Bartholomeus Anglicus was also known as Bartholomew the Englishman. Bartholomeus Anglicus was a reputable scholar, theologian & a member of the Franciscan order. He was born in England but spent most of his life in Paris & Saxony as a teacher & minister. He is famous for compiling one of the world’s first encyclopedias “On the Properties of Things” (De proprietatibus rerum), which provided scholars of the 13C an important source for extending their knowledge on various subjects.
Not much is known about the Bartholomeus’ background except that he came from England, as his name suggests. It is believed that he was born in Suffolk, while his date of birth is estimated to have been around 1200, & not later than 1203. It is soculated that he had started his studies at Oxford University, where he studied theology & natural sciences under the tutorship of Robert Grosseteste.
He entered the Franciscan order in 1224 or 1225, together with Haymo of Faversham, a fellow professor. This movement originated within Catholic Church & consisted of the followers of St. Francis of Assisi. He taught at the University of Paris until 1231, when he moved to Magdeburg in Saxony. He accepted the transfer after he was asked by John Parenti, the minister general, who believed that he was the right person for educating people of Saxony, which was a new Franciscan province at the time. After he joined the Franciscan order, he was sent to Saxony to teach the people that belonged to the order there, & he later became the Minister of Austia, Bohemia & Saxony.
Bartholomeus realized that educational opportunities were very limited in the 13C & that even people who wanted to learn didn’t have adequate literature. This is why he set the goal to organize & present all the scientific knowledge gathered until then in a cataloged manner. The result was his greatest work - De proprietatibus rerum (Liber de proprietatibus rerum), the 1st important encyclopedia of medieval times, believed to had been finished around 1240.
Barholomeus organized De proprietatibus rerum in 19 books, gathering & presenting the knowledge in geography, mineralogy, philosophy, chronology, astronomy, theology, medicine, botany & zoology. He made sure to include all the sources known to him, whether they were works of Greek, Arabian or Jewish authors, as well as to cite them properly. Among the authors he cited are Aristotle, Hippocrates, Isaac Medicus, Haly & many others.
The original intention of the book was to serve to him & his students in Saxony, although it was available to the general public. The book achieved great popularity & was soon distributed all over Europe, allowing scholars from the entire continent to extend their knowledge on various subjects. In the 14C, his original work written in Latin was translated into English & French.
In 1247, he was chosen to be the Minister of Austria, & in 1255, the Minister of Bohemia. When he managed to mediate a dispute between the Cathedral Chapter at Krakow & Duke Boleslaw & resolve it, he was appointed as Papal legate & the Bishop of Lukow by Pope Alexander IV. However, he had to evade from Poland because of the Mongol invasion & return to Saxony, where he became the Minister in 1262. He held this position until his death, which is believed to be in 1272, although it cannot be claimed.
Bartholomeus Anglicus is remembered as the author of one of the most important works of the Middle Ages - De proprietatibus rerum, an encyclopedia of all scientific knowledge gathered until then.
Works
De proprietatibus rerum : Bartholomeus Anglicus
Note:
The Herbals are listed according to authors, or, in the case of anonymous works, according to the names by which they are usually known. In cases where only one copy of an edition is known the library where it is to be found is indicated.
Bartholomæus Anglicus - "De Proprietatibus Rerum" (1495 ed.) The seventeenth book of De Proprietatibus Rerum - containing 19 chapters - is on herbs. Already a highly successful and popular book in manuscript form since its creation in c. 1230–1240, before being printed in 1495, it was the first Encyclopedia written in the English language. It was also the first original work on plants by an English writer to be printed, and the woodcut at the beginning of the book was probably the first botanical illustration to be printed in an English book. A Latin edition was printed in 1482
1535. Bartholomeus de Proprietatibus Rerum. Londini in Aedibus Thomæ Berthelete. Regii Impressoris.
See:
The Mineralogical Record - Library BARTHOLOMAEUS ANGLICUS.
