Jean Beleth (; –1182) was a twelfth-century French liturgist and theologian. He is thought to have been rector in a Paris theological college.[ Concise Dictionary of National Biography] That he was possibly of English origin was a hypothesis discussed by John Pits, and supported by Thomas Tanner; but is no longer taken seriously.[ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, article by Henry Summerson.]
Life
Beleth is recorded at Tiron in 1135, studying at
Chartres around that time, probably teaching theology in
Paris, and recorded in 1182 at
Amiens.
Works
His
Summa de Ecclesiasticis Officiis is a manual and now a source for the Christian
liturgy of his time; it was later printed (
Rationale divinorum officiorum), and has been dated to 1162.
Jean Belet de Vigny
The 19th-century editions of the
Encyclopædia Britannica claimed that
Jean Belet de Vigny (fl. 14th century) edited many important works including the edition and translation into
French language of the
hagiography known as the
Legenda Sanctorum (Golden Legend). Considering that one of the original authors of the hagiography most frequently named is one "Johannes Beleth", it is more likely that the 14th-century first French edition was a translation from a version of the Golden Legend written by Beleth.
Citations
Bibliography
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