borough-town in Suffolk, diftant from London feventy- 
two miles. This town was formerly a place of great note, 
for its abbey, founded by Sigeberr, king of the Eaft An¬ 
gles, about the year 638, which was laid to be the fineft 
and riche ft of any in the kingdom, and (food between the 
two churches, which are botli very large, and (eared in 
one yard, one dedicated to St. Mary, and the other to St. 
James. In St. Mary’s church lies Mary, queen of France, 
daughter of Henry VII. and afterwards married to Charles 
Brandon, duke of Suffolk. Her corpfe was firft interred in 
the great church of the monaftery, but was removed after 
the diffolution of it into St. Mary’s church. The town is 
governed by a recorder and twelve capital burgeffes, one 
of which is annually chofen alderman, and, for the time 
being, a£Is as chief magiftrate. The remainder of the 
body-corporate conlifts of twenty-four common-council, 
and by thofe thirty-lix are the members returned to par¬ 
liament. The flreets, which are always clean, are wide 
and handfome, well paved and lighted. The town con¬ 
tains about 1000 hotiles, and about 7000 inhabitants. It 
took its name from St. Edmund the king, who was buried 
here after being inhumanly murdered by the Danes, in a 
wood at Iloxne, in Suffolk, November 20, 870; his corpfe 
having laid interred, where he was killed, thirty-three 
years, was removed hither. The affizes for the county 
are held here. The market-days are Wednefdays and Sa¬ 
turdays. That on Wednesday is principally for corn, and 
that on Saturday is plentifully fupplied with fifli, flefh, 
and fowl, of every defeription, and of the beft quality. 
There are three annual fairs ; the firft on Eafter-Tuefday ; 
the fecond in October ; and the third, on the rft of De¬ 
cember very large for cattle, and the two following days 
equally large for butter and cheefe. On the 20thv>f Feb. 
377 2, fome labourers, breaking up a part of the old abbey 
church, difeovered a leaden coffin which contained an em¬ 
balmed body, as perfect and entire as at the time its inter¬ 
ment ; the features of the face, the nails on the fingers 
and toes, and the hair, a brown mixed with fome grey 
hairs, on the head, the fame as when living. A furgeon 
was fent for, who made an incifion on the breaft ; the flefh 
cut as firm as that of a living fubjeCt, and there was even 
an appearance of blood. At this time the corpfe was not 
in the leaf! noifome, but being expofed to the air it pre- 
fently became putrid and offenfive ; the (hull was fawed 
in pieces, where the brain feemed wafted, but perfeiftly 
enclofed in its membranes. The labourers, for the fake 
of the lead, which they (old to a plumber, (tripped the 
body of its coffin, and threw it promifeuoufly among the 
rubbiffi. It was foon difeovered that the leaden coffin 
contained the remains of Thomas Beaufort, fon of John 
de Gaunt, of Lancafter, by his third duchefs, lady Catha¬ 
rine Swinford. He died in 1427, the fifth of Henry VI. 
and was interred in this monaftery, near his duchefs, clofe 
to the wall on the north fide of the choir. Upon this dis¬ 
covery, on the 25th of February following, the mangled 
remains were inclofed in a ftrong oak coffin., and buried 
about eight feet deep. It is reported, that the remains of 
his duchefs have been ft nee found, and clandeftinely con¬ 
cealed. This town was burnt by Sueno the Dane, S'owe 
fays it enjoyed the privilege of a mint in the reign of king 
John. Including the fuburbs, it is above one mile from 
call to weft, and near two miles from fouth to north. 
BU'RYING,/. the fame with intermentor Burial. 
Burying alive was the ancient punifhment of a veftal who 
had violated her vow of virginity. The unhappy prieftefs 
■was let down into a deep pit, with bread, water, milk, oil, 
a lamp burning, and a bed to lie on. But this was only 
for fnew ; for, the moment (he was let down, they began 
to oait in the earth upon her till the pit was filled up. 
Some middle-age writers feems to make burying alive (de- 
foffio) the punifhment of a woman thief. Lord Bacon gives 
inftaiices of the refurredftion of perfons who,have been bu¬ 
ried alive. The famous Duns Scotus is of the number; 
who, having been feized with a catalepfis, was thought 
dead, and laid to deep among his fathers, but raifed again 
BUS 
by Ins fervant, in whofe abfence he had been buried. Bar¬ 
tholin gives an account of a woman, who, on recovering 
from an apoplexy, could not be convinced,but that (lie was 
dead, and foiicited fo long and earneftly to be buried, that 
they were forced to comply ; and performed the ceremo¬ 
nies, at leaft in appearance. The famous emperor Charles V.; 
after his abdication, took it into his head to have his bu¬ 
rial celebrated in his life-time, and affifted at it. See 
Charles V. 
BU'RYING-PL ACE, f. A place appointed for the fe* 
pulture of dead bodies. The ancients buried.01.it of cities 
and towns; an ufage which we find equally among Jews, 
Greeks, and Romans, Among the laft, burying within 
the walls was exprelsly prohibited by a law of the twelve 
tables. The tifual places of interment were in the fu¬ 
burbs and fields, but efpecially by the way-fides. We 
have infiances, however, of perfons buried in the city ; 
but it was a favour allowed only to a few of fitigular me¬ 
rit in the commonwealth. Plutarch fays, thofe who had 
triumphed were indulged in it. Val. Publicoia, and C. 
Fabricius, are faid to have had tombs in the forum ; and 
Cicero adds Tubertus to the number. Lycurgus allowed 1 , 
his Lacedemonians to bury their dead within the city and 1 
around their temples, that the youth, being inured to fitch 
(pectacles, might be lefs terrified with the apprehenfion of ’ 
death. Two reafons are alleged why the ancients buried 
out of cities : the firft, an opinion that the fight, touch, 
or even neighbourhood, of a corpfe, defiled a man, efpe- 
cially a prieft; whence that rule in A. Gellius, that the 
Jlamen Dialis might not on any account enter a place where 
there was a grave : the fecond, to prevent the air from 
being, corrupted by the (tench of putrified bodies, and the 
buildings from being endangered by the frequency of fu¬ 
neral fires. Burying in churches was not allowed for the 
firft 360 years after Chrift; and the fame was feverely pro¬ 
hibited by the Chriftian emperors for many ages afterwards. 
The firft ftep towards it appears to have been the prac¬ 
tice of erefting churches over the graves of fome mar¬ 
tyrs in the country, and tranflating the relics of others into 
churches in the city : the next was, allowing kings and 
emperors to ‘be buried in the atrium or church-porch. In 
the 6th century, the people began to be admitted into the 
church-yards; and fome princes, founders, and bifhops, 
into the church. From that time the matter feems to have- 
been left to the diferetion of the biffiop. The firft confe- 
cration of Chriftian burial places took place about the year 
210, under pope Calixtus I. Eufebius. 
BURZA'NO, a town of Italy, in the kingdom of Na¬ 
ples, and province of Calabria Ultra : ten miles eaft-north- 
eaft of Bova. 
BUR'ZEL, a town of France, in the department of the 
Ardeche : five leagues weft of Privas. 
BURZU'IE, a celebrated Perfian philofopher and phy- 
fician, who flouriffied under the reign of Khofroes fur- 
named Nufchirvan the Juft. This prince having learned that 
the Indians carefully preferved a book written in their lan¬ 
guage, which they called Giavidan Khird, i. e. The Wif- 
dom of all Ages, or, as they fometimes called it, The Tef- 
tament or the Moral and Political Inftrmftionsof Hufchink s 
fent this philofopher to India with rich prefents for the 
king off that country, in order to obtain a copy of it. 
Burzuie acquitted himfelf very honourably, and brought 
his book to Nufchirvan, who ordered him to tranflate it 
into the Perfian language. The tranflation was made, and 
dedicated to this prince, under the title of Humaiun Name; 
bur as it was written in old Perfian, which is called Pe- 
heleuique, it lias been (ince modernized in the form we at 
prefent have it. Some have attributed the tranflation of 
this work to Buzurg-nichir, vizir of Nufchirvan, and pre¬ 
ceptor to prince Hormuz. 
BUSANCY', a town of France, in the department of 
the Aifne, and chief place of a canton, in the diftriift of 
Soiffons : four miles fouth of Soiffons. 
BUSBE'QIJIUS, or Busbf.c (Auger Giflen), the na¬ 
tural fon of the lord of Buffiec, born at Commines, a 
3 town 
