BOLLANDISTS

This article appears in Volume V04, Page 178 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

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BOLLANDISTS , the Belgian Jesuits who publish the Acta Sanclorum, the great collection of biographies and legends of the saints, arranged by days, in the order of the calendar. The

original

ORIGINAL

idea was conceived by a Jesuit father, Heribert Rosweyde (see HAGIOLOGY), and was explained by him in a sort of prospectus, which he issued in 1607 under the title of

Fasti

FASTI

sanctorum quorum vitae in Belgicis Bibliothecis manuscriptae. His intention was to publish in eighteen volumes the lives of the saints compiled from the MSS., at the same time adding sober notes. At the time of his death (1629) he had collected a large amount of material, but had not been able actually to begin the

work

WORK

. A Jesuit father, John Bolland, was appointed to carry on the project, and was sent to Antwerp. He continued to amass material, and extended the scope of the

work

WORK

. In 1643 the two volumes for January appeared. The three volumes for February appeared in 1658, the three for March in 1668, the three for April in 1675, and so on. In 1635 Henschenius (Godfried Henschen) was associated with Bolland, ana collaborated in the work until 1681. From r659 to 1714 Papebroch (Daniel van Papenbroeck) collaborated. This was the most brilliant period in the history of the
Acta Sanctorum. The freedom of Papebroch's criticism made him many enemies, and he had often to defend himself against their attacks. The work was continuedwith some inequalities, but always in the same spirituntil the suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1773. The last volume published was vol. iii. of October, which appeared in 1770.
On the dispersion of the Jesuits the Bollandists were authorized to continue their work, and remained at Antwerp until 1778, when they were transferred to Brussels, to the monastery of canons regular of Coudenberg. Here they published vol. iv. of October in 178o, and vol. v. of October in 1786, when the monastery of Coudenberg was suppressed. In 1788 the work of the Bollandists ceased. The remains of their library were acquired by the Premonstratensians of Tongerloo, who endeavoured to continue the work, and in their abbey vol. vi. of October appeared in 1794
After the re-

establishment

ESTABLISHMENT (0. Fr. establissement, Fr. etablissement,
late
- LATE
Norm. Fr. establishement, from O. Fr. establir, Fr. etablir, Lat. stabilire, to make stable)

of the Society of Jesus in Belgium the work was again taken up in 1837, at the suggestion of the Academic Royale of Belgium and with the support of the Belgian government, and the Bollandists were installed at the college of St Michael in Brussels. In 1845 appeared vol. vii. of October, the first of the new

series

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

, which reached vol. xiii. of October in 1883. In this

series

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

the Jesuit fathers Joseph van der Moere, Joseph van Hecke, Benjamin Bossue,

Victor

and Remi de Buck, Ant. Tinnebroeck, Edu. Carpentier and Henr. Matagne collaborated. Father John Martinov of Theazan was entrusted with the editing of the Annus Graeco-Slavicus, which appeared in the beginning of vol. xi. of October in 1864.
In 1882 the activities of the Bollandists were exerted in a new direction, with a view to bringing the work more into line with the progress of historical methods. A quarterly review was established under the title of Analecta Bollandiana by the Jesuit fathers C. de Smedt, G. van Hooff and J. de Backer. This reached its 25th volume in 1906, and was edited by the Bollandists de Smedt, F. van Ontroy, H. Delehaye, A. Porcelet and P. Peeters. This review contains studies in preparation for the continuation and remoulding of the Acta Sanctorum, inedited texts, dissertations, and, since 1892, a Bulletin des publications hagiographiques, containing criticisms of

recent

RECENT

works on hagiographic questions. In addition to this review, the Bollandists undertook the analysis of the hagiographic MSS. in the principal libraries. Besides numerous library catalogues published in the Analecta (e.g. those of Chartres, Namur,

Ghent

GHENT (Flem. Gent, Fr. Gand)

, Messina, Venice, etc.), separate volumes were devoted to the Latin MSS. in the Bibliotheque Royale at Brussels (2 vols., 18861889), to the Latin and Greek MSS. in the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris (5 vols., 18891896), to the Greek MSS. in the Vatican (1899), and to the Latin MSS. in the libraries of Rome (1905 seq.). They also prepared inventories of the hagiographic texts hitherto published, and of these there have appeared the Bibliotheca hagiographica graeca (1895), the Bibliotheca hagiographica

latina

LATINA, VIA

(1899) and the Bibliotheca hagiographica Orientalis. These indispensable works delayed the publication of the principal collection, but tended to give it a more solid basis and a strictly scientific stamp. In 1887 appeared vol. i. for November; in 1894, vol. ii., preceded by the Martyrologium Hieronymianum by J. B. de Rossi and the abbe Louis Duchesne; in 1902, the Propylaeum ad Acta Sanctorum Novembris, comprising the Synaxarium ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae.
There are three editions of the Acta Sanctorum: the

original

ORIGINAL

edition (Antwerp, Tongerloo and Brussels, 63 vols., 16431902); the Venice edition, stopping at vol. v. of September (17341770) ; and the Paris edition, stopping at vol. xiii. of October (61 vols., 18631883). In addition to these, there is a volume of tables, edited by the abbe Rigollot.
See Acta Sanctorum apologeticis libris . . . vindicata (Antwerp, 1755) ; L. P. Gachard, Mimoire historique sur les Bollandistes (Brussels, 1835) ; van Hecke, " De ratione operis Bollandiani " (Arta Sanctorum Octobris, vii.) ; and Cardinal J. B. Pitra, Etudes sur la collection des Actes des Saints (Paris, 1880). (H. DE.)

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