Bernard de Montgaillard (1563–1628) was a French Cistercian preacher and abbot of

Orval Abbey Orval Abbey (Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Orval) is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1132 in the Gaume region of Belgium, located in Villers-devant-Orval, part of Florenville, Wallonia in the province of Luxembourg. The abbey is well known for its hist ...

Life

Bernard was born in 1563, the son of Bertrand de Percin, lord of Montgaillard, and Antoinette Du Vallet. In 1579, aged 16, he joined the

Congregation of the Feuillants The Feuillants were a Catholic congregation originating in the 1570s as a reform group within the Cistercians in its namesake Les Feuillants Abbey in France, which declared itself an independent order. In 1630 it separated into a French branch (t ...

, whose rule prescribed a single meal per day, in the evening, with no meat, fish eggs or butter.

Paul Bergmans Paul Jean Etienne Charles Marie Bergmans (1868–1935) was a librarian in chief of the University of Ghent, and musical historian. Life Bergmans was born in Ghent on 23 February 1868. He began work at Ghent University Library on a voluntary basis ...

, "Montgaillard (Bernard de)", ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' (; ) is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ''Nouvelle Biographie Nationale'' (, ...

''
vol. 15
(Brussels, 1899), 169-174. His eloquence as a preacher brought him to royal notice, so that he was invited to preach the Lenten sermons at

Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois The Church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois () is a medieval Roman Catholic church in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, directly across from the Louvre Palace. It was named for Saint Germanus of Auxerre, a medieval bishop of Auxerre, who became a papal ...

in Paris. At the death of

Henry III of France Henry III (; ; ; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575. As the fourth son of King Henry II of France, he ...

in 1589, he became a prominent figure in the Catholic League opposing the accession of

Henri IV Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

, taking part in the procession of armed clergy in Paris on 13 May 1590. He left Paris in 1593 and travelled to Rome, before going into exile in the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

. There he was affiliated to the

Cistercians The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

and preached for six years in Antwerp before being appointed preacher to the court chapel of the Archdukes

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

and

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpo ...

. In January 1601,

Justus Lipsius Justus Lipsius (Joest Lips or Joost Lips; October 18, 1547 – March 23, 1606) was a Flemish Catholic philologist, philosopher, and humanist. Lipsius wrote a series of works designed to revive ancient Stoicism in a form that would be compatibl ...

wrote to him praising his eloquence. In 1605 he became abbot of Orval, in the

Duchy of Luxemburg The Duchy of Luxembourg (; ; ; ) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, the ancestral homeland of the noble House of Luxembourg. The House of Luxembourg became one of the most important political forces in the 14th century, competing against th ...

. In 1622 he preached a funeral oration for the Archduke Albert, which was the only one of his sermons to be published.''Le soleil eclipsé'' (Brussels, Hubert Anthoine, 1622
On Google Books
At the approach of his own death, Bernard burned all his manuscript sermons. He died at Orval on 8 June 1628 and was buried in the abbey.

Works

*''Responce du Pere Dom Bernard, doyen des Religieux Feuillentins lez Paris, à une lettre que luy a escripte Henry de Valois'' ( aris, Jean Pillehotte 1589) *''Le soleil eclipsé ou Discours sur la vie et mort du serenissime archiduc Albert'' (Brussels, Hubert Anthoine, 1622)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgaillard, Bernard de 1563 births 1628 deaths Cistercian abbots Abbots from the Spanish Netherlands 17th-century Christian abbots 16th-century Christian abbots French people of the French Wars of Religion 17th-century French Roman Catholic priests 16th-century French Roman Catholic priests