Daily Almanac for
Nov 28, 2009
Search White Pages
Search: Infoplease Info search tips
Search: Biographies Bio search tips
Encyclopedia

Vincent of Beauvais

Vincent of Beauvais (bōvā') [key], c.1190–c.1264, French Dominican friar. He was the author of three of the four parts of the Speculum majus, of great value as a summary of the knowledge of his time. The part entitled “Morals” is of unknown authorship, but is not by him. The three parts written by him are entitled “Nature,” “Instruction,” and “History.” In “Nature,” the order followed is that of the six days of creation described in Genesis. “Instruction” ranges from the liberal arts to the mechanical arts. The “History” epitomizes the story of man since Adam as it was understood by 13th-century scholars.

See A. Gabriel, The Educational Ideas of Vincent of Beauvais (2d ed. 1962).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

    • Cite
    • Print
    • Bookmark

More on Vincent of Beauvais from Infoplease:

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches: General Biographies