Trevisa, John de (c.1326-1402)

English cleric and scholar. He translated into English Ranulf Higden's work Polychronicon, a vast compendium of geographical, scientific, and historical knowledge. Completed in 1387, Trevisa's translation was finally printed by Caxton in 1482, and long remained a standard work.

Trevisa was born in Cornwall, attended Exeter College, Oxford 1362-69, and was a fellow of Queen's College 1369-79. From 1362 he was vicar of Berkeley, where he is buried. He also translated Glanville's De Proprietatibus Rerum and other Latin works.