bank
in 1640, after which they occupied Newcastle.

BLAYE-ET-STE LUCE, a town of south-western France, capital of an
arrondissement in the department of Gironde, on the right bank of the
Gironde (here over 2 m. wide), 35 m. N. of Bordeaux by rail. Pop. (1906)
of the town, 3423; of the commune, 4890. The town has a citadel built by
Vauban on a rock beside the river, and embracing in its enceinte ruins
of an old Gothic chateau. The latter contains the tomb of Caribert, king
of Toulouse, and son of Clotaire II. Blaye is also defended by the Fort
Pate on an island in the river and the Fort Medoc on its left bank, both
of the 17th century. The town is the seat of a sub-prefect, and has
tribunals of first instance and of commerce and a communal college. It
has a small river-port, and carries on trade in wine, brandy, grain,
fruit and timber. The industries include the building of small vessels,
distilling, flour-milling, and the manufacture of oil and candles. Fine
red wine is produced in the district.

In ancient times Blaye (_Blavia_) was a port of the Santones. Tradition
states that the hero Roland was buried in its basilica, which was on the
site of the citadel. It was early an important stronghold which played
an important part in the wars against the English and the Religious
Wars. The duchess of Berry was imprisoned in its fortress in 1832-1833.

BLAZE (A.-S. _blaese_, a torch), a fire or bright flame; more nearly
akin to the Ger. _blass_, pale or shining white, is the use of the word
for the white mark on the face of a horse or cow, and the American use
for a mark made on a tree by cutting off a piece of the bark. The word
"to blaze," in the sense of to noise abroad, comes from the A.-S.
_blaesan_, to blow, cf. the Ger. _blasen_; in sense, if not in origin,
it is confused with "blazon" in heraldry.

BLAZON, a heraldic shield, a coat of arms properly "described" according
to the rules of heraldry, hence a proper heraldic description of such a
coat. The O. Fr. _blason_ seems originally to have meant simply a shield
as a means of defence and not a shield-shaped surface for the display of
armorial bearings, but this is difficult to reconcile with the generally
accepted derivation from the Ger. _blasen_, to blow, proclaim, English
"blaze," to noise abroad, to declare. In the 16th century the heraldic
term, and "blaze" and "blazon" in the sense of proclaim, had much
influence on each other.

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