Geoffroy de Breuil of Vigeois was a 12th-century

chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

r, trained at the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

abbey of Saint-Martial of

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

, the site of a great early library.

Life

Geoffrey was born around 1140. He joined the abbey of St. Martial in Limoges as a monk in 1160, was ordained as a priest in 1168 after a brief period at La Souterraine, and became Prior (1178–1184) of the St. Martial dependency in Vigeois in 1178. It was at Vigeois that Geoffrey composed his ''Chroniques'' which trace in detail some great local families, often Geoffroy's forebears and kin, while relating events happening from 994 to 1184: the fiery convulsive sickness, (actually ergotism from a fungus or ergot of wheat), the preparations for the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

, reports of combats in the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

, the spread of

Cathar Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi- dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a he ...

beliefs (writing in 1181, he was the first to use the term ''Albigensians''), while unconsciously revealing the preoccupations and mannerisms of the times.

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

History of the Romanesque Abbey of Vigeois (French)His chronicle, in Latin, on Gallica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breuil, Geoffroy du French Benedictines French chroniclers French abbots 12th-century French historians 12th-century French Roman Catholic priests Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown French male writers 12th-century writers in Latin