Louis Moréri | |
|---|---|
 Louis Moréri, frontispiece, etching byGerard Edelinck after a drawing byDe Troyes, 17th century | |
| Born | 25 March 1643 |
| Died | 10 July 1680 (aged 37) |
Louis Moréri (25 March 1643 – 10 July 1680) was aFrenchpriest andencyclopedist. Moreri was the author ofLe Grand Dictionaire historique, ou le mélange curieux de l'histoire sacrée et profane (literally,The Great Historical Dictionary or Curious Anthology of Sacred and Secular History). At least 24 editions of the encyclopedia were published between 1674 and 1759 and the encyclopedia was translated into a number of languages, including English, German, Dutch and Spanish.
Moréri was born in 1643 inBargemon, a village in the ancientprovince ofProvence. His great-grandfather, Joseph Chatranet, a native ofDijon, had settled inProvence under KingCharles IX of France and taken the name of the village of Moréri, which he acquired through marriage.[1]
Louis Moréri studied humanities inDraguignan and laterrhetoric andphilosophy at theJesuit College ofAix-en-Provence. He then studied theology, obtaining his doctoral degree, and wasordained a priest inLyon. During his stay in Lyon, he published several works, among themLa pratique de la perfection chrétienne et religieuse (1667), a translation of the work of the Spanish Jesuittheologian,Alonso Rodriguez. It was probably in Lyon that he metSamuel Chappuzeau, who claimed to have first given him the idea of writing his encyclopedia.[2]
In 1675, shortly after publishing the first edition of his encyclopedia, Moréri accompanied his bishop to Paris, where he became acquainted withSimon Arnauld, Marquis de Pomponne, then the minister of foreign affairs. Three years later, he was hired to be a tutor for Pomponne's children. During this time, he worked on a second edition of his encyclopedia. In 1680, midway through the printing of the second edition, he died oftuberculosis.[3]
Moréri's encyclopedia,Le Grand Dictionaire historique, ou le mélange curieux de l'histoire sacrée et profane (literally,The Great Historical Dictionary, or Curious Anthology of Sacred and Secular History, although it was translated differently into English at the time) was first published inLyon in 1674. The encyclopedia focused almost exclusively on historical and biographical articles. Moréri dedicated it to Gaillard de Longjumeau, theBishop of Apt, to whom he had been appointedchaplain. Moréri's one-volume edition of 1674 and posthumous two-volume edition of 1681 were revised and expanded by others after his death. At least twenty-four editions were published between 1674 (one volume) and 1759 (ten volumes). The encyclopedia was also translated and adapted into English, German, Dutch and Spanish.[4]
Moréri'sGrand Dictionaire historique gave rise to a more famous encyclopedia,Pierre Bayle'sThe Historical and Critical Dictionary (1697). Bayle conceived his work as correcting and making up for deficiencies of Moréri's work.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Louis Moréri".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.