BALBI (Balbus, de Balbis), GIOVANNI. — Dominican scholar, famous author of the Catholicon, about whom we possess the few biographical details that he himself includes in his writings. From his place of birth he is also called Giovanni da Genova (Ianunensis). He died circa 1298.
Before entering the cloister he had already composed an Opus paschale, that is, a computistical study for determining the date of Easter. The manuscript of his Postillae super evangelia is preserved in the Dominican convent of Genoa. In 1272 he completed a summa of theology in dialogue form under the title Dialogus super quaestionibus animae ad spiritum, preserved in the Vatican Library (Vat. Lat. 1508 and 1309). Divided into seven books, the treatise frequently draws inspiration from St. Thomas. For this reason Grabmann places B. among the representatives of the Italian Thomistic school.
His major work dates from 1286: the Summa grammaticalis quae vocatur Catholicon, known as the Catholicon. The subject matter of this work both extends to and is limited by the «Trivium», providing books on orthography, prosody, grammar, rhetoric, and a vocabulary of Late and Medieval Latin. The work, still considered useful today, survives in several manuscripts and had the distinction of being among the earliest products of the art of printing. Gutenberg himself printed this work in 1460 with special type, known as Catholicon type, bringing this last great typographical enterprise of his to a close with the well-known distinctive cōlon (reproduced in LThK, I, col. 925). This first edition was followed by further editions in the 15th century.
B. had also become celebrated for his virtues.