BELAIS. His biographies of two dukes of Orleans, Charles
the poet (1394–1465) and his son, later King LOUIS XII,
have survived in manuscript.
Bartholomew(’s Day), Massacre of St. See MASSACRE
OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW
Bartolommeo, Fra (Baccio della Porta) (1472–1517)
Italian painter and draftsman
Born in Florence, Bartolommeo trained as an artist under
Cosimo ROSSELLIbefore joining the convent of San Marco
and coming under the influence of its prior SAVONAROLA.
Early works from this period include the Annunciation
(1497; Volterra cathedral) and the Last Judgment (1499;
Museo di San Marco). After Savonarola’s death Bartolom-
meo joined the Dominican Order (1500) and gave up
painting until 1504, when he became head of the
monastery workshop at San Marco. Works from this pe-
riod, such as Vision of St. Bernard (1507; Accademia, Flo-
rence) and God the Father with SS. Catherine of Siena and
Mary Magdalene (1509; Pinacoteca Civica, Lucca), show
the influences of Giovanni Bellini and Leonardo da Vinci
and served to establish Bartolommeo as the foremost
painter in Florence by 1510. His control of color and com-
position is evident in many of his subsequent works, in-
cluding The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine (1511;
versions in Louvre, Paris and Uffizi, Florence) and his
Pietà (1515; Palazzo Pitti, Florence). His later paintings
were also influenced by the works of Raphael and
Michelangelo. He also executed many notable drawings,
for instance in his sketchbook, now in Rotterdam.
Basle (Basel, French Bâle) A Swiss city on the Rhine,
close to the French and German borders. First mentioned
in 374, Basle became the seat of a bishopric in the fifth
century and was the venue of the ecumenical council
(1431–49) (see BASLE, COUNCIL OF). ERASMUStaught at
Basle university (1521–29) and is buried in the city. Dur-
ing the first half of the 16th century Basle, which from at
least as early as 1468 had boasted a printing press, became
a focus for humanist learning and the Reformation. In
1522 OECOLAMPADIUSpersuaded the Basle magistrates that
the Church should be reformed. After a popular rising,
government of the city passed from the bishop to the mag-
istrates and the Mass was abolished. Basle became an im-
portant center of Protestantism, welcoming CALVINin the
1530s. Notable buildings from the Renaissance period in-
clude the 15th-century St. Paul’s Gate, the Münster
(1019–1528), the town hall (1504–21), and the church of
St. Martin.
Basle, Confessions of The earliest reformed confessions
of faith, comprising the Basle Confession of 1534 (some-
times called the Confession of Mühlhausen) and the First
Helvetic Confession of 1536 (sometimes called the Second
Confession of BASLE). In 1529, under the guidance of the
Zwinglian reformer, OECOLAMPADIUS, Basle broke with
Rome and joined ZWINGLI’s Christian Civic Alliance. The
(first) Basle Confession was written by Oswald Myconius
(1488–1552) but based on the work of Oecolampadius,
and is a confession of moderate Zwinglianism, fully en-
dorsing Zwingli’s view of Scripture. It held its place in the
Church of Basle until 1872. The First Helvetic Confession
was compiled by Heinrich BULLINGERand, though also es-
sentially Zwinglian, a Lutheran influence can be detected.Basle, Council of A council of the Church that sat in-
termittently between 1431 and 1449. The calling of this
council was urged upon Pope Martin V by Emperor Sigis-
mund in the hope of making some kind of settlement with
the HUSSITES. This resulted in the drawing up in July 1436
of the Compacts of Prague, by the terms of which the Bo-
hemians and Moravians were granted a considerable
amount of ecclesiastical independence in return for oaths
of fealty to Sigismund. With their legal recognition of di-
vergent practices within Christendom, the Compacts
marked a significant change in the Church’s policy.
Even before the Compacts were drawn up, relations
between the papacy and the council were not good. To
thwart the council’s attempts to restrict papal authority,
Pope EUGENIUS IVordered the transfer of the council from
Basle to first (1437) Ferrara, then Florence, and finally
(1443) Rome (see FLORENCE, COUNCIL OF). Only a small
minority of those sitting on the council at Basle accepted
this; the majority, declaring the Council’s authority su-
perior to that of the pope, remained at Basle and began the
proceedings that led to Eugenius’s socalled excommunica-
tion and deposition and the election of an antipope, Felix
V, in 1439. These moves lost the council many supporters,
and a lasting schism was avoided when the council sub-
mitted to Rome by securing the abdication of Felix, fol-
lowing the death of Eugenius (1447) and the election of
NICHOLAS V. The dissolution of the council in 1449
marked the end of the “conciliar period,” which left a last-
ing papal suspicion of Church councils.Bassano, Jacopo da Ponte (1510/19–92) Italian painter
The son of Francesco da Ponte the Elder (c. 1475–1539),
Jacopo was born in Bassano and studied first under his fa-
ther and then under Bonifacio Veneziano (de’ Pitati) in
nearby Venice. There contact with the paintings of TITIAN
stimulated in him the feeling for color and light that is
characteristic of much of his work. From the 1530s he
worked mainly in Bassano. His style changed continually
according to changing influences and around 1540 he
adopted a mannerist style with graceful attenuation of fig-
ures, as in his Adoration of the Magi (Kunsthistorisches
Museum, Vienna). This painting was one of a number
which included peasants and animals; Bassano was one
of the first painters of religious scenes to do this. TheBBaassssaannoo,, JJaaccooppoo ddaa PPoonnttee 4477