French poet of the thirteenth century. Nothing is known of his life except that he was a clerk of Normandy. Among the works, which may be assigned to him with some certainty, are: "Bestiaire divin" (ed. Hippeau, Caen, 1853), a moral and theological treatise on natural history dealing with man and animals, probably composed about 1210, as the author, in his description of the dove, deplored the sad condition of the Church in England in 1208; "Besant de Dieu", an allegorical poem, composed in 1226 (ed. Martin, Halle, 1869); "Joies Nostre Dame" (ed. Reinsch in "Zeitschrift für Romanische Philologie", III, 1879, p. 2); "Treis moz de l'evesque de Lincoln" (ibid.); "Vie de Tobie" (ed. Reinsch in Herrig, "Archiv", 1881). A legend of "St. Magdalen" is also credited to him. The "Roman de Tergus", which is connected with the romances of the Round Table, the "Fabliaux" (short stories), "Prestre et Alison", "Male Honte", and "La fille à la bourgeoise" are no longer regarded as his. Although he probably lived for a time in England, as many Norman clerks did, he did not use the Anglo-Norman dialect, but the French.

The Catholic Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on Catholic teaching, history, and information ever gathered in all of human history. This easy-to-search online version was originally printed in fifteen hardcopy volumes.

Designed to present its readers with the full body of Catholic teaching, the Encyclopedia contains not only precise statements of what the Church has defined, but also an impartial record of different views of acknowledged authority on all disputed questions, national, political or factional. In the determination of the truth the most recent and acknowledged scientific methods are employed, and the results of the latest research in theology, philosophy, history, apologetics, archaeology, and other sciences are given careful consideration.

No one who is interested in human history, past and present, can ignore the Catholic Church, either as an institution which has been the central figure in the civilized world for nearly two thousand years, decisively affecting its destinies, religious, literary, scientific, social and political, or as an existing power whose influence and activity extend to every part of the globe. In the past century the Church has grown both extensively and intensively among English-speaking peoples. Their living interests demand that they should have the means of informing themselves about this vast institution, which, whether they are Catholics or not, affects their fortunes and their destiny.

Copyright © Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company New York, NY. Volume 1: 1907; Volume 2: 1907; Volume 3: 1908; Volume 4: 1908; Volume 5: 1909; Volume 6: 1909; Volume 7: 1910; Volume 8: 1910; Volume 9: 1910; Volume 10: 1911; Volume 11: - 1911; Volume 12: - 1911; Volume 13: - 1912; Volume 14: 1912; Volume 15: 1912

Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Digital version Compiled and Copyright © Catholic Online