BEMONT

bemont, charles (1848- ), french scholar, was born at paris on the 16th of november 1848. in 1884 he graduated with two theses, _simon de montfort_ and _la condamnation de jean sansterre_ (_revue historique_, 1886). his _les chartes des libertes anglaises_ (1892) has an introduction upon the history of magna carta, &c., and his _history of europe from 395 to 1270_, in collaboration with g. monod, was translated into english. he was also responsible for the continuation of the _gascon rolls_, the publication of which had been begun by francisque michel in 1885 (supplement to vol. i., 1896; vol. ii., for the years 1273-1290, 1900; vol. iii., for the years 1290-1307, 1906). he received the honorary degree of litt. doc. at oxford in 1909. ben (from old eng. _bennan_, within), in the scottish phrase "a but and a ben," the inner room of a house in which there is only one outer door, so that the entrance to the inner room is through the outer, the but (old eng. _butan_, without). hence "a but and a ben" meant originally a living room and sleeping room, and so a dwelling or a cottage.