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Jean Mabillon | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Dom Jean Mabillon, O.S.B. | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | (1632-11-23)23 November 1632 |
| Died | 27 December 1707(1707-12-27) (aged 75) Paris, France |
| Resting place | Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés |
| Parents |
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| Notable work(s) | Acta Ordinis S. Benedicti |
| Known for | De re diplomatica |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Founder of | Palaeography anddiplomatic |
| School | Congregation of Saint Maur |
| Military service | |
| Rank | Monk |
DomJean MabillonO.S.B., (French pronunciation:[ʒɑ̃mabijɔ̃]; 23 November 1632 – 27 December 1707) was aFrenchBenedictine monk and scholar of theCongregation of Saint Maur. He is considered the founder of the disciplines ofpalaeography anddiplomatics.[1]
Mabillon was born in the town ofSaint-Pierremont, then in the ancient Province ofChampagne, now a part of theDepartment ofArdennes. He was the son of Estienne Mabillon and his wife Jeanne Guérin. At the age of 12 he became a pupil at the Collège des Bons Enfants inReims. Having entered theseminary in 1650, he left after three years and in 1653 became instead a monk in theMauristAbbey of Saint-Remi. There his dedication to his studies left him ill, and in 1658 he was sent toCorbie Abbey to regain his strength. He was ordained at Corbie in 1660.[2]
In 1663 he was transferred again toSaint-Denis Abbey nearParis, and the following year to theAbbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris. This was a move which offered wide opportunities for scholarly acquaintances and Mabillon was to meet and work, among others, withLuc d'Achery,Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange,Étienne Baluze, andLouis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont.
At Saint-Germain, Mabillon prepared an edition of the works ofSaint Bernard of Clairvaux (published in 1667), and also worked on a monumental collection of the lives of the Benedictine Saints, under the titleActa Ordinis S. Benedicti (published in nine volumes between 1668 and 1701). The later work was undertaken in collaboration with DomLuc d'Achery. This monk had long been the librarian of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and was senior to Mabillon. It was upon historical materials which d'Achery had collected that Mabillon drew for hisActa. A foreword subsequently added by Mabillon used the lives of the saints in order to illustrate the history of the early Middle Ages.
In 1681, prompted by the doubts raised by theJesuitDaniel van Papenbroek over the authenticity of supposedMerovingian documents held at theAbbey of Saint-Denis, Mabillon published hisDe re diplomatica. This work investigated different types ofmedieval documents andmanuscripts, including scrutiny of theirscript, style,seals, signatures,testimonia, and other intrinsic and extrinsic factors, using an acquiredtaste derived from long experience, and consulting the views of other document scholars. Manuscripts from many archives are addressed, and references made to items dating back toDagobert I (King of the Franks, c. 629–639). Concerned often with "distinguishing genuine documents fromforgeries" the work is now seen as the foundation work ofpalaeography anddiplomatics. Mabillon writes:
I do not deny that in fact some documents are false and othersinterpolated, but all of them should not be dismissed for that reason. Rather, it is necessary to devise and hand down rules for distinguishing genuine manuscripts from those that are false and interpolated. ... I undertook this task after long familiarity and daily experience with these documents. For almost twenty years I had devoted my studies and energies to reading and examining ancient manuscripts andarchives, and the published collections of ancient documents. ... I compared and weighed them with one another that I might be able to compile a body of knowledge which was not merely scanty and meager, but as accurate and as well-tested as possible in a field which had not been previously investigated.[3]
This work brought Mabillon to the attention ofJean-Baptiste Colbert, who offered him a pension (which he declined), andKing Louis XIV. He began to travel throughout Europe, toFlanders,Switzerland,Germany, andItaly, in search of medieval manuscripts and books for the royal library.
Some of the less scholarly monks in Mabillon's own abbey criticized hisLives for being too academic; whileArmand de Rancé, Abbot ofLa Trappe, declared that he was breaking the rules of his Order by devoting his life to study rather than manual labour.[4] He also caused trouble by denouncing the veneration of therelics of "unknown saints", wrote a controversial critique of the works of St.Augustine of Hippo, and was accused ofJansenism, but at all times he was supported by the king and the Church.
In 1701 Mabillon was appointed by the king as one of the founding members of theAcadémie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, and in 1704 a supplement toDe re diplomatica was published. In 1707 he died and was buried in the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in Paris.
According toFritz Stern, writing in 1956, Mabillon was the "greatest historical scholar of his century".[5]
TheMabillon station of theParis Métro is named after him.[6]
