José de la Canal
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (January 2024) |
José de la Canal (11 January 1768 – 17 April 1845) was a Spanish ecclesiastical historian.
He was born to poor parents, in Ucieda, a village in Cantabria, Spain. Under the care of an uncle, an Augustinian friar, he studied in the Dominican and Augustinian convents of Burgos; at Burgos, in 1785, he was formally received into the Augustinian Order. Subsequently he became professor of philosophy, first at the convent of his order at Salamanca, and then at Burgos.
Returning from the latter place to Salamanca he was librarian of the university, from 1789 to 1800. After spending four years in
In order to collect material for the publication, he undertook two journeys into Catalonia, making his headquarters at Barcelona and Girona, and working in the archives of these cities. In conjunction with Merino he published vols. XLIII-XLIV of the "España Sagrada" in Madrid in 1819; vols. XLV-XLVI (Madrid, 1826–32) were due to Canal alone. These volumes deal with the churches and monasteries of the diocese of Girona, and contain many hitherto unpublished documents and critical investigations. To his collaborator Canal dedicated a biographical study in his Ensayo histórico de la vida literaria del Maestro Fr. Antolin Merino (Madrid, 1830); he also published a second edition, greatly enlarged by himself, of the Clave historial (Key to History) by Flórez (Madrid, 1817) and a Manual del Santo Sacrificio de la Misa (Madrid, 1817, 1819). He translated from the French various theological and historical works, and was successively corresponding member, treasurer, censor, and director of the Royal Academy of History. He belonged to the Academy of Natural Science of Madrid, to the Academy of Belles-Lettres of Barcelona, and to the Antiquarian Society of Normandy.
Canal was reportedly noted for charity to the poor. He refused the
Sources
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "José de la Canal". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.