Maurus Dantine (1688–1746) was a Belgian

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 ...

of the

Congregation of Saint-Maur The Congregation of St. Maur, often known as the Maurists, were a congregation of French Benedictines, established in 1621, and known for their high level of scholarship. The congregation and its members were named after Saint Maurus (died 565), ...

and chronologist.

Biography

He was born at Gonrieux near Namur on 1 April 1688. Like many of the members of his

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

he was one of the so-called Appelants who in 1713 did not accept the Papal Bull "

Unigenitus ''Unigenitus'' (named for its Latin opening words ''Unigenitus dei filius'', or "Only-begotten son of God") is an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull promulgated by Pope Clement XI in 1713. It opened the final phase of the Jansen ...

", but appealed to a general council. He died in the monastery of the "Blancs-Manteaux" in

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 ...

on 3 November 1746.

Works

Dantine's chief merit is the work he did in

chronology Chronology (from Latin ''chronologia'', from Ancient Greek , ''chrónos'', "time"; and , ''-logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. I ...

; he can, in reality, be called one of the founders of this branch of history, on account of the carefully elaborated plan he drew up for the great publication: "L'Art de vérifier les dates historiques, des chartes, des chroniques et autres monuments, depuis la naissance de J.-C.". He did most of the preparatory work for this publication, constructing more exact chronological tables and introducing a better method for calculating historical dates. Due to illness, he was unable to continue his labours and was obliged to leave their completion to other members of his order, his chief successor being

Charles Clémencet Charles Clémencet (17035 August 1778) was a French Benedictine historian. He was born in Painblanc, in present-day Côte-d'Or, and was one of the authors who helped complete the great chronological work (the usual short form of a long title). H ...

. He also devoted himself to linguistic studies and as a result of these published a translation with commentary of the

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

under the title: "Les psaumes traduits sur l'hébreu avec des notes" (Paris, 1739). This work attracted so much attention that in the same year a second, and in the following year a third edition became necessary. In collaboration with

Dom Carpentier Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an eth ...

he prepared a new edition of the great lexicon originally published in 1678 by Du Cange, and afterwards continued by the Maurists, its first Benedictine editor being

Dom Guesnié Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an eth ...

, who was followed by

Nicolas Toustain Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

and

Louis Le Pelletier Dom Louis Le Pelletier (1663, Le Mans – 1733, Landévennec) was a Franco-Breton linguist. He became a religious in Saumur and followed the rule of Benedict of Nursia. Noted for his ability to study languages, he took advantage of his stay in t ...

. The edition of Dantine and Carpentier, half as large again as that of Du Cange, appeared in six volumes at Paris, 1733–36, under the title: "Glossarium ad scriptores mediæ et infimæ latinitatis, editio locupletior operâ et studio monachorum O.S.B." Dantine's labours greatly increased the value of this work, which is not only of the importance for the knowledge of Latin, but is also a source for the study of law and morals in the Middle Ages.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dantine, Maurus 1688 births 1746 deaths Roman Catholic priests of the Austrian Netherlands Austrian Netherlands historians Belgian Benedictines Congregation of Saint-Maur