Vincent of Beauvais was a Dominican friar at the Cistercian monastery of Royaumont Abbey, France. He is known mostly for his Speculum Maius, a major work of compilation that was widely read in the Middle Ages. Often retroactively described as an encyclopedia or as a florilegium, his text exists as a core example of brief compendiums produced in medieval Europe.
Vincent of Beauvais
Miniature of Vincent of Beauvais in a manuscript of the Speculum Historiale, translated into French by Jean de Vignay, Bruges, c. 1478–1480, British Library Royal 14 E. i, vol. 1, f. 3
The Speculum maius or "Greater Mirror" was a major encyclopedia of the Middle Ages written by Vincent of Beauvais in the 13th century. It was a great compendium of all knowledge of the time. The work seems to have consisted of three parts: the Speculum Naturale, Speculum Doctrinale and Speculum Historiale. However, all the printed editions include a fourth part, the Speculum Morale, added in the 14th century and mainly compiled from Thomas Aquinas, Stephen of Bourbon, and a few other contemporary writers.
Strasbourg: Johann Mentelin 1473, Speculum historiale
Miniature of Vincent of Beauvais in a manuscript of the Speculum Historiale, translated into French by Jean de Vignay, Bruges, c. 1478–1480, British Library Royal 14 E. i, vol. 1, f. 3
Two page spread of Vincent of Beauvais's Speculum Doctrinale, a manuscript copy c. 1301–1400.
Two royal visits to respectively the author and translator of Vincent's Mirror of History translated into French by Jean de Vignay as Le Miroir historial, c. 1333. At left Saint Louis visits Vincent.
