Alexander of Villedieu

He died in 1240, or perhaps in 1250. He was a Franciscan and a Master of the University of Paris. His Doctrinale puerorum, a versified grammar, soon became a classic. It was composed around 1200, and was all written in leonine hexameters. Even after several centuries, with the advent of printing, it appeared in countless editions in Italy, Germany and France. It was based on the older works of Donatus and Priscian. Alexander also wrote a short tract on arithmetic called Carmen de Algorismo—the Poem about Arithmetic, which also achieved a wide distribution. A typical line from his Carmen de Algorismo, runs like this: • Extrahe radicem semper sub parte sinistra Wherein he instructs his students: "always extract the square root by starting from the left". The poem is not very long, only a few hundred lines, and summarizes the art of calculating with the new style of Indian dice, or Talibus Indorum, as he calls the new Hindu-Arabic numerals.

The recorded working language is medieval Latin and Old French. Employment is recorded with University of Paris. Works named in the authority record are Doctrinale puerorum, Carmen de algorismo and Massa compoti. Work by Alexander of Villedieu is recorded in the collections of museum Huis Bergh.

The authorities additionally record the headings Alexander of Villa Dei, Alexander de Villa Dei and Alexander de Villadei. His recorded languages were medieval Latin and Old French.

Alexander of Villedieu is recorded as mathematician, writer, grammarian, university teacher and pedagogue.