Speculum majus
Quick Summary
The Speculum majus (Great Mirror), compiled by Vincent of Beauvais around 1244, was a monumental encyclopaedia in the 13th century. It was likely the most extensive European encyclopaedia until the 18th century.1
The work was divided into three original parts:
* Historical: Covering Western history from Creation to the time of Louis IX.1
* Natural: Summarizing all known natural history and science.1
* Doctrinal: Compiling European literature, law, politics, and economics.1
A fourth part, the Speculum morale (Mirror of Morals), was added later. Vincent of Beauvais drew heavily on classical scholarship, showing respect for figures like Aristotle and Cicero, which indicated a shift in attitudes toward antiquity during the 12th-century Renaissance of learning. The Speculum majus was highly influential, with translations and reprints continuing for centuries.1
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encyclopaediaHistorical significanceIn the Speculum majus (“The Greater Mirror”; completed 1244), one of the most important of all encyclopaedias, the French medieval scholar Vincent of Beauvais maintained not only that his work should be perused but that the ideas it recorded should be taken to heart and imitated. Alluding…
Read MoreIn the Speculum majus (“The Greater Mirror”; completed 1244), one of the most important of all encyclopaedias, the French medieval scholar Vincent of Beauvais maintained not only that his work should be perused but that the ideas it recorded should be taken to heart and imitated. Alluding…
Read More- encyclopaediaRoyalty and encyclopaedias
…IX patronized Vincent of Beauvais’s Speculum majus. Nor did kings eschew the work of compiling encyclopaedias. The emperor Constantine VII of the Eastern Roman Empire was responsible for a series of encyclopaedias, and Alfonso X of Spain organized the making of the Grande e general estoria (“Great and General History”).
Read More…IX patronized Vincent of Beauvais’s Speculum majus. Nor did kings eschew the work of compiling encyclopaedias. The emperor Constantine VII of the Eastern Roman Empire was responsible for a series of encyclopaedias, and Alfonso X of Spain organized the making of the Grande e general estoria (“Great and General History”).
Read More - encyclopaediaEarly development
…the Middle Ages was the Speculum majus of Vincent of Beauvais. Vincent was not an original writer but he was industrious, and his work comprised nearly 10,000 chapters in 80 books; no encyclopaedia rivalled it in size until the middle of the 18th century. The work was very well balanced,…
Read More…the Middle Ages was the Speculum majus of Vincent of Beauvais. Vincent was not an original writer but he was industrious, and his work comprised nearly 10,000 chapters in 80 books; no encyclopaedia rivalled it in size until the middle of the 18th century. The work was very well balanced,…
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