[Bloemært], a family of Flemish painters and engravers in 16th and 17th centuries.
[Blois], capital of the deps. of Loire and Cher, France, on the Loire, 35 m. S. of Orleans; a favourite residence of Francis I. and Charles IX., and the scene of events of interest in the history of France.
[Blomefleld, Francis], a clergyman, born at Norfolk; author of "Topographical History of the County of Norfolk" (1705-1751).
[Blomfield], bishop of London, born at Bury St. Edmunds; Greek scholar; active in the Church extension of his diocese (1785-1857).
[Blondel], a troubadour of the 12th century; a favourite of Richard Coeur de Lion, who, it is said, discovered the place of Richard's imprisonment in Austria by singing the first part of a love-song which Richard and he had composed together, and by the voice of Richard in responding to the strain.
[Blondin, Charles], an acrobat and rope-dancer, born at St. Omer, France; celebrated for his feats in crossing Niagara Falls on the tight-rope; b. 1824.
[Blood, Thomas, Colonel], an Irish desperado, noted for his daring attempts against the life of the Duke of Ormonde, and for carrying off the regalia in the Tower; unaccountably pardoned by Charles II., and received afterwards into royal favour with a pension of £500 per annum. He was afterwards charged with conspiracy, and committed to the King's Bench, and released.
[Bloody Assizes], the judicial massacres and cruel injustices perpetrated by Judge Jeffreys during Circuit in 1685.
[Bloody Bones], a hobgoblin feared by children.
[Bloody Statute], statute of Henry VIII. making it a crime involving the heaviest penalties to question any of the fundamental doctrines of the Romish Church.