John of Genoa

John of Genoa [Also rendered as Johannes Januensis de Balbis, Johannes Balbus, John Balbi, or Giovanni Balbi.] (died c. 1298) was an Italian grammarian and Dominican priest.

At an advanced age, John gave away his wealth to the poor of Genoa and entered the Order of St Dominic. Nothing is known of him before this.

He is best known for his Latin grammar, "Summa Grammaticalis", better known as the "Catholicon". This work is made up of treatises on orthography, etymology, grammar, prosody, rhetoric, and an etymological dictionary of the Latin language ("primae, mediae et infimae Latinitatis"). It was highly respected as a textbook for over a century after its publication, and received both excessive criticism and excessive praise. Erasmus was particularly critical of the work, criticizing it in his works "De Ratione Studiorum" and "Colloquia". Leandro Alberti wrote a defense of the "Catholicon" in response to these attacks.

Besides the "Catholicon", John also wrote "Liber Theologiae qui vocatur Dialogus de Quaestionibus Animae ad Spiritum" and "Quoddam opus ad inveniendum festa mobilia". A "Postilla super Joannem" and a "Tractatus de Omnipotentia Dei" have also been attributed to him.

Notes