Anselm de Guibours (born 1625) (Father Anselm of the Blessed Mary, O.A.D., , or simply ''Père Anselme'') was a French Discalced Augustinian

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

and noted

genealogist Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their Lineage (anthropology), lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family ...

Biography

He was born Pierre de Guibours in Paris in 1625, where he entered the Order of the

Discalced Augustinians The Order of Discalced Augustinians (; abbreviation: OAD) is a mendicant order that branched off from the Order of Saint Augustine as a reform movement. History During the Counter-Reformation, there was a special interest among the Augustinian ...

on 31 March 1644. It was in their monastery (called the ''Couvent des Petits Pères''), attached to the popular Basilica of Our Lady of Victories, that he lived for the next fifty years, dying there on 17 January 1694. Guibours devoted his entire life to

genealogical Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

studies. In 1663, he published ''Le Palais de l'honneur'' (''The Palace of honor''), which, besides giving the genealogy of the houses of Lorraine and Savoy, is a complete treatise on

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

. This was followed the following year by ''Le Palais de la gloire'' (''The Palace of Glory''), dealing with the genealogy of various illustrious French and European families. These books made friends for him, the most intimate among whom, Honoré Caille,

Seigneur A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

du Fourny (1630–1713), persuaded him to publish his ''Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France, et des grands officiers de la couronne'' (1674, 2 vols.). After Father Anselm's death, Fourny collected the friar's papers and brought out a new edition of this highly important work in 1712. After Fourny's death in 1713, the task was taken up and continued by two other friars of the monastery where Father Anselm had spent his life: Father Angel of St. Rosalie (1655–1726), together with Father Simplician (1683–1759), who published the first and second volumes of the third edition in 1726. This edition consists of nine volumes

folio The term "folio" () has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging Paper size, sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for ...

. It is a genealogical and chronological history of the Royal House of France, of the

Peers of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

, of the great officers of the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

, of the king's household and of the ancient

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

s of the kingdom. The notes were generally compiled from original documents, references to which are usually given, so that they remain useful to the present day. The work of Father Anselm, his collaborators and successors, is even more important for the history of France than is

William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Colesh ...

's ''Baronage of England'' for the history of England.

Notes

References

Attribution: *

External links

Scanned copies of Anselm's magnum opus are available online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guibours, Anselm French genealogists Augustinian friars 1625 births 1694 deaths 17th-century French Roman Catholic priests Writers from Paris French male non-fiction writers