born 1190, Beauvais?, France
died 1264, Paris
French scholar and encyclopaedist.
A Dominican priest (с 1220), he became lector and chaplain to the court of King Louis IX . By 1244 he had compiled Speculum majus ("Great Mirror"), an 80-book compendium of knowledge that included human history from the Creation to the time of Louis IX, natural history and science known to the West, and a compendium of European literature, law, politics, and economics. His work influenced scholars and poets up to the 18th century. See also encyclopaedia .