was an edition of St. Matthew's Gospel, from a very ancient manuscript discovered by him almost erased from the vellum, which was written over with a modern subject. He succeeded with incredible labour in deciphering the original, which proved to be one of the oldest biblical manuscripts in existence. Dr. Barrett died in 1821.—J. F. W.
BARRETT, John, a musician, pupil of Dr. Blow, was master of the choral school attached to Christ's hospital, London, and organist of the church of St. Mary-at-Hill, at the beginning of the eighteenth century. He was a good musician, and composed the music to several plays. In the Pills to Purge Melancholy, 1719, there are many of his songs. He composed the air, "Ianthe, the lovely," adapted, in the Beggars' Opera, to the words, "When he holds up his hand arraigned for his life."—E. F. R.
BARRETT, Ranelagh, an English painter, particularly noted for his excellent copies after the great masters, was much employed by the duke of Devonshire and Sir Robert Walpole. Died in 1761.—R. M.
BARRETT, William, a native of Somersetshire, who died in 1789. He wrote a work entitled "History and Antiquities of the Town of Bristol."
BARREYRA, Isidori, a learned Portuguese of the seventeenth century, a celebrated preacher and author.
BARRI or BARRY, Girald or Giraldus Cambrensis de, as he is usually called from the country of his birth, was born at the castle of Manorbur in Pembrokeshire, about the year 1146. His father, William de Barri, was of Norman lineage and a person of distinction; his mother was the grand-daughter of Rys ap Theodor, prince of South Wales. At an early age, Giraldus having exhibited a taste for letters, his uncle, David Fitzgerald, bishop of St. David's, superintended his education, and sent him about 1168 to Paris, where he remained for three years, and attained a high character for learning. Returning to England he entered into holy orders in 1172, and at once exhibited his prompt and active spirit, and his zeal for the church. Being appointed legate to the archbishop of Canterbury, he enforced the payment of tithes to that prelate in Wales with great vigour, forcibly taking the property of recusants, and even excommunicating the governor of the province of Pembroke. He suspended the archdeacon of St. David's, who refused to put away his wife, and was rewarded by being promoted to his place. In his new character of archdeacon he soon became involved in a dispute with the bishop of St. Asaph's, touching the dedication of a new church that stood on the borders of the two dioceses; and his address and daring gained the victory. On the death of his uncle, the bishop of St. David's, in 1176, Giraldus was elected by the canons, and subsequently recommended by the archbishop of Canterbury to Henry II., as his successor. But the learning, ability, and ambition of Giraldus were by no means recommendations to a monarch who had already, in another ecclesiastic, unfortunate experience of the inconvenience of such qualities. He accordingly objected to the appointment, saying, "that it was neither expedient or necessary to elect too upright or active a man to the vacant see of St. David's, as such a choice might prove detrimental to the crown of England, or to the see of Canterbury." The high birth and influence of Giraldus were additional reasons for the king's dissent. Giraldus again went to Paris, where he applied himself anew to study, and acquired so high a character, that he was chosen professor of canon law in the academy of Paris, which honour, however, he declined. In 1180 he returned to England, and was soon after induced by the king to reside at court, and accepted the post of tutor to Prince John in 1185. In this capacity he accompanied the prince to Ireland, upon the appointment of the latter as viceroy of that kingdom, occupying also the post of secretary to the prince. He was commissioned by the king to inquire into and report upon the state of affairs in Ireland. He was offered the bishoprics of Leighlin and Ferns, and subsequently the archbishopric of Cashel; but he refused them, principally occupying himself while in Ireland with collecting materials for his two works, the "Topography of Ireland," and the "Conquest of Ireland." Leaving Ireland, Giraldus accompanied Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury, upon a mission through Wales in aid of the crusades. He assumed the cross himself, and the effect of his zeal and eloquence in inducing the Welsh to go to the Holy Land was extraordinary, insomuch that King John afterwards reproached him for draining the county of Pembroke of men. In 1189 Giraldus attended King Henry on his military expedition to France; and returning to England after the death of that monarch, King Richard appointed him, upon his departure to the Holy Land, coadjutor to the bishop of Ely in the regency of the kingdom. During this period he refused the bishopric of Bangor and of Llandaff, and retired to Lincoln, to study theology under William de Monte, where he continued for the space of six years, prosecuting his studies with indefatigable ardour, and composing several of his literary works. The see of St. David's became again vacant in 1198, and Giraldus was again elected to it by a convocation. A rival was set up by the archbishop of Canterbury; and Giraldus, after returning from a visit to Ireland, went, by the advice of his friends, to Rome, to assert the rights of the see of St. David's, and to support his own election. He was received with distinction by Innocent III., to whom he presented his works with a remark, whose sarcasm was not the less keen that it was conveyed in a punning jest—"Presentarunt vobis alii libras, sed nos libros." As might be expected in the court of Rome, money outweighed merit. The archbishop's suit prospered, while the book-writer was repaid with empty compliments. A harassing and tedious litigation of five years ensued, which ended in declaring his election null. Even then Giraldus stood up for the rights of the see, apart from his own election, with such a fearless spirit that he won the open praise of the bishop of Ostia. Giraldus now returned to England, where he suffered much annoyance in consequence of his continued defence of the rights of the see of St. David's. At length, worn out by his fruitless exertions, disgusted with the faithlessness and profligacy of the churchmen, he obtained permission to vacate his archdeaconry in favour of his nephew, Philip de Barri. And so, after enjoying the popularity of all classes in Wales, and the favour of three successive monarchs, Giraldus voluntarily resigned all his church preferments, and withdrew to a life of studious retirement. Thus he passed the last seventeen years of his life in peace, revising his former literary works, and in composing others, of which he has himself given a copious index. From this tranquil seclusion, not even the offer of the once dearly-coveted object of his ambition—the see of St. David's, with the certainty of his election—could seduce him.
Giraldus died in his native province at St. David's, in the 74th year of his age, and was buried in the cathedral church. From whatever point we view Girald de Barri—or rather, looking at him in the various characters of scholar, patriot, divine, and historian—we must pronounce him one of the most distinguished men of his own times. As a scholar his learning was extensive; as a patriot he was honest and faithful to his king and his country—one who, fitted to live in courts, does not appear ever to have surrendered his independence. As a divine he was versed in the theology of his age, but his knowledge was qualified by his strong prejudices; and he seems—no uncommon error—to have exalted his peculiar church above the great catholic principles of christianity. Though ambitious, energetic, and even occasionally violent, he was nevertheless independent in mind, honest in his acts, and pure in morals and practice. His character as a historian has been variously estimated; and it must be admitted he is not without grave faults. These are perhaps principally conspicuous in his works on Ireland. He entered the country deeply imbued with prejudices, both political and religious, which distorted and discoloured everything which he saw there; and his ignorance of the language and habits of the people, and his over credulity in believing what he heard from interested parties, aggravated the effects of his prejudices. It is not, then, to be wondered at that there is much in these works to be deservedly censured as unjust to the Irish, hurtful to their feelings, and contrary to the real facts. These errors have been partially refuted by Usher and O'Sullivan, but received a fuller exposure at the hands of the learned John Lynch, in his celebrated work, Cambrensis Eversus, published in 1662. Still, considering the times in which he wrote, the character of an able historian cannot be withheld from Giraldus; and there is much important information to be collected from writings that, with all their faults, still hold their place amongst the valuable chronicles of the middle ages, and are cited, perhaps too trustfully, by all English writers upon the history of the period to which they refer. The works of Giraldus are numerous, and are enumerated by Ware and Hoare. The most important are those on Ireland, already referred to, and his "Itinerary and Description of Wales." He also wrote many religious and political tracts. In personal appearance he was remarkably handsome and prepossessing, and
