were recited to a musical accompaniment and their at-
tempts to recreate these conditions resulted in the first op-
eras. Notable members of the Camerata included the poet
Ottavio Rinuccini, Giulio CACCINI, Vincenzo GALILEI, the
father of Galileo, and, probably, Jacopo PERI. Bardi’s Dis-
corso mandato a Caccini sopra la musica antica (Discourse
to Caccini on ancient music; 1580) is a theoretical work
advocating the abandonment of counterpoint in favor of a
monodic form, a single vocal line with only light accom-
paniment. His only surviving musical compositions, iron-
ically, are two highly contrapuntal madrigals.
See also: MUSIC THEORY
Bardi family The Florentine family of Bardi won a large
fortune and European influence through international
BANKING. By 1310 they were the wealthiest family in
Florence and used their position to secure political
dominance. However, as part of Edward III of England’s
manoeuvres to finance the Hundred Years’ War, they
participated from 1338 in schemes to exploit the English
wool trade though monopolistic syndicates, intended to
repay the large loans they made to the king. These did not
work, and Edward defaulted on his repayments (1341); by
1345 the Bardi were owed at least £103,000. This,
combined with the burden of supporting Florence’s war
against Lucca, forced them into bankruptcy (1346), and
they also lost their political power. The sole surviving
evidence of the Bardi fortune can be seen in their gifts to
the church of Sta. Croce, Florence. Count Giovanni BARDI
was an intellectual leader in late 16th-century Florence,
the patron of musicians, scholars, and poets, as well as
being a composer himself.
Barends, Dirk (1534–1592) Netherlands painter
He was born in Amsterdam and around 1555 traveled to
Venice where he worked in the studio of TITIAN. Back in
Amsterdam by 1562, he became known as a portrait
painter and one of the earliest to produce a group portrait
(schuttersstuk) of the kind made famous in the 17th cen-
tury by such masterpieces as Rembrandt’s The Night
Watch. His style is characteristic of the MANNERISMpreva-
lent in the northern Netherlands during this period.
Barents, Willem (died 1597) Dutch navigator, after whom
the Barents Sea was named
Barents pioneered the NORTHEAST PASSAGEto Asia. In 1594
his first attempt to find a route was defeated by the harsh
climate of Novaya Zemlya, where he was following the
western coastline. The following year a seven-ship convoy
attempted to penetrate the strait between Vaigach Island
and the continental coast. His third expedition, under
Jakob van Heemskerck (died 1607), discovered Spitzber-
gen, but was aborted during the winter of 1596/97, when
ice trapped their ship north of Novaya Zemlya, and the
crew became the first Europeans to winter so far north.
They only escaped in two home-built open boats in June- Barents died later that month, en route for the Kola
Peninsula where most of his shipmates eventually reached
safety.
See also: VEER, GERRIT DE
Bargeo, Pier Angelo See ANGELI, PIETRO ANGELOBari, Niccolò di See NICCOLÒ DELL’ARCABaro, Peter (1534–1599) French divine
Baro was born at Étampes and admitted to the ministry by
John Calvin himself at Geneva in 1560. He fled persecu-
tion in France a year later and settled in England. Here,
under the patronage of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, he
was appointed to a chair of divinity at Cambridge (1574).
By 1581 his increasing toleration of the tenets of Rome
was apparent and he aroused considerable hostility, in-
cluding that of Elizabeth I. He left Cambridge in 1596 and
passed his remaining years in London. Baro was the first
divine in England to interpret the creed of the Church of
England upon definite anti-Calvinistic principles and so
anticipated the work of Richard Bancroft and William
Laud in the next century.Barocci, Federico (Il Baroccio) (c. 1535–1612) Italian
painter
Born and trained in Urbino, Barocci was also known as
Fiori da Urbino and became celebrated for his innovative
emotional style strongly influenced by the works of COR-
REGGIO. He visited Rome twice (1550, 1560) to study
Raphael’s works and was probably encouraged there by
Michelangelo. On his second visit he worked with Fed-
erico ZUCCARO on the decoration of the ceiling of the
Casino of Pius IV in the Vatican gardens (1561–63),
which established his reputation as a leading Italian artist.
Barocci spent the rest of his career in Urbino, where he en-
joyed ducal patronage; he painted mainly religious sub-
jects, aspects of which anticipated the BAROQUE. Later
works included the Madonna del Popolo (1575–79; Uffizi,
Florence), the Vision of St. Sebastian (1595; Genoa cathe-
dral), the Nativity (1597; Prado, Madrid), and a number of
sensitive drawings. He was also a pioneer of the use of pas-
tel chalks and often employed mannerist devices in his
compositions.Baronius, Cesare (Cesare Baronio) (1538–1607) Italian
historian of the Roman Catholic Church
Baronius was born at Sora, educated at Naples, joined the
Oratory in Rome in 1557, and eventually (1593) suc-
ceeded St. PHILIP NERIas its head. He became confessor to
Pope CLEMENT VIII, who made him a cardinal and librarian
of the Vatican. He is best remembered for his 12-volume
Annales ecclesiastici (1588–1607), a justification of his
faith by the history of the Church to 1199 CE, designed toBBaarroonniiuuss,, CCeessaarree 4455