e. The first is
the great encyclopaedia of Vincent of Beauvais, a Dominican friar
(_c._ 1190-1264). It was printed in 1472-6 by Mentelin at Strasburg,
in six enormous volumes; and no one can properly appreciate the
magnitude of the work who has not tried to lift these volumes about.
Vincent was not the first to attempt this encyclopaedic enterprise,
for his work is based on that of another Frenchman, Helinand, who died
in 1229. In his preface he states that his prior had urged him to
reduce his _Speculum_ to a manual; being doubtless an old man, and
appalled at these colossal fruits of his friar's industry. But this
was too much for the proud author after all his labour. He did,
however, consent to cut it up into portions. The _Speculum naturale_
gives a description of the world in all its parts, animal and
vegetable and mineral; the _Speculum doctrinale_ taught how to
practise the arts and sciences; the _Speculum historiale_ embraced the
world's history down to 1250; and the _Speculum morale_, which is
perhaps not by Vincent, found room for the philosophies.

But few libraries can have possessed this work in full. Our other book
was much more compassable and more widely circulated. Its author was a
certain Johannes Marchesinus, of whom so little is known that his date
has been put both at 1300 and at 1466. Even the title of the book was
uncertain. Marchesinus names it Mammotrectus or Mammetractus, which he
explains as 'led by a pedagogue'; but a current form of the name was
Mammothreptus, which was interpreted as 'brought up by one's
grandmother'. The book consists of a commentary on the whole Bible,
chapter by chapter; and also upon the _Legenda Sanctorum_, upon
various sermons and homilies, responses, antiphons, and hymns, with
notes on the Hebrew months, ecclesiastical vestments, and other
subjects likely to be useful to students in the Church, especial
emphasis being laid on pronunciation and quantity. It was intended,
Marchesinus tells us in his preface, for the use of the poor clergy,
to aid them in writing sermons and in reading difficult Hebrew names;
and from the sympathy with which he enters into their troubles, it
seems clear that he knew them from personal experience.

From its scope the book might be expected to be as large as Vincent's
_Speculum_, but in fact it can be printed in a quarto volume. It was
not intended to compete with the great commentaries of Peter the
Lombard, or Nicholas Lyra, or Hugh o