Budé, Guillaume

Budé, Guillaume (gēyōm` büdā`), 1467–1540, French humanist, b. Paris. Budé, known also by the Latinized form of his name, Budaeus, was a towering figure of the Renaissance. He was secretary to Louis XII, coming to power and prestige under Francis I. With the latter's patronage he established the study of classical works. Budé persuaded Francis to found the Collège de France and to amass a library at Fontainebleau, which became the nucleus of the Bibliothèque nationale. Acquainted with nearly all the great minds of his age, Budé carried on a voluminous correspondence in several languages. His treatises on language helped to establish the discipline of philology. He translated and commented on Greek literature.