Albert Le Grand (1599 in

Morlaix Morlaix (; br, Montroulez) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Leisure and tourism The old quarter of the town has winding streets of cobbled stones and overhan ...

– 1641 in

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

) was a

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

hagiographer A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...

and a Dominican brother.

Biography

He made his profession in the Rennes monastery before being assigned to that in his hometown in 1622 or 1623. Born Jean Le Grand, he chose the name

Albertus Magnus Albertus Magnus (c. 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint, he was known during his life ...

after the saint canonized in 1622.

Works

His writings, devoted to Breton

hagiographic A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...

and historical subjects, were very popular. He is best known for his ''Lives of the Saints of Armorican Brittany'', published in 1637 in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

by Pierre Doriou, and for which he notably used ancient manuscripts no longer extant. This first Breton hagiographical work includes 78 lives of saints, 3 stories and 9 episcopal catalogs, one for each of the historical Breton dioceses (

Saint-Pol-de-Léon Saint-Pol-de-Léon (; br, Kastell-Paol) is a commune in the Finistère department in Brittany in north-western France, located on the coast. It is noted for its 13th-century cathedral on the site of the original founded by Saint Paul Aurelian ...

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography The ...

Tréguier Tréguier (; br, Landreger) is a port town in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is the capital of the province of Trégor. Geography Tréguier is located 36 m. N.W. of Saint-Brieuc by road. The port is situat ...

Saint-Brieuc Saint-Brieuc (, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. History Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who Christianised the region in the 6th c ...

Vannes Vannes (; br, Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic Era The name ''Vannes'' comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who lived ...

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

Dol-de-Bretagne Dol-de-Bretagne (, literally ''Dol of Brittany''; br, Dol; Gallo: ''Dóu''), cited in most historical records under its Breton name of Dol, is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine ''département'' in Brittany in northwestern France. Geography Dol-de ...

and

). The work was expanded and republished under the auspices of Guy Autret of Missirien (Rennes, Jean Vatar, 1659), who had collaborated with the Dominican, in 1680. Daniel-Louis Miorcec de Kerdanet offered a new edition, without the episcopal catalogs, in 1837 (P. Anner in

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Brest, ...

). The standard edition remains that of the "Three Canons", published in 1901 (J. Salaün,

) by Alexandre-Marie Thomas, Jean-Marie Abgrall and Paul Peyron. Albert Le Grand also published in 1640 ''the Providence of God on the Righteous in the Admirable History of St. Budoc Archbishop of Dol'' in J. Durand in Rennes. This life of saint

Budoc Saint Budoc of Dol (also Budeaux or Beuzec) was a Bishop of Dol, venerated after his death as a saint in both Brittany (now in France) and Devon (now in England). Saint Budoc is the patron of Plourin Ploudalmezeau in Finistère where his relics ar ...

has been integrated into the successive reissues of the ''Lives of the Saints of the Armorican Brittany'' (with the modified title since its second reissue in 1680 as ''Lives of the Saints of Armorican Brittany'').

Bibliography

* ''La vie, gestes, mort et miracles des Saints de la Bretagne Armorique, ensemble un catalogue des évêques des neuf eveschés d'icelle'' (1659
available
at

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. * ''Les vies des saints de la Bretagne Armorique'' (1901) {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Grand, Albert 1599 births 1641 deaths People from Morlaix Writers from Brittany Christian hagiographers 17th-century Breton people