Du Cange, one of the greatest of the French scholars who have studied the middle ages, has defined terms bearing on institutions in his _Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis_ (1678), recast by the Benedictines (1733), with an important supplement by Dom Carpentier (1768), republished twice during the 19th century, with additions, by F. Didot (1840-1850), and by L. Favre at Niort (1883-1888); this work is still indispensable to every student of medieval history. Finally, great biographical or bibliographical works were undertaken; the _Gallia christiana_, which gave a chronological list of the archbishops, bishops and abbots of the Gauls and of France, was compiled by two twin brothers, Scevole and Louis de Sainte-Marthe, and by the two sons of Louis (4 vols., 1656); a fresh edition, on a better plan, and with great additions, was begun in 1715 by Denys de Sainte-Marthe, continued throughout the 18th century by the Benedictines, and finished in the 19th century by Barthelemy Haureau (1856-1861). As to the nobility, a series of researches and publications, begun by Pierre d'Hozier (d. 1660) and continued well on into the 19th century by several of his descendants, developed into the _Armorial general de la France_, which was remodelled several times. A similar work, of a more critical nature, was carried out by Pere Anselme (_Histoire genealogique de la maison de France et des grands officiers de la couronne_, 1674) and by Pere Ange and Pere Simplicien, who completed the work (3rd ed. in 9 vols., 1726-1733). Critical bibliography is especially represented by certain Protestants, expelled from France by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Pierre Bayle, the sceptic, famous for his _Dictionnaire critique_ (1699), which is in part a refutation of the _Dictionnaire historique et geographique_ published in 1673 by the Abbe Louis Moreri, was the first to publish the _Nouvelles de la republique des lettres_ (1684-1687), which was continued by Henri Basnage de Beauval under the title of _Histoire des ouvrages des savants_ (24 vols.). In imitation of this, Jean Le Clerc successively edited a _Bibliotheque universelle et historique_ (1686-1693), a _Bibliotheque choisie_ (1703-1713), and a _Bibliotheque ancienne et moderne_ (1714-1727). These were the first of our "periodicals."