[See also: AUGUSTINE, RULE OF ST.; PREACHING; REGULAR CANONS;
ROBERT D’ARBRISSEL]
Petit, François. La spiritualité des Prémontrés aux XIIe et XIIIe siècles. Paris: Vrin, 1947.
——. Norbert et l’origine des Prémontrés. Paris: Cerf, 1981.
Ulm, Kaspar, ed. Norbert von Xanten: Adliger, Ordensstifter, Kirchenfürst. Cologne: Wienand,
1984.
PRESLES, RAOUL DE
(1316–1382). After legal studies at Orléans, Raoul was attached to the Châtelet in Paris
and eventually to the household of Charles V, where he enjoyed considerable royal favor.
His works include a Latin Compendium morale de re publica (1363), a French Discours
de l’oriflamme (1369), and the Muse, an imaginary quest for a solution to France’s
contemporary problems. Raoul is best known for his translation (1371–75) of
Augustine’s De civitate Dei (Cité de Dieu), with his own important commentary. Many
illustrated manuscripts, including the king’s own copy of this text, still exist. He began a
translation of the Bible at the request of Charles V, but it remained incomplete at his
death.
Charity Cannon Willard
[See also: TRANSLATION]
Bossuat, Robert. “Raoul de Presles.” In Histoire littéraire de la France. Paris: Imprimerie
Nationale, 1974, Vol. 40, pp. 113–86.
Leroux de Lincy, Antoine, and L.M.Tisserand. Paris et ses historiens. Paris: Imprimerie Impériale,
1867, pp. 83–115.
Willard, Charity C. “Raoul de Presles’ Translation of St. Augustine’s De civitate Dei.” In Medieval
Translators and Their Craft, ed. Jeanette Beer. Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute, 1989, pp. 329–
46.
PRÉVÔT/PRÉVÔTÉ
. Prévôt (Lat. praepositus) was one of several titles given to seigneurial officers involved
in managing rural estates. The first Capetian kings used prévôts to administer the
scattered parts of the royal domain. At a local level, they were responsible for justice,
military defense, and collection of the king’s seigneurial revenues. In the 11th century,
the prévôts tended increasingly to make their positions hereditary and thus became more
difficult to control. One of the king’s “great officers,” the seneschal, became their
supervisor. In the 12th century, the office of prévôt was put up for bidding, and
henceforth the prévôts were farmers of revenues. To monitor their performance and
curtail abuses, the crown established roving justices, baillis, to hear complaints against
them. The office of seneschal was vacant after 1191, and in the next few years the baillis
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