Charles-Hyacinthe Hugo (20 September 1667 in
Saint-Mihiel
Saint-Mihiel () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
Geography
Saint-Mihiel lies on the banks of the river Meuse.
History
A Benedictine abbey was established here in 708 or 709 by Count Wulfoalde and his wif ...
,
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
– 2 August 1739), also called Louis-Charles Hugo, was a Lorrain
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...
author.
Biography
Hugo entered the
Norbertine
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...
novitiate at Pont-à-Mousson, where he pronounced his vows on 28 August 1685, receiving the
name in religion of Louis. He went through his course of
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
and
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
at the Abbey of Jovillier, near
Bar-le-Duc
Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France.
The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, sh ...
in
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...
, and afterwards at the
University of Bourges
The University of Bourges (french: Université de Bourges) was a university located in Bourges, France. It was founded by Louis XI in 1463 and closed during the French Revolution.
Until the mid-17th century, lack of suitable legal training at hom ...
, where he graduated as Doctor of Theology in 1690 or 1691. Having taught theology in the Abbey of Jandeures, and later in that of
Étival in Lorraine, he was named
prior
Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...
of St. Joseph's at
Nancy in 1700, where he remained until 1713, although in 1708 he had been elected
coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence.
These include:
* Coadj ...
of the Abbey of
Flabémont, then held
in commendam
In canon law, commendam (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastical ...
by Nicholas Brisacier, doctor of the
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
, a secular priest.
On 12 August 1710, Hugo was chosen coadjutor to Siméon Godin, Abbot of Étival (Stivagium), and the choice having been ratified by pope
Clement XI
Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721.
Clement XI w ...
, he was installed with the title of Abbot of Fontaine-André, a suppressed Norbertine abbey in Switzerland, by the
Prince-Bishop of
Basle
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...
on 23 July 1712. Ten years later Abbot Simeon resigned the direction of the abbey, and Hugo was unanimously elected in his place on 22 October 1722. Though now at the head of one of the largest abbeys in Lorraine, Hugo found time to co-ordinate the numerous documents he had collected and the notes he had made with a view to the publication of three of his most important works, the ''Sacræ antiquitatis monumenta'', the ''Annales Ordinis Præmonstratensis'' and the ''History of Lorraine''. To give his personal attention to their publication, he even favoured the erection of printing presses at Étival itself.
A regrettable conflict respecting the right of exemption which the Abbot of Étival claimed for his abbey arose at that time between the abbot and the
Bishop of Toul
The Diocese of Toul was a Roman Catholic diocese seated at Toul in present-day France. It existed from 365 until 1802. From 1048 until 1552 (''de jure'' until 1648), it was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire.
History
The diocese was erect ...
. The cause was brought to Rome, where Cardinal Niccolò Maria Lercari,
Cardinal Secretary of State
The Secretary of State of His Holiness (Latin: Secretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae,
it, Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità), commonly known as the Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the Holy See's Secretariat of State, which is the ...
, warmly upheld the contention of Hugo. To put an end to this incident,
Benedict XIII named Hugo Bishop of Ptolemais ''in partibus'' in the
consistory
Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to:
*A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church
*Consistory ...
of 15 December 1728.
Hugo had long planned to write a full and detailed history of the Norbertine Order, and in 1717 the
general chapter
A chapter ( la, capitulum or ') is one of several bodies of clergy in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Nordic Lutheran churches or their gatherings.
Name
The name derives from the habit of convening monks or canons for the read ...
of the order had encouraged him to carry out his plan by naming him
historiographer
Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians hav ...
of the order and by requesting all the abbots to give him all the information they possessed concerning their abbeys. The first two volumes of the "Annales" had already been published and the third was in the hands of the royal censor when Hugo died.
Works and legacy
That Hugo was a diligent worker may be judged from the number of the books he published or prepared for publication. Aug. Digot says with reference to the ''History of Lorraine'' that it surpasses that of
Dom Calmet
Antoine Augustin Calmet, O.S.B. (26 February 167225 October 1757), a French people, French Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monk, was born at Ménil-la-Horgne, then in the Duchy of Bar, part of the Holy Roman Empire (now the French department ...
, Abbot of Senones, whose style is heavy and diffuse.
In 1699 Hugo published a ''Refutation of the system of the
trithiest Faydit
Tritheism (from Greek τριθεΐα, "three divinity") is a nontrinitarian
Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity—the belief that God is three distinct hypostases or perso ...
on the Blessed Trinity''; it was a solid work, according to
Jean-Noël Paquot Jean-Noël Paquot (1722–1803) was a Belgian theologian, historian, Hebrew scholar and bibliographer.
Life
Paquot was born in Florennes in 1722. In 1738 he enrolled at the University of Louvain, graduating Licentiate of Theology in 1751. Fro ...
.
He is also the author of some books on the Order of
Canons Regular
Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...
, one of which is favourably referred to by
Benedict XIV
Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...
; likewise of several dissertations on seals, coins or medals, on persons and historical matters appertaining to the ducal house of Lorraine.
On 17 March 1708, he was made by Duke Leopold a member of his privy council and requested to write the history of Lorraine. Hugo set to work with his usual energy and the work was ready in 1713, but Leopold, fearing owing to Hugo's previous writings that this history might too much displease the royal house of France, asked Dom Calmet to write the history instead of Hugo. Hugo's "Vie de St. Norbert, fondateur des Prémontrés" (Luxembourg, 1704) is remarkable for the elegance of its style and the important documents it contains.
His two monumental works are:
# ''Sacræ antiquitatis monumenta historica, dogmatica, diplomatica, notis illustrata'', in two volumes. The first volume was published in 1725; the second, after Hugo's death, in 1744;
# ''Sacri et Canonici Ordinis Præmonstratensis Annales'', in two volumes, giving in alphabetical order the history of each Norbertine abbey.
There are two more volumes of ''probationes'' 'essays', such as charters etc., respecting each abbey. The third volume, with the title "Annales Ordinis Præmonstratensis Sæculum Primum (1120–1220)", which was to be followed by four more volumes, was ready for the press when Hugo died. After Hugo's death the Abbey of Étival was given in commendam to the
Bishop of Toul
The Diocese of Toul was a Roman Catholic diocese seated at Toul in present-day France. It existed from 365 until 1802. From 1048 until 1552 (''de jure'' until 1648), it was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire.
History
The diocese was erect ...
, and for one reason or another the third volume was never printed.
Hugo's manuscripts, forming eighteen volumes in
folio
The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...
, each of from 500 to 600 pages, are now preserved in the seminary of Nancy. They are fully described by M. Vacant, professor at the seminary, in ''La Bibliothèque du Grand Séminaire de Nancy'' (1897).
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hugo, Charles-Hyacinthe
1667 births
1739 deaths
People from Saint-Mihiel
18th-century French writers
18th-century French male writers
French religious writers
French male non-fiction writers