enjoyed it ranked above all other knights except those of the Garter. The banner bore the coat armour of the ban neret himself, and served as an ensign for the followers and retainers whom he took with him into the camp or court. The king himself and the greatest nobles were members of the order ; and we have in the Roll of Caerlaverock the blazon of nearly one hundred bannerets (including the king, eleven earls, and the bishop of Durham) who were present with Edward I. in his campaign against Scotland in 1300. The etymology of the word is clear; and Selden, after expressing his opinion that laro is equivalent to vir, remarks that "the Germans have also the name of banner- hccr or panner-heer, as if you would say dominus vexillifer, or the like, or as the title of banneret" (Titles of Honour, part ii. 1, 52). Nevertheless the term banneret, either from simple misapprehension or in order to mark the relative rank of the knight, has been translated laronettus (quasi baro minor) in some old statutes ; and the historian Walsingham, in describing the prisoners at the battle of Stirling, speaks of Barones et Baronetti viginti duo, &c. Indeed, in a patent granted to Sir Ralph Vane so late as 4 Edward VI., his grade of banneret is Latinized by Bar- onettus. In France, it is said, the dignity was hereditary; but in England it died with the person who gained it. On the institution of baronets by King James f., the order dwindled, and at length became extinct. The last banneret created was Sir John Smith, who received the dignity after the battle of Edgehill, for his gallantry in rescuing the
standard of Charles I.BANNOCKBURN, a village of Scotland, on the Bannock, an affluent of the Forth, three miles S. of Stirling. In 1871 its population amounted to 2564, principally employed in the manufacture of tweeds and carpets. In the neighbourhood, on the 24th of June 1314, was fought the memorable battle which secured the independence of Scotland, and established Bruce upon the throne. A fragment of the " bore stone" in which the royal standard was placed, is still to be seen, protected by an iron framework. At Sauchieburn, in the neighbourhood, James III. was defeated by his subjects in 1488. See Scotland.
BÁNSWÁRÁ (literally, the forest country), a Rajput feudatory state under the Me war agency in Rdjputdnd, ex tends from 23 10 to 23 48 N. kit,, and from 74 2 to 74 41 E. long. It borders on Gujarat, and is bounded on the 1ST. by the native states of Dungarpur and Udaipur or Mewdr; on the N.E. and E. by Pratdbgarh; on the S. by the dominions of Holkar and the state of Jabud ; and on the W. by the state of Riwdkdnta. Bdnswdrd State is about 45 miles in length from 1ST. to S., and 33 miles in breadth from E. to W., and has an area of 1440 square miles, with an estimated population of 144,000 souls. The Mahi is the only river in the state, and great scarcity of water occurs in the dry season. The Mahdrdwal, as the chief is called, has, however, undertaken the digging of wells, tanks, &c., to meet this want. The Bdnswdrd chief belongs to the family of Udaipur. During the vigour of the Dehli empire Bdnswdrd formed one of its dependencies ; on its decline the state passed under the Markattds. Wearied out by their oppressions, its chief in 1812 petitioned for English protection, on the condition of his state becoming tributary on the expulsion of the Marhattds. The treaty of 1818 gave effect to this arrangement; England guaranteeing the prince against external enemies and refractory chiefs ; he, on his part, pledging himself to be guided by her representative in the administration of his state. There are 33 tributary chiefs or Thakurs of this state, and the whole strength of force kept up in 1870-71 was G17 men. Indian corn, wheat, pulses, rice, and other kinds of millet form the chief products of Bdnswara. The revenue of the state amounted to 17,595 in 1870-71, exclusive of 3301 set apart for the personal expenditure of the chief and his family. The total expenditure in the same year amounted to 10,745. An annual tribute of 3997, or 50,000 Salinshahi rupees, is paid by the chief to the British Government. The cus tom of sati, or widow-burning, has long been abolished in the state, but the people retain all their superstitions regarding witches and sorcery; and as late as 1870, a Bhil woman, about 80 years old, was swung to death at Kusalgarh in Banswara, on an accusation of witchcraft. The perpetrators of the crime were sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment, but they had the sympathy of the people en their side. The chief town is Bdnswdra, lat. 23 30 and long. 74 24 , situated about 8 miles W. of the Mahf liver, surrounded by an old disused rampart, and adorned by various Hindu temples, with the battlements of the chief s palace overlooking it.
BANTAM, a decayed town of Java, formerly capital of a district of the same name, at the north-western extremity of the island, situated on the Bay of Bantam, near the mouth of a river which falls into the bay. It was once a large, rich, and flourishing city, but is now mostly in ruins. It is about 61 miles W. of Batavia, and is situated on a low, swampy beach, surrounded by jungle, and inter sected by stagnant streams, so that its climate is even more unhealthy than that of Batavia was in the last century. Prior to the Dutch conquest Bantam was a: powerful Maho metan state, whose sovereign extended his conquests in the neighbouring islands of Borneo and Sumatra. In 1595 the Dutch, under Houtmann, expelled the Portuguese, and formed their first settlement. An English factory was established in 1G03, and continued to exist till the massacre of the agents in 1G77. In 1683 the Dutch reduced the sultan to vassalage, built the fort of Spielwyk, and monopolized the port, which had previously been free to all comers ; and for more than a century afterwards Bantam was one of the most important seats of commerce in the East Indies. In 1811 after Batavia had surrendered to the British, Bantam soon followed ; but it was restored to the Dutch in 1814. Two years later, however, they removed their chief settlement to the more elevated station of Serang, or Ceram, seven miles inland, and in 1817 the ruin of Bantam was hastened by an extensive conflagra tion. The Bay of Bantam was formerly a commodious retreat for vessels ; but it is now so choked up with daily accessions of soil washed down from the mountains, as well as by coral shoals extending a considerable way to the eastward, that it is inaccessible to vessels of any con siderable burden. Long. 106 3 E., lat. 6 4 S.
BANTRY, a small seaport situated on Bantry Bay, on the S.W. coast of Ireland, in the county of Cork. Lat. 51 39 N., long. 9 24 W. The trade of this port, formerly considerable, is now almost confined to the ex portation of grain. The pilchard fishery was once very productive, but the fish has now deserted the coast. The population, which in 1831 was 4276, had decreased in 1871 to 2441 (including 409 in the island of Whiddy). The bay of the same name is about 25 miles long by 4 to 6 broad, has from 10 to 30 or 40 fathoms of water, and is surrounded by high mountains. It affords a very fine harbour for shipping, and contains two small islands, Bear and Whiddy. In 1796 a French fleet anchored here with the view of in vading Ireland, and landed eight men, who were imme diately taken prisoners.
Governorof the Panjab, lies between 33 15 30" and 32 10 30" N. lat., and 72 1 and 70 27 E. long. It is bounded on the N. by the Khatabi hills, separating it from the district of Kohat, and by a corner of the Rawdl Find! district; on the E. by the districts of Jhilam and Shahpur;
on the S. by the district of Derd Ismail Khan ; and on the