Bollandist

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Bollandists are an association of scholars - originally all Jesuit, but now including non-Jesuits-philologists and historians-who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the cult of the saints in Christianity. Their most important publication has been the Acta Sanctorum (the Lives of the Saints). They are named after the Jesuit and founding hagiographer Jean Bolland or Bollandus (1596-1665). The idea of the Acta Sanctorum was first conceived by the Dutch Jesuit Heribert Rosweyde (1569-1629), who was a lecturer at the Jesuit college of Douai. Rosweyde used his leisure time to collect information about the lives of the saints. On his death, Bolland continued his work in Antwerp. In 1659, Bolland and Henschen were joined by Daniel van Papenbroeck or Papebrochius (1628-1714), who devoted fifty-five years of his life to the Acta.