Rosweyde
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Heribert Rosweyde (20 January 1569,
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
– 5 October 1629,
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
) was a
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
hagiographer A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an wiktionary:adulatory, adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religi ...
. His work, quite unfinished, was taken up by
Jean Bolland Jean Bolland, SJ () (13 August 1596 – 12 September 1665) was a Flemish Jesuit priest, theologian, and prominent hagiographer. Bolland's main achievement is the compilation of the first five volumes of the ''Lives of the Saints'' in Latin ...
who systematized it, while broadening its perspective. This is the beginning of the association of the
Bollandists The Bollandist Society (; ) is an association of scholars, philologists, and historians (originally all Jesuits, but now including non-Jesuits) who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the cult of the saints in Christia ...
.


Life

Most archival evidence indicates that Heibert Rosweyde was born in Utrecht on 20 January 1569. His family was part of the Catholic minority. Rosweyde attended the university of
Douai Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...
, and entered the
Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
in 1588. He became a professor of philosophy at the Jesuit college at Douai.


Research

Rosweyde devoted his leisure to the libraries of the monasteries of Hainaut and
French Flanders French Flanders ( ; ; ) is a part of the historical County of Flanders, where Flemish—a Low Franconian dialect cluster of Dutch—was (and to some extent, still is) traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day northern French regi ...
. He copied with his own hand a vast number of documents relating to church history in general, and to hagiography in particular, and found in the old texts contained in the manuscripts coming under his observation quite a different flavour from that of the revisions to which many editors, notably the 16th century hagiographers, Lippomano and
Surius Laurentius Surius (translating to Lorenz Sauer; Lübeck, 1523 – Cologne, 23 May 1578) was a German Carthusian Hagiography, hagiographer and church historian. Biography Laurentius Surius was born in Lübeck in 1523, to a wealthy and respecte ...
, then the latest and most celebrated, had believed it necessary to subject them.De Smedt, Charles. "The Bollandists." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 26 Mar. 2015
/ref>


Plan

Rosweyde thought it would be a useful work to publish the texts in their original form. His superiors, to whom he submitted his plan in 1603, gave it their approval, and allowed him to prepare the projected edition, without, however, relieving him of other occupations. At that time Rosweyde was serving as prefect of studies in Antwerp, but was soon sent to St Omer to replace a professor of apologetics who had fallen ill. He did not return to Antwerp until 1606.Delahaye, Hippolyte S.J., ''The Work of the Bollandists'', Princeton University Press 1922
/ref> There were about 1300 manuscripts regarding lives of the saints in the libraries of Belgium. Rosweyde obtained copies of most of them. He pursued his project, which he announced publicly in 1607, as well as the plan he proposed to follow. Under the title: ''Fasti sanctorum quorum vitae in belgicis bibliothecis manuscriptiae'', he gave in a little volume in 16mo., published by the
Plantin press The Plantin Press at Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest ...
at
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
, an alphabetical list of the names of the
saints In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...
whose acts had been either found by him or called to his attention in old manuscript collections. This list filled fifty pages; the prefatory notice in which he indicates the character and arrangement of his work, as he had conceived it, takes up fourteen. Finally, the work contains an appendix of twenty-six pages containing the unpublished acts of the passion of the
Cilician Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region includ ...
martyrs, Tharsacus, Probus, and Andronicus, which Rosweyde regarded—wrongly—as the authentic official report from the pen of a clerk of the court of the Roman tribunal. According to this programme the collection was to comprise sixteen volumes, besides two volumes of explanations and tables. The first volume was to present documents concerning the life of
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
and the feasts established in honour of the special events of his life; the second volume would be devoted to the life and the feasts of the
Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
, and the third to the feasts of the saints honoured with a more special cult. The twelve succeeding volumes were to give the lives of the saints whose feasts are celebrated respectively in the twelve months of the year, one volume for each month. This calendar arrangement had been prescribed by his superiors, in preference to the chronological order Rosweyde himself favoured. But this presented, especially at that time, formidable difficulties. Lastly, the sixteenth volume was to set forth the succession of
martyrologies A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beati arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by na ...
which had been in use at different periods and in the various churches of
Christendom The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...
. The first of the two supplementary volumes was to contain notes and commentaries bearing on the lives divided into eight books treating among other subjects: the authors of the lives, the sufferings of the martyrs, and the images of the saints. The other supplement was to present a series of copious tables giving: *the names of the saints whose lives had been published in the preceding volumes; *the same names followed by notes indicating the place of each saint's birth, their station in life, their title to sanctity, the time and place in which they lived, and the authors of their lives; *the state of life of the various saints (religious, priest, virgin, widow, etc.); *their position in the Church (apostle, bishop, abbot, etc.); *the nomenclature of the saints according to the countries made illustrious by their birth, apostolate, sojourn, burial; *nomenclature of the places in which they are honoured with a special cult; *enumeration of the maladies for the cure of which they are especially invoked; *the professions placed under their patronage; *the proper names of persons and places encountered in the published lives; *the passages of Holy Scripture there explained; *points which may be of use in religious controversies; *those applicable in the teaching of Christian doctrine; *a general table of words and things in alphabetical order. "And others still," Rosweyde wrote, "if anything of importance presents itself, of which our readers may give us an idea." The ''Fasti'' was published as a sort of advertisement, which Rosweyde distributed in hopes of gaining support. Cardinal Bellarmine, to whom Rosweyde sent a copy of his little volume, reportedly exclaimed after reading Rosweyde's programme: "This man counts, then, on living two hundred years longer!" He sent Rosweyde a letter, the original of which is preserved in the present library of the Bollandists, signed, but not written by the hand of Bellarmine, in which he intimated that he regarded the plan as chimerical. Bellarmine suggested that Rosweyde focus his efforts on those saints not already published by Surius.Machielsen, Jan. "Heretical Saints and Textual Discernment", ''Angels of Light? Sanctity and the Discernment of Spirits in the Early Modern Period'', (Clare Copeland, Jan Machielsen, eds.), Brill, 2012
Rosweyde was not disconcerted by this. He received encouragement, enthusiastic praise, and valuable assistance from various other sources. The new enterprise found an especial protector in Antoine de Wynghe, abbot of the
Liessies Abbey Liessies Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in the village of Liessies, near Avesnes-sur-Helpe, in the Archdiocese of Cambrai and the ''département'' of Nord, France. First foundation It was founded in 751 and dedicated to Saint Lambert. It se ...
in the now
Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...
department of France. The large sympathy of this patron manifested itself in every way; in letters of recommendation to the heads of the various houses of the great
Benedictine Order The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...
which opened to Rosweyde and his associates monastic libraries; in loans and gifts of books, of
manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...
, and of copies of manuscripts; and in pecuniary assistance. Rosweyde counted on completing the project by his own efforts. As a matter of fact, he did not get beyond the first stages of the structure. In 1609 he was sent to Courtrai, and when the prefect of studies died, Rosweyde was required to assume those duties. His literary activity was expended on a multitude of historical works, both religious and polemical, some of which would have later formed a part of the great hagiographical compilation, but the majority of which bear no relation whatever to the work. At the time of Rosweyde's death in Antwerp in 1629, not a page was ready for the printer. His labour was not lost however, as
Jean Bolland Jean Bolland, SJ () (13 August 1596 – 12 September 1665) was a Flemish Jesuit priest, theologian, and prominent hagiographer. Bolland's main achievement is the compilation of the first five volumes of the ''Lives of the Saints'' in Latin ...
, entrusted with going through the papers and documents gathered by Rosweyde saw the value of them all and embarked on the vast project identified later with the association of the
Bollandists The Bollandist Society (; ) is an association of scholars, philologists, and historians (originally all Jesuits, but now including non-Jesuits) who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the cult of the saints in Christia ...
. The first volume of the ''
Acta Sanctorum ''Acta Sanctorum'' (''Acts of the Saints'') is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, organised by the saints' feast days. The project was conceived and ...
'' came out of the press in 1643. The writings which would have been available are: the edition of the ''Little Roman Martyrology'', in which Rosweyde believed he recognized the collection mentioned by
Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...
in his letter to
Eulogius of Alexandria Eulogius of Alexandria () was Greek Patriarch of that see from about 580 to 608. He is regarded as a saint, with a feast day of September 13. Life Eulogius was first igumen of the monastery of the Mother of God in Antioch. He was a successful ...
; the edition of the martyrology of
Ado of Vienne Ado (died 16 December 874) was a Frankish churchman and writer. He served as the archbishop of Vienne from 850 until his death and is venerated as a saint. His writings include hagiography and historiography. Life Ado belonged to a prominent nobl ...
(1613). Rosweyde apparently commissioned and dedicated to de Wynghe an emblematic work of fifty plates of hermits, engraved by
Boetius à Bolswert Boetius à Bolswert (also Boetius Adamsz Bolswert, Bodius; c. 1585, – late 1633) was a Flemish engraver of Friesland origin. In his time the paintings of Peter Paul Rubens called forth new endeavours by engravers to imitate or reproduce the brea ...
to designs by
Abraham Bloemaert Abraham Bloemaert (25 December 1566 – 27 January 1651) was a Dutch painter and printmaker who used etching and engraving. He initially worked in the style of the " Haarlem Mannerists", but by the beginning of the 17th-century altered his style ...
(''Sylva Anachoretica Ægypti Et Palæstinæ. Figuris Æneis Et Brevibus Vitarum Elogiis Expressa.'' (Hendrick Aertssens, Antwerp 1619). The rest, however, as for instance the Dutch edition of Ribadeneira's ''Flowers of the Saints'' (1619, two folio volumes), the ''General History of the Church'' (1623), to which he added as an appendix the detailed history of the Church in the Netherlands, both in Dutch; the Flemish lives of St. Ignatius and St. Philip Neri; the Flemish translation of the first part of the ''Treatise on Perfection'', drew his attention completely from what he should have regarded as his principal task.


Works

*
Vitae patrum The ''Vitae Patrum'' or ''Vitas Patrum'' (literally ''Lives of the Fathers'') is a collection of hagiographical writings on the Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers of early Christianity. Latin tradition The earliest works that came to be part of ...
: the ten books of the ''Lives of the Fathers of the Desert'', which he first published in Latin (1615 in fol.), dedicating the work to the Abbot of Liessies, and later in Dutch (1617) in fol., with an inscription to Jeanne de Bailliencourt, Abbess of Messines.


References


Bibliography

*COENS, Maurice: 'Héribert Rosweyde et la recherche des documents. Un témoignage inédit', in ''Analecta Bollandiana'', vol.83, 1965. *
Hippolyte Delehaye Hippolyte Delehaye, S.J., (19 August 1859 – 1 April 1941) was a Belgian Jesuit who was a hagiographical scholar and an outstanding member of the Society of Bollandists. Biography Born in 1859 in Antwerp, Delehaye joined the Society of Jesu ...
: ''L'oeuvre des Bollandistes à travers trois siecles 1615-1915'', Bruxelles, 1959. *F.W.H. Hollstein, ''Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts ca. 1450-1700'', (1949- ).


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosweyde, Heribert 1569 births 1629 deaths Jesuits from the Spanish Netherlands Christian hagiographers Writers from Utrecht (city) University of Douai alumni