BALDACHIN (Ital. bakkehino), signifies a kind of canopy, of the form of a tent or umbrella, made of costly materials and richly adorned, which is either supported on pillars, or fastened to the wall over a throne or couch, or over a pulpit, an altar, or other sacred object. One of the most celebrated is the B. in the church of St. Peter's in Rome, cast in bronze by Bernini, which is supported on four large twisted colums. B. was also the name formerly givento a kind of umbrella of a square form, made of silk brocade or other rich material. and supported on four poles, which was wont to be carried in the middle ages at solemn processions, coronations, marriages, etc., over the heads of royal personages or high dignitaries as a symbol of their rank. In Europe, the B. is now chiefly used in the processions of the Roman Catholic church. It is generally borne over the priest who carries the host The word B., as well as the thing itself, conies from the east. Partly as a protection from the burning rays_ of the sun, partly as a
symbol of their power and dignity, the rulers and great personages of the east seldom appeared in public, whether on foot or on horseback, in a litter or on an elephant, with out a splendid canopy, often borne by the great men or chief officers of their kingdom These canopies, generally made in the form of a tent or umbrella, were often sent, in the early part of the middle ages, as presents from eastern princes to those in the west; as, for example, from the caliph Harun-al-Ilasehid to Charlemagne. During the crusades, and the consequent trade with the east, they became well known to the Italians. Such canopies. as well as the rich stuffs of which they were made, were called, from the land whence they came, Babylonica; and also Baldachins, from Baldach, the eastern name of the city of Bagdad.