Martenne, Edmund

, a benedictine of the congregation of St. Maur, was born in 1654, at St. Jean-deLosne, in the diocese of Langres. Among his brethren, so highly famous for arduous efforts in literature, he was distinguished for his very laborious researches, no less than for his eminent virtues. The vast extent of his learning did not interfere with the simplicity of his manners, any more than his great attachment to study, with his attention to monastic duties. He died of an apoplexy in 1739, at the age of 85. His principal works are, 1. “A Latin Commentary on the monastic rules of St, Benedict,” a work of curious research on that subject, Paris, 1690, 4to. 2. “De antiquis monachorum ritibus,” Lyons, 1690, 2 vols. 4to. Many curious points of history, besides the concerns of the Monks, are illustrated by these volumes. 3. A Latin treatise, “on the ancient Ecclesiastical Rites, and on the Sacraments,” Rheims, 1700 and 1701, 3 vols. 4to. 4. A Latin treatise on the Discipline of the Church. 5. “Thesaurus anecdotorum novus,” 1717, 5 vols. folio, a valuable collection of ecclesiastical documents. 6. “Voyage Literaire de deux Benedictins,” Paris, 1717, 4to. 7. “Veterum Scriptorum et Monumentorum Ecclesiasticorum, et dogmaticorum, amplissima collectio,” 1724, 9 vols, folio. In this he was assisted by Durand. All these works are full of learned labour but the author is content | to amass, without giving much grace to the materials he compiles. ¹