Gérard Dominique Azevedo Continho y Bernal (1712–1782) was a clergyman,

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

and genealogist in the Austrian Netherlands.

Life

Born in

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

on 4 August 1712, Azevedo Continho y Bernal was educated at the

Oratorian College in Mechelen The Oratorian College in Mechelen was a Latin school that was run in the city of Mechelen by the Congregation of the Oratory from 1630 to 1796. Originally founded in the Middle Ages by a collegiate church, management was transferred to the civic ...

. His parents were Jean-Baptiste Azevedo Continho y Bernal, an infantry captain, and Jeanne-Marie Corten.

Félix Victor Goethals Félix Victor Goethals (1798–1872) was a Belgian genealogist and librarian. Life Goethals was born in Ghent ( Département Escaut) on 4 June 1798 (16 Prairial of Year VI in the French Republican calendar). He studied law at Ghent University and ...

, ''Lectures relatives à l'histoire des sciences, des arts, des lettres, des moeurs, et de la politique en Belgique, et dans les pays limitrophes'', vol. 1 (Brussels, 1837), pp. 247-255
On Google Books
/ref> In 1730, aged 18, was appointed to a canonry of the

Basilica of Our Lady of Hanswijk The Basilica of Our Lady of Hanswijk is a Roman Catholic basilica in Mechelen, Belgium. The basilica is a famous place of pilgrimage in Belgium, the statue was crowned on 30 July 1876 by Cardinal Deschamps by request of pope Pius IX. Description ...

. Baron de Saint-Genois,
Azevedo Continho y Bernal (Gérard-Dominique)
, '' Biographie Nationale de Belgique'', vol. 1 (Brussels, 1866), 596. He was ordained to the priesthood on 24 September 1735. He served as provost of the chapter from 1763 until his death on 22 February 1782. He was generous to the poor, and a patron of the arts, but particularly dedicated his free time to studying the sources of local history, in particular

chronicle A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

s, archives and

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

Works

His own chronicle of Mechelen, ''Korte Chronyke der stadt ende provincie van Mechelen'', was published in Leuven in 26 installments. He was also the author of a short life of St Rumbold, ''Kort Begryp van ’t leven, lyden en mirakelen van den H. Rumoldus'', published in Leuven in 1763.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azevedo Continho y Bernal, Gerard Dominique 1712 births 1782 deaths Clergy from Mechelen Historians from the Austrian Netherlands Roman Catholic priests from the Austrian Netherlands Belgian genealogists Writers from the Austrian Netherlands Writers from Mechelen