MINUTI, Théophile. - Minim religious, Orientalist and palaeographer, b. at Bras in Provence in 1592, d. at Marseilles on 8 Aug. 1662. He entered the Minims in 1610 and specialised in Oriental languages for the interpretation of Holy Scripture.
He made journeys to the East at the behest of his learned friend and patron Nicolas-Claude de Peiresc, bringing back to France specimens of the New Testament in Sicilian, a good number of Coptic and Samaritan texts, mummies, notes and medals; he also introduced into Europe the bulbs of the tuberose. But what Peiresc and his friends admired most in the collection was a trilingual codex of the Pentateuch of the 12th century, which M. found at Damascus in 1631, containing the Hebrew text in Samaritan characters, an Arabic version in Samaritan characters, and a paraphrase in the Samaritan language (targum). Peiresc presented it to Cardinal Barberini in 1637 and since then the codex has been in the Vatican Library, fonds
MINUTI THÉOPHILE — MIOLIS SIXTE-ALEXANDRE
In 1808 he was entrusted with the occupation of Rome and the arrest of Pius VII, of whom he was nonetheless deeply devoted; he lacked the dignity and courage to evade such a sorrowful and ignominious mission, especially for a soldier and a believer, and remained in Rome as governor general until 1814. He carried out this office with notable moderation, fostering a broad revival of cultural activities. He oversaw important excavations in the Forum, as well as consolidation and restoration works at the Colosseum, the Temple of Vesta, the Cloaca Maxima, and other monuments. He was a friend of Canova, whose advice he sought for the reorganization of numerous art and educational institutions; the allowances attached to the comital title bestowed upon him by Napoleon were entirely devoted to the embellishment of the city. After the fall of the Empire, he swore allegiance to Louis XVIII, who entrusted him with command of the Marseille division, but during the Hundred Days he returned to Napoleonic ranks, assuming command of the fortress at Metz. Dismissed from the army in 1815, he devoted the last thirteen years of his life to archaeological studies and religious practices.