Budé, Guillaume

(1467-1540)

   humanist

   Born in Paris, Guillaume Budé is also known by his Latin name, Budaeus. He acquired a vast erudition at an early age and became a well-known Hellenist. one of the most learned men of the Renaissance, he held several important posts, including those of royal librarian and provost of Paris. At his suggestion, King Francis i in 1530 founded the institute that later became the collège de France, and also the famed library at Fontainebleau, which later became the basis for the Bibliothèque Nationale. As a scholar, Budé carried on a correspondence with the most illustrious figures of his age, including Erasmus and François rabelais. His own writings on philosophy, philology, and jurisprudence (Annotations aux Pandectes, 1508), include translations of treatises by Plutarch. Budé also wrote on Roman civil law, on numismatics (De asse, 1514), and on mathematics. He was also an author on works on language and literature, especially Greek, by which he essentially established the science of philology and greatly advanced the study of Greek literature in France and elsewhere. His major study in this area is Commentaires sur la langue grec (1529).