BALIOL, the name of a family which played an important part in the history of Scotland. The founder of the family in England was a Norman baron, Guy or Guido de Baliol, who held the fiefs of Bailleul, Dampierre, Harcourt and Vinoy in Normandy. Coming to England with William the Conqueror, he received lands in the north of England from William II., and his son, or grandson, Bernard or Barnard de Baliol, built a fortress in Durham called Castle Barnard, around which the town of Barnard Castle grew. The first burgesses probably obtained their privileges from him. Bernard fought for King Stephen during the civil war, was present at the battle of the Standard in August 1138, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Lincoln in February 1141. The date of his death is uncertain. Dugdale only believes in the existence of one Bernard de Baliol, but it seems more probable that the Bernard de Baliol referred to after 1167 was a son of the elder Bernard, and not the same individual. If so the younger Bernard was one of the northern barons who raised the siege of Alnwick, and took William the Lion, king of Scotland, prisoner in July 1174. He also confirmed the privileges granted by his father to the burgesses of Barnard Castle, and was succeeded by his son Eustace. Practically nothing is known of Eustace, or of his son Hugh who succeeded about 1215. Hugh's son and successor, John de Baliol, who increased his wealth and position by a marriage with Dervorguila (d. 1290), daughter of Alan, earl of Galloway, is said to have possessed thirty knights' fees in England and one half of the lands in Galloway. He was one of the regents of Scotland during the minority of Alexander III., but in 1255 was deprived of this office and his lands forfeited for treason. He then appeared in England fighting for Henry III. against Simon de Montfort, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Lewes in 1264. About 1263 he established several scholarships at Oxford, and after his death in 1269 his widow founded the college which bears the name of the family. He left four sons, three of whom died without issue, and in 1278 his lands came to his son, John de Baliol (q.v.), who was king of Scotland from 1292 to 1296, and who died in Normandy in 1315. John's eldest son by his marriage with Isabel, daughter of John de Warenne, earl of Surrey, was Edward de Baliol who shared his father's captivity in England in 1296. Subsequently crossing over to France, he appears to have lived mainly on his lands in Normandy until 1324, when he was invited to England by King Edward II., who hoped to bring him forward as a candidate for the Scottish crown. A favourable opportunity, however, did not arise until after the death of King Robert the Bruce in 1329, when Edward III. had succeeded his father on the English throne. Although Edward did not give Baliol any active assistance, the claimant placed himself at the head of some disinherited Scottish nobles, raised a small army and sailed from Ravenspur. Landing at Kinghorn in Fifeshire in August 1332, he gained a complete victory over the Scots under Donald, earl of Mar, at Dupplin Moor, took Perth, and on the 24th of September was crowned king of Scotland at Scone. He then acknowledged Edward III. as his superior, but soon afterwards was defeated at Annan (where his brother, Henry de Baliol, was slain) and compelled to fly to England. Regaining his kingdom after the defeat of the Scots at Halidon Hill in July 1333, Baliol surrendered the whole of the district formerly known as Lothian to Edward, and did homage for Scotland to the English king. His party, however, was weakened by disunion, and he won no serious support in Scotland. Entirely dependent on Edward, he again sought refuge in England, and took a very slight part in the war waged on his behalf. He returned to Scotland after the defeat of King David II. at Neville's Cross in 1346. After making an absolute surrender of Scotland to Edward III. in 1356 at Roxburgh in return for a pension, Edward de Baliol died at Wheatley near Doncaster in 1367.
A cadet branch of the Baliol family was descended from Ingelram, or Engelram, a son of the younger Bernard de Baliol. Ingelram's wife was the daughter and heiress of William de Berkeley, lord of Reidcastle in Forfarshire, and chamberlain of Scotland, and by her he had a son Henry, who became chamberlain about 1223. Henry married Lora or Lauretta, a daughter of Philip de Valoines (Valsques), lord of Panmure, and in 1234 inherited part of the rich English fiefs of the Valoines family. He sided with the English barons against John in 1215, and accompanied Henry III. to France in 1242. He died in 1246. It is probable but not certain that Henry's son was Alexander de Baliol, lord of Cavers in Teviotdale, and chamberlain of Scotland. Alexander took a leading part in Scottish affairs during the latter part of the 13th century, and is first mentioned as chamberlain in 1287. He shared in the negotiations between the Scottish nobles and Edward I. of England which culminated in the treaty of Salisbury in 1289, and the treaty of Brigham in 1290. Probably deprived of his office as chamberlain about 1296 he may have shared the imprisonment of his kinsman, John de Baliol the king. He then fought in Scotland for Edward, and was summoned to several English parliaments. His wife was Isabella de Chilham, through whom he obtained lands in Kent. He died about 1309, leaving a son, Alexander, whose son, Thomas, sold the estate of Cavers to William, earl of Douglas, in 1368. Thomas is the last of the Baliols mentioned in the Scottish records.
A late and dubious tradition asserts that the family name became so discredited owing to the pusillanimous conduct of John and Edward Baliol that it was abandoned by its owners in favour of the form Baillie.
See John of Fordun, Chronica gentis Scotorum, edited by W. F. Skene (Edinburgh, 1871-1872); Andrew of Wyntoun, The Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland, edited by David Laing (Edinburgh, 1872-1879); Gesta Edwardi de Carnarvan, by a canon of Bridlington, edited by W. Stubbs (London, 1883); W. Dugdale, The Baronage of England (London, 1675-1676); R. Surtees, The History of Durham (London, 1816-1840); Documents and Records illustrating the History of Scotland, edited by F. T. Palgrave (London, 1837); Documents illustrative of the History of Scotland (1286-1306), edited by J. Stevenson (Edinburgh, 1870); Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, edited by J. Bain (Edinburgh, 1881-1888).
BALIOL, JOHN DE (1249-1315), king of Scotland, was a son of John de Baliol (d. 1269) of Barnard Castle, Durham, by his wife Dervorguila, daughter of Alan, earl of Galloway, and became head of the Baliol family (see above) and lord of extensive lands in England, France and Scotland on his elder brother's death in 1278. Little else, however, is known of his early life. He came into prominence when the Scottish throne became vacant in 1290 owing to the death of Margaret, the "maid of Norway," a granddaughter of King Alexander III., and was one of the three candidates for the crown whose pretensions were seriously considered. Claiming through his maternal grandmother, Margaret, the eldest daughter of David, earl of Huntingdon (d. 1219), who was a grandson of King David I., Baliol's principal rival was Robert Bruce, earl of Annandale, and the dispute was the somewhat familiar one of the eldest by descent against the nearest of kin. Meanwhile the English king, Edward I., was closely watching the trend of affairs in Scotland and was invited to settle this dispute. It is doubtful what rights, if any, the English kings had over Scotland, but when Edward met the Scottish nobles at Norham in May 1291, he demanded a formal recognition of his position as overlord of Scotland. After some delay this was tacitly admitted by the nobles, and acknowledged by Baliol and the other competitors, who all agreed to abide by his decision. A court of eighty Scotsmen and twenty-four Englishmen was then appointed to try the question. Traversing the statements made in favour of Bruce, Baliol claimed by the principles of feudal law for an indivisible inheritance, and on the advice of the court Edward decided in his favour. Having sworn fealty to the English king, Baliol was crowned king of Scotland at Scone on the 30th of November 1292; in his new capacity he did homage to Edward at Newcastle, and in January 1293 released the English king from all promises and obligations made while the kingdom of Scotland was in his hands. These amicable relations were soon disturbed. A Scottish vassal carried his case to Edward as Baliol's overlord, and Baliol himself was soon summoned to the English court to answer a suit brought against him. After a short struggle he admitted Edward's right, and in May 1294 attended a parliament in London. He soon quarrelled with his overlord, the exact point at issue being doubtful, and returned
to Scotland. Consequent on the dispute which had broken out between England and France, a council of twelve was appointed to assist him, and it was decided to defy Edward. Englishmen were dismissed from the Scottish court, their fiefs were confiscated, and an alliance was concluded with Philip IV., king of France. War broke out, but Baliol did not take the field in person. Invading Scotland, Edward met with a feeble resistance, and at Brechin in July 1296 Baliol surrendered his kingdom to Antony Bek, bishop of Durham, as the representative of the English king. About the same time he appeared before Edward at Montrose, and delivered to him a white rod, the feudal token of resignation. With his son, Edward, he was taken a prisoner to England, remaining in captivity until July 1299, when he was released at the request of Pope Boniface VIII. He lived for some time under the pope's supervision, and seems to have passed his remaining days quietly on his French estates. He died in Normandy early in 1315, leaving several children by his wife, Isabel, a daughter of John de Warenne, earl of Surrey (d. 1304).
See Documents and Records illustrating the History of Scotland, edited by F. T. Palgrave (London, 1837); Documents illustrative of the History of Scotland, 1286-1306, edited by J. Stevenson (Edinburgh, 1870), J. H. Burton, History of Scotland, vol. ii. (Edinburgh, 1905); A. Lang, History of Scotland, vol. i. (Edinburgh, 1904); Sir H. Maxwell, Robert the Bruce (London, 1897); Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, edited by J. Bain (Edinburgh, 1881-1888). Also Scotland: History.
BALIUAG, a town of the province of Bulacán, Luzon, Philippine Islands, on the Quingua river, 29 m. (by rail) N.N.W. of Manila. Pop. (1903) 21,008, including the population (7072) of Bustos, which was annexed to Baliuag in that year after the census was taken. Baliuag is served by an extension of the railway between Manila and Dagupan. It is the trade centre of a fertile agricultural district, and manufactures bamboo hats, silk and native fibre goods.
BALKAN PENINSULA, the most easterly of the three large peninsulas which form the southern extremities of the European continent. Its area, 184,779 sq. m., is about 35,000 sq. m. less than that of the Iberian Peninsula, but more than twice that of the Italian. Its northern boundary stretches from the Kilia mouth of the Danube to the Adriatic Sea near Fiume, and is generally regarded as marked by the courses of the rivers Danube, Save and Kulpa. On the E. it is bounded by the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmora, and the Aegean; on the S. by the Mediterranean; on the W. by the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic. With the exception of the Black Sea coast and the Albanian littoral, its shores are considerably indented and flanked by groups of islands. The Peninsula in its general contour resembles an inverted pyramid or triangle, terminating at its apex in a subsidiary peninsula, the Peloponnesus or Morea. Its surface is almost entirely mountainous, the only extensive plains being those formed by the valleys of the Danube and Maritza, and the basin of Thessaly drained by the Salambria (ancient Peneus). The Danubian plain, lying, for the most part, outside the Peninsula, is enclosed, on the north, by the Carpathians; and on the south by the Balkans, from which the Peninsula derives its name. These ranges form together the great semicircular mountain-chain, known as the anti-Dacian system, through which the Danube finds a passage at the Iron Gates. The other mountain-systems display great complexity of formation; beginning with the Dinaric Alps and the parallel ranges of Bosnia, they run, as a rule, from north-west to south-east; the great chain of Rhodope traverses the centre of the Peninsula, throwing out spurs towards the Black Sea and the Aegean; farther west are the lofty Shar Dagh and the mountains of Montenegro and Albania, continued by the Pindus range and the heights of Acarnania and Aetolia. The principal summits are Olympus (9794 ft.), overlooking the Gulf of Salonica; Musallá (9631) and Popova Shapka (8855), both in the Rhodope system; Liubotrn in the Shar Dagh (8989); Elin, in the Perin Planina (8794); Belmeken in southern Bulgaria (chain of Dospat, 8562); Smolika in the Pindus range (8445); Dormitor in northern Montenegro (8294); Kaimakchalan in central Macedonia (8255); and Kiona in Aetolia (8235). Owing to the distribution of the mountain-chains, the principal rivers flow in an easterly or south-easterly direction; the Danube falls into the Black Sea, the Maritza, Mesta, Struma (Strymon), Vardar and Salambria into the Aegean. The only considerable rivers flowing into the Adriatic are the Narenta, Drin and Viossa. The principal lakes are those of Ochrida, Prespa, Scutari and Iannina. The climate is more severe than that of the sister peninsulas, and the temperature is liable to sudden changes. The winter, though short, is often intensely cold, especially in the Danubian plain and in Thrace, the rigorous climate of which is frequently alluded to by the Latin poets. Bitter north-easterly winds prevail in the spring, and snow is not uncommon even in the low-lying districts of Greece. The autumn weather is generally fine and clear.
