Daniel Papebroch

Daniel Papebroch[1] (1628–1714) was a Belgian Jesuit hagiographer, one of the Bollandists. He was a leading revisionist figure, bringing historical criticism to bear on traditions of saints of the Catholic Church. According to Friedrich Heer[2], he

“ ... by dint of hard work established the laws of historical criticism, the methodology of the study of sources and of the historical auxiliary sciences. ”

He prefixed a Propylaeum antiquarium, an attempt to formulate rules for the discernment of spurious from genuine documents, to the second volume (1675) of the Acta Sanctorum. He instanced in it as spurious some charters in the Abbey of St-Denis. Jean Mabillon was appointed to draw up a defence of these documents, and was provoked into another statement of the principles of documentary criticism, his De re diplomatica (1681).[3]

When he was 34 years old, Bolland sent him to Italy to collect documents, but by the time he returned Bolland had died and Paperbroch with Godfrey Henschen continued the work in the tradition of the Bollandists.

Another controversy was with Jean-Antoine d'Aubermont.[4]

Sources

Notes

  1. ^ Daniel van Papenbroeck, Papebrock, Papebrochius.
  2. ^ The Intellectual History of Europe (1966 English translation), p. 271.
  3. ^  "Jean Mabillon". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 
  4. ^  "Jean-Antoine d'Aubermont". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 

External links

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). "Jean Mabillon". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.