NECKAM (Nequam), ALEXANDER. — Polymath and pedagogue, born at St. Albans (England) in the 7th month of 1577, died at Kempsey (Worcestershire) in 1217. He was educated at St. Albans, then became rector of the school at Dunstable. Before 1180 Neckam went to Paris, where he devoted himself to the study of medicine and the natural sciences, and also taught the liberal arts. Returning to his homeland in 1186, he resumed the direction of the school at Dunstable, then became a canon regular at Cirencester, where in 1213 he was elected abbot.
A man of wide learning, a poet and prolific writer, as an “encyclopedist” Neckam stands between Isidore and Albert the Great. In terms of literary genre, his works occupy a prominent place in didactic poetry. Broad in outlook, he applied himself to the study of the ancient classics. A distinguished grammarian, he also knew Hebrew, and in his biblical exegesis there are beginnings of textual criticism. His study of nature presents immediate and valuable observations; Neckam is the first European author to mention the compass. His works are therefore a source of great value for the history of culture.
Many of his writings, especially theological ones, remain unpublished. Among his biblical commentaries are to be noted: *Expositio in Cantica canticorum*; *Glossa super Psalterium*; *Tractatus super parabolas Salomonis*; *Moralia super Evangelia* lib. IV. He left other treatises, commentaries and sermons, poems and fables.