^i:, on account of its red colour. Some 

 will have the birrus an epifcopal habif. Others extend it 

 to all the clergy. Others, on jutlcr grounds, make it the 

 common coat of all the Chriftians in that quarter. 



PiIRS, or BiRSH, in Geography, a river of Suiflerland, 

 which rnns*into the Rhine near Bafle. Near this river, 

 and not far from the town of Bafle, pre the hofpital and 

 burying jjround of St. James, famous in the hillory of 

 SwilTerland for a dcfpcrate combat in 144+. between tiie 

 Swifs and the dauphin of France, afterwards Lewis XI., in 

 which Swifs valour and intrepidity were very fignally dif- 

 played. Upon this occafion 15CO Swifs charged Soco of 

 the enemy's cavalr)- with fuch determined and well con- 

 dufted valour, as to drive them back ; and Uhen the enemy 

 received reinforcement, the Swifs renewed the afiault) and 

 forced them to repafs the river Birs, and join the main 

 body of the army. The Swifs, encouraged by this fucctTs, 

 and alfo exafperat-.dwith the moil fpiritetl indignation airainfl 

 the invaders of their country, radily attempted, agaiall the 

 rcmonftranccs of their officers, to force their paffage over 

 a hrdge guarded by a large body of the enemy ; but this 

 gallant elTort not fucceediiig, they threw thcmfelves into the 

 river, and gained the oppofite fhoro, in the f.,ce of a battery 

 of cauKon, that was playing againll them. But they were 

 now oppofcd to an army of ^o.oco men advantageoufly 

 pofted in an open plain. In thtfe dcfperste circumilances 

 they had no alternative, but to throw down their arms, 

 or glorioufly expire. Thiv bravely preferred death ; jco 

 took pofTt Dion of a fmall irtaiKl ticar the tridge, and after 

 Kefolut^ly defending themfelvcs to the lall extremity, were 

 cut to pieces. A like number forci d their way thro'igh 

 the ranks of vlie enrn-.y, and marched towards Bafle ; when 

 they were oppoftd by a large party of horfe polled to pre- 

 vent the inhabitants of the town from fallving forth to the 

 relief of their countrymen. Being now furrounded on all 

 fides, they threw themfelves into th? hofpital of St. Jsmes ; 

 and, lining the walls of the buryiag-ground, rtfified for 

 fome time the united afaults of the French anr:y. At 

 length the hofpital being fet on fire, and the cannon having 

 battered down the walls of the buPi'ing-ground, thcv no 

 longer f.ught in hop-s of vif>ory ; ' but ftill refolving to 

 fell the> lives as dearly as pofGblc, they continued tci de- 

 fend themfelves to the lall gvifp. 



vEreas Sylvius (afterwards pope Pius II.) relates, axonn- 

 other actions of fingular val ur excited by thi6 heroic troop, 

 the following inftance, that defervcs to be recorded. Four 



B I R 



French foldiere affaulted a fingle Swifs, and having killed 

 and ihipped him, proceeded to infult the corpfe ; one of 

 his companions, incenfed at this brutal adion, feized a 

 battle-axe, rullied upon the four, flew two of them, and drove 

 the others to flight ; then flinging the dead body of his 

 friend upon his fhoulcers, carried it to a place of fecurity ; 

 and returning to the attack, fell by the hand of the enemy. 

 Of the whole number, only 16 efcaped from the field of bat- 

 tle ; and thefe, agreeably to the old Spartan difcipline, 

 were branded with infamy, for net having facrificed their 

 lives in defence of their country. Among thofe who were 

 dcfperately wounded and left upon the field, only 32 were 

 found alive. The names of many of thefe glorious consba- 

 tants were regiftered, and llill remain upon records. The 

 lofs of the enemy was great ; and they were efl^eftually pre- 

 vented from profecuting their defigns upon Swifferland, 

 and compelled to retire in a Ihattered llate into Allace. I.,ewis 

 hinil'elf declared, that fuch another victory would ruin his 

 ari-.iv. This combat may be confidercd as forming a re- 

 markable asra in the hillory of the Swifs ; for it gave rife 

 to their tieaty with Charles VII. ; being the firft alliiioca 

 which they contrafted with France. The Swifs llill talk 

 of this famous atllon \s-ith the warmeft enthnfialni ; and 

 the inhabitants of Bafle form parties every year, and go to 

 an inn fituated near the hofpital and burying-ground, in 

 order to commemorate, in a red wine produced from fomc 

 vineyards planted on the field of battle, the heroic deeds of 

 their countrymen, who fo glorioufly facrificed their lives. 

 This wine is highly prized by the Bafiieans, and called 

 '■ the blood of the Swif;;." 



By the fide of the Birs there is a fertile plain, on which 

 are feveral pleafant villages ; and the extremity of the plain 

 is clofed by a rock, through which opens tlie celebrated 

 pafs called ■' Pierre Pertuis," which fee. At the bottom of 

 this rock, the Birs burfts from the ground in feveral 

 copious fprings, and turns two mills within a fev>' paces of 

 its principal fource. 



BIRSK. See Borsk. 



BIRSKA, a river of Siberia, which runs into the Lena, 

 28 miles fouth-well of Olekminfle. 



BIRSTEIN, a town of Germany, in the circle of the 

 Upper Rhine, and county of Ifcnburg, 26 miles E.N.E. of 

 Frankfort on the Mayne. 



BIRTERBURY, or Bittfrbu. Bey, a confiderable 

 bay on the weft coaft of Ireland, in the county of Galvvay, 

 open to the Atlantic. It is capacious and well flieltered, 

 has good ground, and will admit the largeil Ihips, which may 

 ride here from four to eight fathoms water ; yet it is 

 probably never vifited, except by fifliermen and fmugglers. 

 N. lat. 53° 20'. W. long. <f 53' 30" from Greenwich. 

 M'Kenzie. 



BIRTH, in a general fenfe. The word is of Saxon origin, 



and is ufed 'o denote both the aft of coming into life, which 



is ca'led child-birth, and th.e otTspring or thing born, and in 



thefe fenfes we meet with it in our bell writers. 



But thou art fair, and at thy biith, comipg into the world. 



Shakclpear's King John. 

 Others hatch their eggs, aid tend the birth, (young ones) 

 until they are able to fhift for themfeive.s. Addifon, 

 Cicero fays, " Fer<c di'igunt partus fuos," beads love their 

 offspring. 



Birth, in yJ/zV/itZ/erv, is ufed as fynonimnus to labour, or 

 tliepowerby wh.iehlhe fcctusis excluded from the uterus, and 

 in this fenfe we fan-, the birth (Iaboi:r) was eafv, expeditious, 

 tedious, difficult, &c. It is alfo, though not very pioperiy, 

 ufed by midwives, to fignify the extevr.al orifice of the va- 

 gina ; thus, when in labour, the head of the child begins 



to 



