Title page of Volume 4 of Tassin and Toustain's ''Nouveau traité de diplomatique'' (1759) René-Prosper Tassin (17 November 1697 – 10 September 1777) was a French historian, belonging to the Benedictine

Congregation of Saint-Maur The Congregation of St. Maur, often known as the Maurists, were a congregation of French Benedictines, established in 1621, and known for their high level of scholarship. The congregation and its members were named after Saint Maurus (died 565), a ...

. Tassin was born at Lonlay, in the Diocese of Le Mans. He was professed at the

Abbey of Jumièges An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conc ...

in 1718. United in close friendship with his brother in religion, Dom

Charles-François Toustain Charles-François Toustain (13 October 1700 – 1 July 1754) was a French historian and a member of the Benedictine Congregation of Saint Maur. He is remembered for his scholarly work carried out withwith his fellow-Maurist, Dom René-Prosper Tas ...

, he collaborated with him on a new edition of the works of Theodore the Studite, which task led them to visit Rome together. Their work was interrupted by a dispute between the Benedictine

Abbey of St. Ouen Saint-Ouen Abbey, (french: Abbaye Saint-Ouen de Rouen) is a large Gothic Catholic church and former Benedictine monastic church in Rouen. It is named for Audoin (french: Ouen, ), 7th-century bishop of Rouen in modern Normandy, France. The ch ...

and the chapter of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

, which was supported by the erudite

Jean Saas Jean Saas (4 February 1703 – 20 April 1774) was an 18th-century French historian and bibliographer. Biography At college of Rouen where he studied, Saas distinguished himself by his talent for Latin poetry. Having embraced the ecclesiastical ...

. Tassin and his friend wrote against Saas in defence of their brethren. They then resided at the Abbey of Rouen where they remained till 1747, when they were summoned to the

Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

, at Paris, by their general. To defend the authenticity of the

deed In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferring ...

s of their abbey they were obliged to make a deep study of diplomatics, dealing with diplomas,

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

s, and other official documents, for which

Jean Mabillon Dom Jean Mabillon, O.S.B., (; 23 November 1632 – 27 December 1707) was a French Benedictine monk and scholar of the Congregation of Saint Maur. He is considered the founder of the disciplines of palaeography and diplomatics. Early life Mabil ...

had laid the foundations in his great Latin work, ''De re diplomatica'' (1681). As a result of their researches they wrote the ''Nouveau traité de diplomatique'', in six quarto volumes, which appeared between the years 1750 and 1765. Toustain died before the second volume had been entirely printed, and so Tassin saw the great work to completion. However, he wished the name of his friend to be associated with the project in its entirety, and consequently all the volumes are described as the work of "two Benedictines". Tassin later wrote his ''Histoire littéraire de la Congrégation de Saint-Maur'' (Paris and Brussels, 1770), a model history containing the lives and list of works, printed or in manuscript, of all the learned authors of the Congregation, from its formation in 1618 until his own time, including a list of their works, printed or in manuscript. Several manuscript works of Tassin are in the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris. Tassin died in Paris.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tassin, Rene Prosper People from Seine-Maritime 1697 births 1777 deaths 18th-century French historians French Benedictines 18th-century French writers 18th-century French male writers