Dom André Wilmart

O.S.B. , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

(1876 – 21 April 1941

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

) was a French

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

medievalist and liturgist, who spent most of his career at St Michael's Abbey, Farnborough. He was a leading expert on medieval spirituality in the decades between the World Wars. He studied at the University of Paris and the seminary of Saint-Sulpice at

Issy Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called ''Isséens'' in French. It is one of Paris' entrances and is located from Notre-Dame Cath ...

. After an extended stay at the Abbey of Solesmes, he decided to become a monk, making his profession in 1901. Shortly after he entered Solesmes, the monks left for England due to ongoing conflict between the Catholic Church and the government of the Third Republic. Wilmart was ordained as a priest in 1906. Soon afterwards he was sent to Farnborough, which was his home for the rest of his life. In addition to Wilmart's work as a scholar, he knew and was influenced by Catholic public intellectuals such as

Charles Péguy Charles Pierre Péguy (; 7 January 1873 – 5 September 1914) was a French poet, essayist, and editor. His two main philosophies were socialism and nationalism. By 1908 at the latest, after years of uneasy agnosticism, he had become a believing b ...

and Baron von Hügel. Wilmart's most significant work is ''Auteurs spirituels et textes dévots du moyen âge latin'' (Paris: Bloud et Gay, 1932, reissued by Brepols, 1971), which remains an important handbook on the topic. Among other discoveries, he is responsible for recovering the works of

John of Fécamp John of Fécamp, (early 11th century - 22 February 1079) was an Italian-Norman Benedictine who was the most widely read of early medieval spiritual writers before the Imitation of Christ became popular (published circa 1418–1427), during a perio ...

. He was chosen to edit
catalogue of the Reginensis manuscript collection
in the

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...

(the manuscripts of Queen Christina of Sweden), which became his major project in the 1930s. He was a Corresponding Fellow of the

Medieval Academy of America The Medieval Academy of America (MAA; spelled Mediaeval until c. 1980) is the largest organization in the United States promoting the field of medieval studies. It was founded in 1925 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The academy publishes ...

from 1928. He was the author of more than 375 books and articles; a complete bibliography was published a separate book.

References

External links

The Ancient Library of ClairvauxAlain le Roux et Alain le Noir, Comtes de Bretagne
1876 births 1941 deaths British Benedictines Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America {{UK-academic-bio-stub