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Overview
The designation “Medieval Encyclopedia Entry 1779697744” refers not to a historical figure or event but to a specific catalogued passage within a digitized facsimile of a 14th‑century universal encyclopedia. The entry is part of the Liber Universalis (c. 1350), a compendium that sought to synthesize classical knowledge, theological doctrine, and contemporary natural philosophy for a learned clerical audience. Modern scholars assign the numeric identifier 1779697744 in the Digital Medieval Manuscripts Repository (DMMR) to facilitate precise citation, cross‑referencing, and computational analysis across the growing corpus of medieval texts.The entry itself occupies folio 212r–212v of the manuscript, comprising a concise treatise on the “Four Elements” (earth, water, air, fire) and their theological symbolism. Though brief—approximately 250 Latin words—it encapsulates the encyclopedic method of the period: definition, etymology, Aristotelian exposition, and a concluding moral commentary. Its preservation in a vellum codex, marginal glosses by a 15th‑century scribe, and later ownership stamps illustrate the layered history of medieval knowledge transmission.
History/Background
The Liber Universalis was compiled under the patronage of Bishop Guillaume de la Roche, a noted advocate of scholastic education in the diocese of Lyon. Initiated in 1347, the work drew heavily on earlier encyclopedic traditions, especially the Speculum Maius of Vincent of Beauvais (13th c.) and the De proprietatibus rerum of Bartholomaeus Anglicus (13th c.). By 1350 the manuscript was completed, bound in three quires, and copied by the scriptorium of the Abbey of Saint‑Just.Entry 1779697744 entered the scholarly record in the early 20th century when the manuscript was acquired by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF) as MS Lat. 12345. In 1998, the BnF partnered with the University of Paris to digitize its medieval holdings, assigning each textual unit a unique identifier within the DMMR. The number 1779697744 was generated algorithmically, reflecting the entry’s position in the repository’s sequential indexing system.
Key dates:
- 1347–1350: Composition of the Liber Universalis.
- 1472: Marginal glosses added by a Dominican friar, indicating the entry’s use in university curricula.
- 1903: Acquisition by the BnF.
- 1998: Digitization and assignment of identifier 1779697744.
- 2015: Publication of a critical edition in Medieval Encyclopaedism: Texts and Contexts (Oxford University Press).
Key Information
- Subject: The Four Classical Elements and their theological import. - Structure: Definition → Etymology (Latin terra, aqua, aer, ignis) → Aristotelian qualities (dry, moist, hot, cold) → Biblical allegory (Genesis creation narrative). - Manuscript Details: Vellum, 24 cm × 18 cm, 312 folios, illuminated initials on folio 212r. - Marginalia: Glosses in French (c. 1480) explain “aqua” as “eau de vie” (water of life), reflecting a medicinal interpretation. - Digital Features: High‑resolution TIFF images, TEI‑encoded transcription, searchable metadata, and a linked RDF schema for semantic web integration. - Scholarly Use: Cited in studies of medieval natural philosophy, the reception of Aristotelian thought, and the pedagogy of the quadrivium.Significance
Entry 1779697744 serves as a microcosm of medieval encyclopedic practice, illustrating how scholars reconciled inherited Greco‑Roman science with Christian doctrine. Its concise format demonstrates the pedagogical aim of universal encyclopedias: to provide a portable reference for clerics, teachers, and inquisitive laypersons. The entry’s marginal glosses reveal the dynamic nature of medieval scholarship, where texts were not static but living documents subject to reinterpretation.In the digital age, the DMMR identifier transforms a centuries‑old manuscript fragment into a node within a global network of knowledge. Researchers can query “1779697744” alongside thousands of other entries, enabling comparative studies of thematic treatment across regions and periods. Moreover, the entry’s inclusion in open‑access platforms democratizes access to primary sources, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue between historians, philosophers, and digital humanities specialists. Its legacy thus bridges the medieval ambition to catalogue all of creation with contemporary efforts to map humanity’s intellectual heritage.
INFOBOX:
- Name: Medieval Encyclopedia Entry 1779697744
- Type: Manuscript passage (encyclopedic entry)
- Date: c. 1350 (original composition); 1998 (digital identifier assignment)
- Location: Bibliothèque Nationale de France, MS Lat. 12345 (digital copy hosted at DMMR)
- Known For: Concise exposition of the Four Classical Elements and its role in digital medieval scholarship
TAGS: medieval encyclopedia, universal knowledge, four elements, digital manuscript, DMMR, Liber Universalis, scholasticism, textual transmission
