Ursin Durand (20 May 1682,

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

– 31 August 1771, Paris) 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 ...

of the

Maurist Congregation 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), a ...

, and historian. He took vows in the monastery of

Marmoutier :''See Marmoutier Abbey (Tours) for the former abbey in Tours.'' Marmoutier (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin département in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The origin of the place is the former Marmoutier Abbey, of which the abbey church st ...

at the age of nineteen and devoted himself especially to the study of

diplomatics Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents: especially, historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, p ...

. In April, 1709, he joined his confrère

Edmond Martène Edmond Martène (22 December 1654, at Saint-Jean-de-Losne near Dijon – 20 June 1739, at Saint-Germain-des-Prés near Paris) was a French Benedictine historian and liturgist. In 1672 he entered the Benedictine Abbey of St-Rémy at Reims, a house ...

, who was making a literary tour through France with the purpose of collecting material for a new edition of a ''

Gallia Christiana The ''Gallia Christiana'', a type of work of which there have been several editions, is a documentary catalogue or list, with brief historical notices, of all the Catholic dioceses and abbeys of France from the earliest times, also of their occupan ...

''. After searching the archives of more than eight hundred abbeys and one hundred cathedral churches, they returned in 1713 to the monastery of St-Germain-des-Prés, laden with all kinds of historical documents, many of which were included in ''Gallia Christiana'', while the others were published in a separate work, entitled ''Thesaurus novus anecdotorum'' (5 vols. folio, Paris, 1717). In 1718 the two Maurists started on a new literary tour through Germany and the Netherlands to collect material for

Martin Bouquet Martin Bouquet (; 6 August 1685 – 6 April 1754) was a French Benedictine monk and historian, of the Catholic Congregation of St.-Maur. His major work was ''Rerum Gallicarum et Francicarum Scriptores'', a collection of the historians of Gaul and ...

's ''Rerum Gallicarum et Francicarum Scriptores''. Besides collecting valuable material for Bouquet's work they gathered an immense mass of other historical documents which they published in a large work entitled ''Veterum scriptorum et monumentorum historicorum, dogmaticorum et moralium amplissima collectio'' (9 vols. fol. Paris, 1724–33). They also jointly published in French a learned account of their journeys: ''Voyage littéraire de deux religieux bénédictins de la Congrégation de St. Maur'' (2 vols. Paris, 1717 and 1724). In addition to the works which Durand published jointly with Martène, he also collaborated with

Dantine Dantine is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Helmut Dantine (1917–1982), Austrian-American actor *Maurus Dantine Maurus Dantine (1688–1746) was a Belgian Benedictine of the Congregation of Saint-Maur and chronologist. Biog ...

and Clémencet in a French work on diplomatics, entitled ''L'Art de vérifier les dates'', continued Constant's ''Collection of Papal Letters'', assisted Sabatier with the edition of the "Itala" and contributed to many other Maurist publications. In 1734 he was banished from the monastery of St-Germain-des-Prés as a

Jansenist Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...

"Appellant", at the instance of Cardinal de Bissy. He was sent to the monastery of St. Eloi in

Noyon Noyon (; pcd, Noéyon; la, Noviomagus Veromanduorum, Noviomagus of the Veromandui, then ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department, northern France. Geography Noyon lies on the river Oise (river), Oise, a ...

. After two years he was permitted to repair to the monastery of Blancs-manteaux in Paris; where he spent the remainder of his life in literary pursuits.

Works

Durand, Ursin – Thesaurus novus anecdotorum, 1717 – BEIC 14273779

*''Thesaurus novus Anecdotorum'', 5 vol. in-folio, Paris, 1717. ** ** *''Veterum scriptorum et monumentorum historicorum, dogmatiorum et moralium amplissima collectio'', 9 vol. fol., Paris, 1724-1733. ** ** ** *''Voyage littéraire de deux Religieux Bénédictins de la Congrégation de Saint-Maur'', 2 vol., Paris, 1717 and 1724.
''L'Art de vérifier les dates''
(with

Maur Dantine Maur may refer to: *St Maurus *Maur, India *Maur, Switzerland *Maur, the Black Dragon in ''The Hero and the Crown'' by Robin McKinley *Mangaung Regiment, an infantry regiment of the South African Army See also *Auf der Maur (surname) *Maurus ( ...

and

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 ...

), 1750 edition in 2 parts *
''L'Art de vérifier les dates''
1770 edition *
''L'Art de vérifier les dates''
1818-1819 edition, 5 volumes

External links

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Durand, Ursin 1682 births 1771 deaths Writers from Tours, France French Benedictines Jansenists 18th-century French historians French male non-fiction writers Clergy from Tours, France