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 prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

– 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, 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diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents: especially, historical documents.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, 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one hundred cathedral churches, they returned in 1713 to the monastery of St-Germain-des-Prés, laden with all kinds of historical documents, many of which were included in ''Gallia Christiana'', while the others were published in a separate work, entitled ''Thesaurus novus anecdotorum'' (5 vols.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'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 Besides collecting valuable material for Bouquet's work they gathered an immense mass of other historical documents which they published in a large work entitled ''Veterum scriptorum et monumentorum historicorum, dogmaticorum et moralium amplissima collectio'' (9 vols.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 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 commune in the Oise department, northern France. Geography Noyon lies on the river Oise, about northeast of Paris. The Oise Canal and the Cana ...

. 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) *Mauru ...

and Charles Clémencet), 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