BOUQUET, MARTIN. - Benedictine monk, b. at Amiens on 6 Aug. 1685, d. at Paris on 6 Apr. 1754. He entered the Congregation of Saint-Maur in 1707. Having become librarian of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, he was chosen to carry out the collection of sources for the history of France. This task, for which Mabillon himself had considered himself incapable, was carried out, though not completely, by B. in a most commendable manner, although his opposition to the bull Unigenitus caused him to be removed from Paris; he nevertheless returned there to the monastery of the « Blancs Manteaux » (1735), where he remained until his death.
From 1738 to 1752 he issued the first 8 volumes of the Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France. Vol. IX was published posthumously (Paris 1757, ed. Delisle, ibid. 1859-80). The prefaces, critical notes, tables, and most accurate indexes are still highly useful. The Recueil, which extends only to the end of the kings of the second dynasty, was continued by various other Maurists and, after the dissolution of the congregation, by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres. It consists of 24 volumes, the last of which was published in 1904.