Baglioni family A powerful and wealthy Umbrian family,
notorious in the Renaissance for its crimes. The Baglioni
gained their wealth from employment as CONDOTTIERIin
the 13th century and political power from Malatesta
Baglioni (1389–1427), who was awarded territories by
Pope Martin V and who virtually ruled Perugia. From
1488, after massacring or exiling their rivals, the Baglioni
ruled Perugia through a council of 10 family members.
Giampaolo Baglioni (1470–1520) seized power after the
murder of several leading Baglioni (1500) in family
disputes. He tried to murder Pope JULIUS II(1506) and was
himself murdered on Pope LEO X’s orders. Ridolfo Baglioni
(1518–54) was exiled by Pope PAUL IIIafter the SALT WAR
of 1540 brought an end to Perugia’s privileges as an
autonomous city.
Baianism The doctrine of Michel de Bay (1514–89), a
Louvain theologian more generally known as Baius. His
writings on free will, righteousness, and justification
(1563–64) were openly condemned by Pope Pius V in his
bull Ex omnibus afflictionibus (1567) as false and heretical.
Baianism, inspired by Augustinian doctrine, insisted upon
man’s total depravity and moral incapacity. In so doing it
rejected the doctrine recognized at the Council of TRENT
(1551) that rested upon the concept of man’s preternatural
innocence. Baius launched the first attack on man’s free-
dom of will and denied the possibility of achieving spiri-
tual and moral perfection in this life. His arguments were
offensive to the Jesuits and were countered by their
spokesman ROBERT BELLARMINE. The conflict between Bai-
anism and the Jesuits during the 16th century anticipated
that of the Jansenists and Jesuits during the 17th.
Baïf, Jean-Antoine de (1532–1589) French poet and
most learned member of the Pléiade
Born in Venice, the natural son of the humanist Lazare de
Baïf (c. 1496–1547), he received a classical education. He
studied in Paris (1547) with RONSARDunder Jean DAURAT,
and together with Joachim DU BELLAY, they formulated
plans to transform French poetry by employing classical
and neoclassical models (see PLÉIADE). Baïf produced two
collections of poetry, Les Amours de Méline (1552) and
L’Amour de Francine (1555), in accordance with the prin-
ciples they had laid down, followed by Le Brave in 1567,
adapted from Plautus’ Miles gloriosus. But his poetic gifts
were inferior to his great learning, which is best displayed
in his Mimes (1581) and in his many translations, includ-
ing Terence’s Eunuchus and Sophocles’ Antigone. His inter-
est in Platonic theories of the relation between music and
poetry led him to set up (1567) a short-lived academy of
the two arts with the musician Thibault de Courville.
Baïf is also remembered as an innovator in matters of
language and versification, inventing a system of phonetic
spelling and a new metrical form, the 15-syllable vers
baïfin. His theories are expounded in Etrènes de poesie
francoêze en vers mezurés (1574). Having received various
marks of favor from Charles IX and Henry III during his
last years, he died peacefully in Paris.Bakfark, Valentine (c. 1507–1576) Hungarian composer
Bakfark was one of the most famous and celebrated
lutenists of his time but very little is known about his life.
He traveled throughout Europe, particularly Italy, France,
and Germany and he served (1549–66) at the court of the
Polish king, Sigismund II Augustus. His surviving works,
some of which are featured in the Thesaurus musicus
(1574) of the Netherlandish publisher Pierre Phalèse, in-
clude a small number of highly elaborate fantasias and
some transcriptions of vocal music. However, Bakfark de-
stroyed much of his work before dying of the plague in
Padua, Italy.Balassi, Bálint (Bálint Balassa) (1554–1594) Hungarian
poet
Balassi was born into an aristocratic family and educated
by his mother, the ardently Protestant Anna Sulyok, and
the religious reformer Peter Bornemissza. He is widely re-
garded as Hungary’s first great vernacular poet. After join-
ing the army he served at the fortress of Eger, defending
the border lands against the Turks. Here he fell in love
with Anna Losonczi, the heroine of his cycle of “Julia
Poems.” Balassi’s poetry consists of patriotic and martial
songs, erotic poems, and adaptations from Latin and Ger-
man verse. He led a troubled, litigious and often itinerant
life and was expelled from Hungary (1589) after divorcing
his wife, Krisztina Dobó, and converting to Catholicism.
He returned to Hungary to fight in the Turkish war (1594)
and died at the siege of Esztergom that year. Balassi also
invented a verse form, the nine-line “Balassi stanza,” with
the rhyme scheme aabccbddb. His best works, his erotic
poems, were known in manuscript form but not published
until 1874.Balbi, Gerolamo (c. 1450–1535) Italian bishop and
humanist
Little is known of Balbi’s early life although it is likely that
he studied in Rome. By 1485 he was in Paris where he ob-
tained a university chair (1489). Faced with accusations
of sodomy and heresy he took refuge first in England
(1491) and then Vienna (1493), after which he moved on
to the court of King Ladislas of Bohemia in Prague. Fol-
lowing new allegations of sodomy he fled to Hungary,
where he was ordained to the priesthood and became
bishop of Gurk (1523). Balbi’s main achievement was the
dissemination of humanism in eastern Europe, and his po-
etry, philosophical writing, and letters reveal a man of
great learning. He was acquainted with many leading in-
ternational humanists including Pomponio LETO (his
teacher), Konrad CELTIS, and King MATTHIAS CORVINUS.
However, Balbi was a controversial figure, which is wit-BBaallbbii,, GGeerroollaammoo 4411