BAMPTON LECTURES, a course of lec tures established by John Bampton, canon of Salisbury, who bequeathed certain property to the University of Oxford for the endowment of eight annual divinity lectures to be annually delivered. The subjects prescribed are the Con firmation of the Christian faith and the confuta tion of all heretics and schismatics; the divine authority of the Scriptures; the authority of the primitive Fathers in matters of Christian faith and practice; the divinity of Christ; the divinity of the Holy Ghost; the Apostles' and Nicene creeds. The lecturer must have talcen the degree of M.A. at Oxford or Cambridge, and the same person may not lecture twice. The first course of lectures was delivered in 1780, and they have been delivered every year since, with the exception of 1834, 1835 and 1841. A list of the lectures will be found in the yearly (Historical Register of the University of Oxford.) BAN, ban, Matija, Slav poet: b. Dubrov nik, Ragusa, 1818; d. 1903. He received a good education in his native place, including a thorough knowledge of French and Italian. He traveled extensively in the Ballcans, and in 1844 became tutor to the daughters of Prince Alexander Karageorgevitch at Belgrade. He was editor and publisher of the literary-scien tific periodical Dubrovnik in the city of the same name in 1849-53. In 1854 he became in structor in French and Italian in the Belgrade Lyceum, but the adverse criticism on his ode addressed to the Sultan obliged him to resign this post and he thereafter devoted himself to literary pursuits and travel. His works include
the Italian lyrics, 'II terremoto di Ragusa' ; (II Moscovito); (Radimiro); (The Woman's Educator) (3 vols., Belgrade 1847), written for the young princesses to whom he was tutor; a drama, (Mejrima); (Various •Songs) (1853), and the tragedies (Dobvilo et MilenIca); (Tsar Lazar); (The Death of Prince Dobroslav); Jan Hus) (1884) ; (Martha the Statholder; or, The Fall of Novgorod the Great> (1881).
BAN, the title of the governors of certain military districts in the eastern part of Hun gary, corresponding to the German title of mar grave. The ban is nominated by the king, ren ders an oath to the Diet, and formerly had very extensive powers, exercising an almost absolute authority in the political, Judicial and military affairs of his district. The progress of Turkish conquests after the unfortunate battle of Mohacs in the 16th century extinguished the most of the banats, and there remains now only the banat of Temesvar, the ban of which is the third great dignitary of the Hungarian Icing dom and has the title of ban of Croatia.
In Teutonic history the ban was an edict of interdiction or proscription: thus, to put a prince under a ban of the empire was to divest him of his dignities and to interdict all inter course and all offices of humanity with the offender. Sometimes whole cities have bee.n put under the ban; that is, deprived of their rights and privileges.