Vincent de Beauvais (ca. 1194-1264), a Dominican friar of mid-thirteenth-century France (Beauvais, Paris, Royaumont), connected with the milieu of Louisthe Saint, was one of the most famous compilers and encyclopedists of thirteenth-century Western Europe. His enormous 'Speculum maius‘, compiled and revised several times between 1240 and 1260, constitutes the most voluminous summary of knowledge produced in the Middle Ages. In this 'mirror‘ he also quoted Latin translations of the Arabic authors’ works some thousand times. The 'Speculum maius‘ (the final version consisted of 'Speculum naturale‘, 'Speculum doctrinale‘ and 'Speculum historiale‘) of Vincent of Beauvais is one example of the reception of Arabic authors in the field of arts and sciences:primarily of medicine, astronomy, alchemy, biology, and mineralogy, as well asin the classification of knowledge. - [Author]

Language: English

DOI: 10.1515/9783110194319.483