Reflexions sur les Constitutions de l'abbaye de La Trappe

Rare edition printed in Villefranche, after the original of 1671 published in Paris. Work attributed to Bernard de Montfaucon but whose authorship is disputed.
Binding in black half-shagreen, late 19th century. Jansenist spine with raised bands, with title and date. Trimmed short on title page.
Bernard de Montfaucon, originally from Roquetaillade, near Limoux, was one of the most erudite men of his time and thereby one of the most famous of his era, notably for his monumental work: antiquity explained in figures. He was a Benedictine, of the congregation of Saint Maur. The abbey of La Trappe, founded by the order of Cistercians was annexed to the domain of the Benedictines. It was reformed in the 17th century according to 'the rule of strict observance' by the abbot de Rancé, much more rigid and severe than that of the Cistercians. It is precisely this reform that Bernard de Montfaucon comments upon, a reform which breathed new spiritual life into Christianity, and which saved the abbey of La Trappe from the oblivion and decadence into which many abbeys fell at that time.

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