REVUE : ECCLESIAL HISTORY vol. 50, n° 3, July 1999

This collection of seventeen papers delivered in 1997 at the Centre d'études et de recherches Premontrés, in Pont-à-Mousson, will be of greatest use to specialists in the history of monasticism, the Premonstratensian Order and Lorraine itself. The papers do not pretend to offer a synthesis of the seven centuries they cover, but instead lift 'a corner of the veil' and suggest directions for research on five selected topics. First, building the Order : Michel Parisse reviews its birth in Lorraine ; Hubert Collin describes the founding of Sainte-Marie-au-Bois, and Pierre Sesmat shows the architectural links between Pont-à-Mousson and Jesuit houses. Second, the Order at the time of the Protestant Reformation : Leo van Dijck provides a useful, though inevitably brief summary of the state of the Order in the sixteenth century, while Lorenzo Alcina-Rossello contributes a most interesting selection on the vicissitudes of the Order in Spain. Third, the wider context for the internal reform of Premonstratensians in Lorraine : Jean-Robert Armogathe highlights the distinct qualities of Lorraine's brand of Catholicism, Bernard Ardura narrates the multi-faceted life of Nicolas Psaume (abbot, bishop and count), Gerard Michaux recounts the reforming zeal of the Benedictine Dom Didier de La Cour, while Georges Viard studies the foundation of the teaching congregation of Notre Dame. Fourth, the Premonstratensian Reform which went by the name of the Antique Rigueur : Dominique-Marie Dauzet presents a portrait of Servais de Lairuels, the founder of the Reform, Xavier Lavagne d'Ortigue sketches the entire history of the Reform, Martine Plouvier provides several colourful examples of resistance and submission to the Reform in the circarie of France-Champagne, and Jean Fournee describes the fate of the Reform in Normandy. Finally, Marie-Therese Fischer, Jean-Marc Vaillant and Monique Taillard all portray three abbots of Etival, respectively Jean Frouart (a reformer), Epiphane Louys (a mystic) and Charles-Louis Hugo (a historian). One of the useful things about the papers is the mix of context and specialisation they offer, especially for the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Also useful is an appendix which lists generals of the Order, many houses and a lexicon of terms. Less appealing is the necessarily short length of most selections (resulting in much abstraction and few full-blooded personalities), the occasional lapse into filial piety (especially for Lorraine, the centre of the 'dorsale Catholique' that' protected' France from Protestantism), or referring to the decrees of Trent as if their implementation were a fait accompli and their meaning self-evident. And is the acceptance or rejection of reform, whether of the Protestant or internal variety, the only topic of interest in monasticism ? Reform is obviously a worthy topic, in part because it provokes so many documents, but so are many others. As one author points out, for instance, much remains to be learned about the many Premonstratensian canons who served as cures in parishes. But this collection certainly succeeds in its goal of arousing interest.