Éditer les martyrologes Henri Quentin et les Bollandistes: Correspondance (review)

This volume is the fifth in its series and continues publication of correspondence concerning the study of hagiographical projects and publications. The relations of the Benedictine Henri Quentin (1872-1935) and the Bollandists, beginning in 1901 and ending in 1933, emerge in the 167 letters published here. The bulk of the correspondence occurs between Quentin and Hipployte Delehaye (1859-1941) and centers on their eventual collaboration over publication of a foundational document for hagiographical studies—a text and commentary on the Martyrology attributed to St. Jerome—that appeared in 1931.

Early in the correspondence Quentin reveals that his interest in martyrologies developed in the late 1890s. Called to Rome in 1908 to work on a critical edition of the Vulgate, Quentin developed close ties to Louis Duchesne (1843-1922), who, together with Giovanni Battista de Rossi (1822-94), had published an edition of the Hieronymian Martyrology in the Bollandist Acta Sanctorum (Paris, 1894). The text of this martyrology has a long and complicated history, and it is symptomatic that Duchesne continued to work on it even after its publication in the Acta Sanctorum. In 1922 Quentin became the historian's executor and came into possession of Duchesne's notes. On the Bollandist side, there is a long history of involvement with this text, going back to Héribart Rosweyde (1569-1629). Additional complete manuscripts became available in the nineteenth century, stimulating interest in a critical edition. Early in his Bollandist career Delehaye became engaged in this martyrology, a copy of which became a fixture on his worktable and led to the collaborative project with Quentin. Their correspondence reveals the technical problems encountered over the long course of the project, setbacks met and overcome (the collaboration came close to falling apart in 1928 and again in 1929)—in short, the human dimension of scholarly work.

Although, as the title of this volume indicates, martyrologies form the core of the correspondents' concerns (the Roman Martyrology also figures), other matters bearing on hagiography and religious history also appear. It is apparent in this volume, as in previous ones that published correspondence of Duchesne and Frederich von Hügel (1852-1925), that the condemnation of Roman Catholic modernism cast a long shadow over succeeding debates and remained a factor to be considered in critical work. Although Delehaye's Légendes hagiographiques (Brussels, 1905) narrowly escaped the Index, Duchesne's three-volume history of the early Church was not so fortunate in avoiding censure. As literary executor, Quentin was able to secure publication of the intended fourth volume, L'Église au VI^e siècle (Paris, 1925), which also figures in the correspondence. The letters also reveal a measure of rehabilitation of the Bollandists, already under suspicion for their critical work before Delehaye's book appeared. In 1930 Pius XI spoke favorably of the Bollandists in general and Delehaye in particular, and directed that their assistance be enlisted in consultations over the dossiers for canonizations of saints.

The letters are preceded by an introduction that contextualizes their concerns and highlights important aspects that emerge from the exchanges. The annotations maintain the high standards set in previous volumes of the editor's work and serve as a model for presentation of correspondence.

Beyond its obvious interest for those who study the Bollandists and those who work in the area of hagiography, this volume has value for those looking for insight into the intellectual life of Catholicism over the period covered by the exchanges of correspondence