Godfrey Henschen
Godfrey Henschen (also Henskens or Godefridus Henschenius in
Life
Henschen was born at
Career
Henschen had been a pupil of Jean Bolland. From the time of his arrival in the city he was associated as a collaborator with Bolland, who was then preparing the first volumes of the Acta Sanctorum. Bolland had asked for an assistant, a request supported by the abbot of Liessies Abbey, Antoine de Wynghe. In 1635 Henschen was assigned to start work on the February saints, while Bolland gave himself to the preparing the material for January. It was Henschen who, by his commentary on the Acts of St. Amand, suggested to Bolland the course to follow, and gave to the work undertaken by his mentor its definitive form. Henschen compared the different manuscripts regarding a particular saint, resolved obscure passages, and placed the saint in the context of his/her times and contemporaries.[3] After fourteen years of work, the two volumes for January were printed in Antwerp in 1643 and greeted with enthusiasm by scholars.[4]
Work on the January volume was done in two garrets where Bolland kept his papers and books. As climbing the steep steps began to prove difficult, he asked for and obtained the use of a vacant room on the second floor, which later became the Bollandist Museum.[4] The three volumes for February were released in 1658,[5] and was equally well received.[4]
Trip to Rome
In July 1660, at Bolland's direction, Henschen and
Later life
Henschen was the first librarian of the Museum Bollandianum at Antwerp. In March 1668, he and Papenbroek set out on a second journey, but Henschen fell in Luxembourg. After that Papenbroek took over much of scientific aspects of the work.[3] Henschen continued to work on the Acta Sanctorum up to the time of his death.
In total Henschen collaborated on the volumes for January, February, March, and April, and on the first six volumes for May, that is on seventeen volumes of the Acta Sanctorum. Several of his posthumous commentaries appeared in the succeeding volumes.
He died at Antwerp, aged 80, in 1681.
References
- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- ^ a b De Smedt, Charles. "The Bollandists." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 2 May 2020 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b c Palmieri O.S.A., Aurelio. "The Bollandists", The Catholic Historical Review, vol. III, no.3, October 1923, Catholic University of America Press, 1924, p. 344
- ^ a b c Delahaye, Hippolyte S.J., The Work of the Bollandists, Princeton University Press 1922
- ^ "Jean Bolland, founder of the Bollandists", The Jesuits of the Province of Southern Belgium and Luxembourg
- ^ "The Kalendars of the Church", The Christian Remembrancer, Vol. XL ( July–December ), J. & C. Mozley, London, 1865
Sources
- Daniel van Papenbroek, De vitâ, operibus, et virtutibus God. Henschenii in Acta Sanctorum, VII, May
- Jozef Habets , Godfried Henschenius medestichter der Acta Sanctorum (Maastricht, 1868).
- Delehaye, Hippolyte. The work of the Bollandists through three centuries (1615–1915), Brussels, Society of Bollandists, 1959
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Godfrey Henschen". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.