Henry, a Scottish protestant, born in the shire of Fife in the reign of James V., and educated at the university of St Andrews. He went afterwards to France in order to finish his studies, and returning to Scotland, was admitted into the family of the earl of Arran, who at that time governed the kingdom; but, in the year 1542, the earl dismissed him for having embraced the protestant religion. In 1564 he joined (says Mackenzie) the murderers of Cardinal Beaton; for which he was declared a traitor, and excommunicated. Whilst that party were besieged in the castle of St Andrews, they sent Balnaves to England, who returned with a considerable supply of money and provisions; but being at last obliged to surrender to the French, he was sent with the rest of the garrison a prisoner to France. During his confinement at Rouen he wrote the work entitled Confession of Faith; but it was not published till 1584, five years after his death. He returned to Scotland about the year 1559, and having joined the Congregation, was appointed one of the commissioners to treat with the duke of Norfolk on the part of Queen Elizabeth. In 1563 he was made one of the Lords of Session, and appointed by the General Assembly, with other learned men, to revise the Book of Discipline. Knox, his contemporary and fellow-labourer, gives him the character of a very learned and pious man. Balnaves died at Edinburgh in the year 1579.

BALNEARII Servi, in Antiquity, servants or attendants belonging to the baths. Some were appointed to heat them, called fornificarii; others were denominated capsarii, who kept the clothes of those that went into them; others eliptae, whose care it was to pull off the hair; others unctuarii, who anointed and perfumed the body.

BALNEARIUS Fur, in Antiquity, a kind of thief who practised stealing the clothes of persons in the baths; sometimes also called fur balneorum. The crime of those thieves was a kind of sacrilege, for the hot baths were accounted sacred; and hence they were more severely punished than common thieves, who stole out of private houses. The latter were usually acquitted on paying double the value of the thing stolen; but the former were generally punished with death.