Mandonnet, Pierre

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MANDONNET, PIERRE

French Dominican historian and medievalist who zealously promoted the history of the dominicans, thomism, and aristotelianism in the 13th century; b. Beaumont (Puy-de-Dôme), Feb. 26, 1858; d. at the Saulchoir, Jan. 4, 1936. Mandonnet entered the Dominicans in 1882, was ordained in 1887, and from 1891 to 1918 was professor of church history at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. He withdrew to Paris in 1919 and to the Saulchoir in 1927.

His Siger de Brabant et l'averroïsme latin au XIII e siècle (2 v., 2d ed. Louvain 190811) marked an era in the study of doctrinal history. Among other notable works are Le Décret d'Innocent XI contre le probabilisme (Paris 1903) and Dante le théologien (2d ed. Paris 1935). He established a solid foundation for Thomistic studies with Des Écrits Authentiques de saint Thomas d'Aquin (2d ed. Fribourg 1910); Bibliographie Thomiste, written in collaboration with J. Destrez (Paris 1921); and the periodical Bulletin thomiste, which he also established, together with Société, Bibliothèque, and Institut historique d'études thomistes. In collaboration with Father Coconnier, in 1893 he founded the Revue thomiste at Fribourg, where in 1925 he published a series of studies on the life of St. Thomas. In addition to his numerous books, articles, and historical notes on Dominican history, including Les Dominicains et la découverte de l'Amérique (Paris 1893) and the posthumous collection compiled by M. H. Vicaire, S. Dominique, l'idée, l'homme et l'oeuvre (2 v. Paris 1938, Eng. St. Dominic and His Work tr. M. B. Larkin, Milwaukee 1944), are his studies on the Order of Penance, especially Les Règles et le gouvernement de l'ordo de Poenitentia au XIII e siècle (Paris 1902).

Bibliography: Année Dominicaine 72 (1936) 4148. "In Memoriam," Analecta Sacri Ordinis Praedicatorum 22 (193536) 370374. Nova et Vetera 13 (1938) 158168. g. gieraths, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche 2 6:1348. Mélanges Mandonnet, 2 v. (Bibliothèque Thomiste ; Le Saulchoir 1930) 13, 14; 1:717.

[m. h. vicaire]