Home > Jean Mabillon

He was born in Saint-Pierremont in Champagne, France, the son of Estienne Mabillon (who died in 1692 at age 104) and Jeanne Guérin. At age 12 he entered the Collège des Bons Enfants in Reims and in 1650 entered the seminary. He left the seminary in 1653 and instead became a monk in the Maurist abbey of St. Remi . His devotion to his studies there left him ill, and he was sent to Corbie in 1658Events January 13 Edward Sexby, who has plotted against Oliver Cromwell, dies in Tower of London February 6 Swedish troops of Charles X Gustav of Sweden cross from Sweden to Denmark over frozen sea May 1 Publication of Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial and The Gar to regain his strength. In 1663Events July 8 Charles II of England grants John Clarke a Royal Charter to Rhode Island. July 27 The British Parliament passes the second Navigation Act requiring that all goods bound for the American colonies have to be sent in English ships from English he transferred again, to Saint Denis BasilicaThe Basilica of Saint Denis (in French, la Basilique de Saint-Denis , a famous burial site for French monarchs, is located in Saint Denis (near Paris). Saint Denis is a patron saint of France and, according to legend, was the first bishop of Paris. A simp in ParisEiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. Paris is the capital and largest city of France. The city is built on an arc of the River Seine, and is thus divided into two parts: the Right Bank to the north and the smaller Left Bank to, and the next year to the abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in ParisEiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. Paris is the capital and largest city of France. The city is built on an arc of the River Seine, and is thus divided into two parts: the Right Bank to the north and the smaller Left Bank to, where he met and worked with many other scholars, including Charles du Fresne, sieur du CangeCharles du Fresne, sieur du Cange (or Ducange b. Amiens, Dec. 18, 1610, d. Paris, Oct. 23, 1688) was a distinguished philologist and historian of the Middle Ages and Byzantium. Educated by Jesuits, du Cange studied law and practiced for several years befo, Etienne BaluzeEtienne Baluze ( November 24, 1630 July 28, 1718) was a French scholar. Born in Tulle, he was educated at his native town and took minor orders. As secretary to Pierre de Marca, archbishop of Toulouse, he won the appreciation of him, and at his death Marc, and Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de TillemontLouis-Sebastien Le Nain de Tillemont (b. Paris, 30 November 1637, d. Tillemont, 10 January 1698), ecclesiastical historian, came from a wealthy Jansenist family. He was educated at the Petites Ecoles of Port-Royal, where his historical interests were form.

In Saint-Germain, Mabillon edited the works of St. BernardSaint Bernard of Clairvaux abbot and theologian (born 1090, at Fontaines, near Dijon, France; died at Clairvaux, August 21, 1153), is considered a Saint by the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches, and is recognized by Catholics as a Doctor of the Church, (published in 1667), and also worked on the Lives of the Benedictine Saints (published in 1668). In 1681 he published De re diplomatica libri sex, which investigated the different types of medieval scripts and manuscripts and is now seen as the foundation work of palaeography and diplomatics. The work brought him to the attention of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who offered him a pension (which he declined), and King Louis XIV. He began to travel throughout Europe, to Flanders, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy, in search of medieval manuscripts and books for the royal library.

However, there were opponents to his work. Some of the less scholarly monks in his own abbey criticized his Lives for being too academic, and the abbot of La Trappe declared that he was breaking the rules of his order by devoting his life to study rather than manual labour. He also caused trouble by denouncing the veneration of the relics of "unknown saints," wrote a controversial critique of the works of St. Augustine, and was accused of Jansenism, but at all times he was supported by the king and the church.

In 1701 Mabillon was appointed by the king as one of the founding members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, and in 1704 a supplement to De re diplomatica was published. In 1707 he died and was buried in the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés , in Paris.