Brigadier-General. An officer in rank next above a colonel and below a major-general. He commands a brigade; and this officer is sometimes called simply brigadier.
Brigand. A species of irregular foot soldiers, frequently mentioned by Froissart. From their plundering propensities comes the modern use of the term.
Brigandine, or Brigantine. A coat of mail, consisting of thin, jointed scales of plate, pliant and easy to the body.
Brigantes. The most powerful of the British tribes, inhabited the whole of the north of the island from the Abus (now Humber) to the Roman wall, with the exception of the southeast corner of Yorkshire. They were conquered by Petilius Cerealis in the reign of Vespasian. There was also a tribe of this name in the south of Ireland.
Brignais (anc. Priscinniacum). An ancient fortress in France, department of the Rhone; it was captured in 1361 by bodies of adventurers, called Grandes Compagnies. Prince Jacques de Bourbon made an effort to dislodge them, but was completely defeated, and died of wounds received upon this occasion.
Brihuega. A town of New Castile, Spain; it was formerly surrounded by walls, of which traces still exist. Here, in 1710, during the War of the Succession, the English general Stanhope, owing to the dilatoriness of his allies in affording him support, was defeated by the Duke of Vendôme, and compelled to surrender with all his force, amounting to about 5500 men.
Brindisi (anc. Brundisium). A fortified seaport of Italy, on a small bay of the Adriatic; it was the usual place of embarkation for Greece and the East; taken by the Romans from the Sallentines in 267 B.C., and was afterwards the principal naval station of the Romans on the Adriatic. During the civil war between Cæsar and Pompey, this place was invested by Cæsar in 49 B.C.
Brins d’Est (Fr.). Large sticks or poles resembling small pickets, with iron at each end. They were used to cross ditches, particularly in Flanders.
Brise-mur (Fr.). A heavy piece of ordnance which was used during the 15th century to batter down walls, etc.
Brissarthe. A village of France, department of Maine-et-Loire. Here the Normans were defeated in 886 by Robert the Strong.