Bouquet, Martin

Bouquet, Martin a French writer, was born at Amiens, June 6, 1685. He entered, in 1706, the order of St. Benedict, and became librarian of the abbey of St. Germain-des-Pres, which appointment, however, he resigned in order to give himself entirely to his studies. His first work was a new edition of Josephus, which, however, he did not complete himself, but sent the fruit of his labors to Havercamp, at Amsterdam, who published his edition of the historian (1726, 2 vols. fol.). The minister Colbert had conceived the design, as far back as 1676, of a collection of the Gallic and French historians, which, after his death, Le Tellier, archbishop of Rheims, determined to carry into execution. Mabillon refused the task, which was accepted by Pere Lelong, who was occupied with it until his death, in 1721. Then Dom Denys de St. Marthe, the superior-general of the Benedictine Congregation of St. Maur, proposed that his monks should undertake the completion of the work, and Bouquet was selected to commence the labor. He published the first two volumes of the collection, under the title Rerun Gallicarum et Francicarun m Scriptores (1738). These were followed, in succession, by six others, up to the time of his death, in the monastery des Blanc-Mandeaux at Paris, April 6, 1754. Bouquet had chosen for his assistants D'Antine and J. B. Handiquier, the latter of whom, with his brother Charles, completed vols. 9 and 10. The work was carried on by other authors to the twentieth volume (1840). See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.; Landon, Eccles. Dict. s.v.