bog body Any of an informal collection of some 700 variously pre¬ served human remains found over the past 200 years in natural peat bogs, mostly in western Europe. The bodies, including the soft tissues and the stomach contents, remain preserved because of the anaerobic fluid con¬ ditions in the bogs. They range chronologically from c. 8000 bc to early medieval times. That they have been variously found with cut throats, severed limbs, ropes around the neck, and so on suggests the possibility of ritual killings, murders, and ignominious burial (since none was found within a proper grave).
bog iron ore Iron ore consisting of hydrated iron oxide minerals such as limonite and goethite formed by precipitation of groundwater flowing into wetlands. Bacterial action contributes to formation of the ore. Eco¬ nomically useful deposits can regrow within 20 years after harvesting. Bog iron was widely used as a source of iron in the past.
Bogarde \ l bo-,gard\ / Sir Dirk orig. Derek Niven van den Bogaerde (b. March 28, 1921, London, Eng.—d. May 8, 1999, Lon¬ don) British actor. The son of a Dutch-bom art critic, he made his stage debut in 1939 and won a film contract from the Rank studios after World War II. After appearing for a decade mainly in light comedies such as Doctor in the House (1953), he began demonstrating his acting range in serious films such as The Doctor’s Dilemma (1958), The Servant (1963), Darling (1965), and Providence (1977).
Bogart, Humphrey (DeForest)
U.S.—d. Jan. 14, 1957, Hollywood, Calif.) U.S. actor. He had minor roles on the stage and in Hollywood before winning success on Broad¬ way as the murderer Duke Mantee in The Petrified Forest (1935), a role he reprised in the film version (1936). He appeared in many low-budget films, usually as a gangster, before achieving stardom in High Sierra (1941) and The Maltese Falcon (1941). Often playing a sardonic loner who proves capable of love, he appeared in films such as Casa¬ blanca (1942), Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), and The African Queen (1951, Academy Award). He acted in four films with his fourth wife, Lauren Bacall.
(b. Dec. 25, 1899, New York, N.Y.,
Humphrey Bogart in Sahara (1943).
THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE
Bogazkoy \bo-'a-kcei\ or
Bogazkale \bo-'az-ka-le\ Village, north-central Turkey. Located about 90 mi (145 km) east of Ankara, it is on the ruins of the ancient Hittite capital of Hattusas (Hattusha). The site contains archaeological remains, including temples, city gates, and walls, associated with the powerful Hattie dynasty (c. 16th—12th century bc) and was later described by Hero¬ dotus. Excavations conducted during the 20th century uncovered hundreds of cuneiform tablets attesting to the ancient city’s importance. Hattusas was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986.
Bogd Gegeen Khan Vbog-sd-go-'genV (fl. 1911-24, Urga [Ulaanbaa- tar]) “Living Buddha” of the Yellow Hat (Dge-lugs-pa) sect. In 1911 he proclaimed Mongolia independent of China, though true independence was not achieved until 1921. He remained head of state until 1924.
Bogomil Vba-go-.miA Any member of a religious sect that flourished in the Balkans during the 10th-15th centuries. Founded by a 10th-century Bulgarian priest traditionally known as Bogomil, the sect’s beliefs arose from the possible fusion of dualistic doctrines imported mainly from the Paulicians (a sect of Armenia and Asia Minor) and a local Slavonic move¬ ment aimed at reforming the new Bulgarian Orthodox church. Its central teaching was that the visible, material world was created by the Devil. The Bogomils taught a Docetist Christology instead of the traditional doctrine of the Incarnation, rejected the Christian conception of matter as
a vehicle of grace, and repudiated the whole organization of the Ortho¬ dox church. They were active missionaries who lived rigorously ascetic lives. During the 11 th— 12th centuries Bogomilism spread over many European and Asian provinces of the Byzantine Empire; it also spread into western Europe, where it contributed to the formation of the Cathar heresy. In Bulgaria it remained a powerful force until the late 14th cen¬ tury. With the Ottoman conquest of southeastern Europe in the 15th cen¬ tury, its influence declined. See also dualism.
Bogota \,bo-go-'ta\ in full Capital District of Santafe de Bogota
City (pop., 1999: 6,276,428), capital of Colombia. It lies on a plateau east of the Andes Mountains. European settlement began in 1538 when Span¬ ish conquistadores overran Bacata, the main seat of the Chibcha Indians; the name was soon corrupted to Bogota. It became the capital of the Vice¬ royalty of New Granada and a centre of Spanish colonial power in South America. It was the scene of revolt against Spanish rule (1810-11), and the revolutionary leader Simon Bolivar took the city in 1819. It became the capital of the confederation of Gran Colombia; when that entity was dis¬ solved in 1830, it remained the capital but of New Granada and later the Republic of Colombia. Today Bogota is an industrial, commercial, edu¬ cational, and cultural centre.
Bogustawski \ l b6-gii- , slaf-ske\ / Wojciech (b. April 9, 1757, Glinna, Pol.—d. July 23, 1829, Warsaw) Polish actor, director, and playwright. He joined the Polish National Theatre in Warsaw as an actor in 1778 and later became its director (1783-1814). Considered the father of Polish theatre, he wrote over 80 plays, including numerous comedies adapted from western European writers as well as the popular original play Kra- kovians and Highlanders (1794). He helped develop theatre companies in Vilna (1785) and Lwow (1794) and toured with the Lwow company, per¬ forming in foreign and Polish plays. In 1787 he played Hamlet in his own translation of Shakespeare’s play.
Bohai See Parhae
Bohemia Former kingdom, central Europe. Settled in the 5th century ad by the Czechs, it became tributary to Charlemagne’s empire. It was part of the kingdom of Moravia in 870; on the dissolution of Moravia, it became a duchy with an important center at Prague. In the 10th century it expanded to include parts of Silesia, Slovakia, and Krakow. From the election of Ferdinand I as king in 1526, it remained under Habsburg rule until 1918. Following World War I, Bohemia declared independence along with Moravia and Slovakia. It was invaded by Germany in 1939 on the pretext that much of the population was German. After World War II it became a province of Czechoslovakia (later the Czech Socialist Repub¬ lic). On the breakup of the eastern European bloc, it became part of the independent Czech Republic in 1993.
Bohemian Forest German Bohmer Wald Vbce-mor-.valtV Moun¬ tain range, central Europe. It lies along the boundary between Bavaria (Germany) and Bohemia (Czech Republic), extending northwest- southeast from the Ohre River to the Danube River valley in Austria. Its highest point, the Arber, rises 4,780 ft (1,457 m). It is the source of the Vltava (Moldau) River.
Bohemian glass Decorative glass made in Bohemia from the 13th century. In the early 17th century,
Caspar Lehmann, gem cutter to Rudolf II in Prague, perfected the technique of gem engraving on glass.
By 1700, a heavy, high-lustre, richly ornamented potash-lime glass (Bohemian crystal) had become popular. In the late 18th century, black glass with chinoiserie designs was introduced. Ruby glass and an opaque glass with white overlay, both carved and enameled, were introduced in the 19th century.
Bohemian language See Czech
LANGUAGE
Bohemian glass goblet, relief cut and decorated with intaglio-engraved Baroque flowers, from the workshop of Friedrich Winter in Silesia, about 1710-20; in the Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague
MUSEUM OF DECORATIVE ARTS, PRAGUE
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.