Choul, William Du

, a gentleman of Lyons, of the sixteenth century, bailiff of the mountains of Dauphiny, travelled over Italy to improve himself in the knowledge of antiquity; and is principally known by a scarce and excellent treatise of the “Religion and Castrametation of the ancient Romans,” folio, Lyons, 1556, 1569, 4to, and 1580, 4to. This singular work of antiquities is remarkable, especially for its second part, which treats of the manner of pitching and fortifying the camps used by the Romans, of their discipline and their military exercises. It has been translated into Latin, Italian, and Spanish: the Latin, Amst. 1685, 4to, the Italian, Lyons, 1559, folio; both editions are scarce, but less so than the French original, though not so well executed. He has the honour of being one of the earliest French antiquaries, but his countrymen have preserved no memorials of his personal history. The last edition of the French Dict. Hist, attributes to him two other treatises, “Promptuaire des Medailles,” and “Traite des Bains des Grecs et des Remains,” but we suspect this last is included in the larger work above mentioned. ²