Bouquet, Martin

BOUQUET, bū´´kê´, MARTIN: Benedictine of St. Maur; b. at Amiens Aug. 6, 1685, d. in Paris Apr. 6, 1754. He entered the Benedictine order at St. Faron, Meaux, in 1706, and was ordained priest. His knowledge of Hebrew and Greek secured his appointment as special assistant to Montfaucon in his editorial labors. When the 240great edition of the Scriptores rerum Gallicarum et Francicarum came to be made (it had been projected by Colbert as early as 1676, and was entrusted to the Benedictines of St. Maur in 1723), he was placed in charge of it. Difficulties were encountered owing to his opposition to the bull Unigenitus, which caused the king to banish him from Paris; but he succeeded in preparing the first eight volumes for publication (1738–52). Other members of the congregation brought out five more after his death (1757–86). Interrupted by the Revolution, the work was taken up again by the Institute, and later by the Academy of Inscriptions, by whom ten more volumes were published in the nineteenth century.