OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Pierre Bercheure

From volume 2 of the work.
(BERCHOIRE, BERSUIRE).
A learned French Benedictine, b. 1290 at St. Pierre du Chemin (Vendee); d. 1362 at Paris. He joined the Order of St. Benedict at Maillezais, later lived at Avignon for a period of twelve years with Cardinal Peter de Pratis, Bishop of Praeneste, and in 1354 was made prior of St. Eligius at Paris. He was an eloquent preacher and a voluminous homiletical writer. His most important work is the "Repertorium morale", for the use of preachers, a kind of Biblico-moral dictionary, in which the principal words of Scripture are arranged alphabetically and moral reflections attached thereto. It appeared some time before 1355 and was dedicated to Cardinal de Pratis. The "Repertorium" proved to be one of the most popular books of its kind and was frequently printed first at Cologne in 1477, and again at Nuremberg (1489), Lyons (1517), Paris (1521), Venice (1589), Antwerp (1609), etc. A French translation by Richard Leblanc appeared at Paris in 1584. Other works of Bercheure are: "Reductorium morale" to the Sacred Scriptures in thirty-four books, embracing all the books of the Bible, printed at Strasburg in 1474, Basle (1515), Lyons (1536); "Inductorium morale biblicum"; sixteen books on God and the world; and a French translation (the earliest) of Livy, made about 1350 at the request of King John the Good published at Paris in 1514 in three volumes. His "Inductorium morale biblicum", commentaries, discourses, letters, and other treatises, have never been printed. Editions of his collected works appeared at Lyons (1520), Venice (1583, 1631), Cologne (1650, 1669), etc..
GAUTIER in Actes acad. Bordeaux (1844), VI, 495; PANNIER, in Bibl. de l'ec. d. Chartes (1872), XXXIII, 325-364; CHEVALIER, Bio-bibliographie, s. v. Bersuire; BRAUNMULLER in Kirchenlex., II, 389; ZIEGELBAUER, Hist. rei litt. Ord. S. Ben., III, 183 sqq.
THOMAS OESTREICH
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Pierre Berland

From volume 2 of the work.
Archbishop of Bordeaux, b. 1375 in Médoc; d. 1457 at Bordeaux. Being of humble extraction, it was only through the liberality of friends that he was able to study the humanities at Bordeaux and canon law at Toulouse. Ordained priest, he was, first, secretary to the Archbishop of Bordeaux, then canon of St. Andrew's, and afterwards pastor of Soliac. In 1430 he was made Archbishop of Bordeaux. During his incumbency, he took a great interest in educational matters, founded the University of Bordeaux, endowed St. Raphael's College with twelve scholarships for indigent students, and in general won the character of a highly cultured and saintly prelate. His position as archbishop was most delicate. During the Hundred Years' War, the province of Guyenne had showed marked preference for the English Crown. On the other hand, the conduct of the English toward Joan of Arc, martyred shortly after Berland's preferment, coupled with the ambition of Henry VI, who had himself solemnly crowned King of France at Paris, could not meet the approval of the worthy archbishop. Twice he went north in an endeavour to bring his suzerain to greater moderation. Having failed in this, he transferred his allegiance to Charles VII, King of France, and was instrumental in bringing about the submission of the whole province to the French Crown, and with the termination of the Hundred Years' War. Berland, old and inform, resigned his see in 1457 and died shortly afterwards, venerated by his people. His remains were laid at rest in the vault of the cathedral, and his name is yet honoured at Bordeaux. The tower he caused to be built at St. Andrew's church in 1440, is called in his honour "Pey Berland" or "Pere Berland" even to this day. Louis XI had obtained from Sixtus IV the appointment of a commission with a view towards Berland's beatification, but the cause fell through at that prince's death. This fact, coupled with the veneration of the people, accounts for the appellation "Bienheureux Berland" by which he is known.
Gallia Christ. (Paris, 1720), II; Moreri, Dict. hist. (Amsterdam, 1740); Comptes-rendus des travaux de la commission des monuments historiques de la Gironde (Paris, 1852).
J.F. SOLLIER
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Pierre-Suzanne-Augustin Cochin

From volume 4 of the work.
Born in Paris, 12 Dec., 1823; died at Versailles, 13 March, 1872. He took an early interest in economical and political questions and contributed articles to the "Annales de Charité" and "Le Correspondant". In 1850 he was elected vice-mayor, and in 1853 mayor of the tenth district of Paris. His publications won for him membership in the Académie des sciences morales et politiques (1864). He was at that time prominent among the "Liberal Catholics", an ardent friend of Montalembert and Lacordaire, and was supported by his party for the office of deputy of Paris. He received 6000 votes, but his democratic opponent won by an overwhelming majority. Among his many religious, pedagogical, and sociological works we may name: "Essai sur la vie, les méthodes d'instruction et d'éducation, et les établissements de Pestalozzi" (Paris, 1848); "Lettre sur l'état du paupérisme en Angleterre" (Paris, 1854); "Progrès de la science et de l'industrie au point de vue chrétien" (Paris, 1854); "Abolition de l'esclavage" (Paris, 1861), crowned by the French Academy; "Quelques mots sur la vie de Jésus de Renan" (1863); "Condition des ouvriers français" (1862); "Espérances chrétiennes" (posthumous publication).
J. B. Delaunay.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Pierre Bailloquet

From volume 2 of the work.
Missionary among the Indians of Canada, b. 1612, at Saintes, France; d. in the Ottawa missions, 7 June, 1692. He entered the Society of Jesus at Bordeaux, 20 November, 1631, and after ordination was sent as a missionary to Canada. He arrived at Quebec in the summer of 1647, and for forty-five years labored and suffered among the savage tribes that roamed the vast territory extending from Acadia in the east to the lands of the Illinois in the far west. The hardships and privations he endured are well-nigh incredible. According to the "Relations", he frequently had "the earth for bed and mattress, and strips of bark for a palace, which was filled less with air than with smoke"; and owing to his zeal he was often in danger of being tomahawked or burned at the stake by the savages. When almost eighty years of age and stricken with grievous infirmity, he dragged himself across the snow for leagues to go to the huts of those who were unable to come to him. He died in his eightieth year, having been sixty-one years in the religious life.
De Guilhermy, Menologe de la c. de J., Assistance de France, I, 711; Thwaites, Jesuit Relations, LXXII, 70.
E.P. SPILLANE
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Pierre-Martial Cibot

From volume 3 of the work.
Missionary, born at Limoges, France, 14 August, 1727; died at Peking, China, 8 August, 1780. He entered the Society of Jesus 7 November, 1743, and taught humanities with much success. He was sent to China at his own request 7 March, 1758, and arrived at Macao 25 July, 1759, whence he reached Peking 6 June, 1760, joining the Jesuits who were retained at the court of the emperor. Cibot during his many years of missionary labour in China found time also to devote to historical and scientific studies. Many of his notes and observations on the history and literature of the Chinese were published in the "Mémoires concernant l'histoire, les sciences les arts, les moeurs, les usages, etc., des Chinois: par les missionaires de Pékin" (Paris, 1776-89, 16 vols.). These volumes were at the time the chief source of information in Europe regarding China and its people. Cibot's most lengthy work, his "Essai sur l'antiquité des Chinois", appeared in the first volume of the "Mémoires". In it he claims Yaou (2356 B.C.) as the founder of the Chinese Empire. This view was not held, however, by other contemporary writers in the second volume of the "Mémoires" his colleague, Father Amiot, in his "L'antiquité des Chinois prouvée par les monuments", defended the traditional Chinese chronology. Cibot also instituted a comparison between the Jews and the Chinese in connection with a commentary on the Book of Esther (Mémoires, vols. XIV-XVI). He collected a herbarium of some value and seems to have been particularly interested in botany, though he contributed a number of articles on various topics in natural science to the "Mémoires", e.g. "Notices de quelques plantes arbrisseaux de la Chine" (vol. III), "Observations sur les plantes, les fleurs, et les arbres de Chine qu'il est possible et utile de se procurer en France"; "Notice sur le borax"; "Mémoire sur les chevaux" (vol. XI); "Notice sur l'hirondelle, sur le cerf et sur la cigale" (vol. XII), etc. Cibot's modesty prevented him from signing many of his essays. His style was somewhat diffuse, and his writings received their value chiefly from the variety of topics treated and the interesting information which they contained.
H.M. BROCK
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Pierre-Rose-Ursule-Dumoulin Borie

From volume 2 of the work.
Bishop-elect of Acanthus, Vicar Apostolic of Western Tongking and Martyr; b. 20 February, 1808, at Beynat, Diocese of Tulle, France; beheaded 24 November, 1838. He studied successively at the colleges of Beaulieu and Servieres, and in 1826 entered the seminary of Tulle. Meanwhile the desire to devote his life to the evangelization of distant lands matured, and in 1829 he proceeded to Paris and spent thirteen months at the Seminary of the Foreign Missions. Too young for the priesthood, he was to have been ordained at Pondicherry, on his way to his missionary post. However, a dispensation from Rome permitted his immediate ordination, which took place at Bayeux (1830). He sailed from Havre, 1 December, 1830, and, after spending some time at Macao, in China, arrived in Tongking in the year 1832. His progress in the language of the country was rapid, but eight months after his installation an edict of persecution was issued (January, 1833). Borie had to remain almost continually concealed and to endure great privations. In 1834, failing health increased the acuteness of the sufferings of persecution. He regained his strength the following year and was enabled to visit even the least accessible Christian communities of the vast district of which he was in charge. He fell into the hands of the persecutors in 1838. During his captivity he received the news of his nomination to the Vicariate Apostolic of Western Tongking, with Acanthus as titular see. Shortly after this, on the 24th of November, 1838, the death sentence was pronounced on him and two native priests; the execution took place that same day. His remains were brought to France in 1843, and are religiously kept at the Seminary of the Foreign Missions, in Paris. The cause of his beatification has been introduced at Rome.
P.D.H. BORIE (brother of Monseigneur Borie, writing anonymously), Vie de Mgr. Borie, par un prêtre du diocèse de Tulle (Paris, 1844; 2d ed., 1846); LAUNAY, Les cinquante-deux serviteurs de Dieu (Paris, 1895), 133-162.
N.A. WEBER
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Alain Chartier

From volume 3 of the work.
A French poet, born about 1390, at Bayeux, died between 1430 and 1440. It is believed he studied at the University of Paris, as did his brother Guillaume, Bishop of Paris, who died in 1472. Alain was considered an eminent writer during his life, and a century later he was still regarded by the best men of letters as a "noble poet and orator" (Jean Lemaire de Belges), and as "the father of French eloquence" (Jean Bouchet). He is better known to us by the famous story of Margaret of Scotland, who is said to have kissed his lips while he was sleeping in her palace, to honour, she said "the mouth which elicited so many virtuous words". However pretty this story may be, it is only a legend, because Margaret of Scotland came to France only in 1436, and, according to the best authorities, Chartier was already dead. We know nothing of Chartier's youth. His first work was "Le livre des quatre dames", written not long after the defeat of Agincourt (1415) During the civil war and amidst the horrors of the English invasion versial love poems, in which he attained a considerable skill. Among them are: "Le débat de reveille-matin"; "Le débat des deus fortunés d'amour"; "Belle dame sans merci". These compositions were highly praised by contemporaries, but to a modern reader they appear lifeless and pedantic, a most complete example of the scholarly method which, at that time, tended to take the place of inspiration in French poetry. His "Bréviaire des Nobles", a code of the perfect knight, is better than his love songs. In 1417 Chartier was driven from Bayeaux by the English invasion, and in 1418 from Paris by the Burgundian faction. He entered the service of Dauphin Charles, "King of Bourges" afterwards King Charles VII. whom he served as private secretary most faithfully. He was entrusted with important missions for the king. In 1424 he went to Germany and in 1428 to Scotland.
Chartier is noteworthy as a prose writer, his prose being far superior to his poetry; his style is full of harmony, constantly enlightened by fine sentences, which are compared by Pasquier to those of Seneca. The "Quadrilogue invectif", composed in 1422, is a dialogue in which France entreats nobility, people and clergy, to unite their efforts to save her from invasion and civil war. The "Livre de l'espérance" or "Livre des trois vertus" is a moral dissertation. The "Curial" deals with the dangers and corruption of the courtier's life. Because of the loftiness, courage, and dignity of his life, Chartier was entitled to teach moral lessons and to preach disinterestedness and Christian virtues. Chartier's works were edited by Duchesne (Paris, 1617); Buchberger mentions an edition of his works by Montaigion (Paris 1861).
LOUIS N. DELAMARRE
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Ahriman and Ormuzd

From volume 1 of the work.
​Ahriman and Ormuzd (more correctly Ormuzd and Ahriman), the modern Persian forms of Anro Mainyus and Ahura Mazda, the Evil Spirit and the Good Spirit, respectively, of the Avestic or Zoroastrian religion of the Ancient Iranians and modern Parsees. (See Avesta.)
L. C. Casartelli.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Aisle

From volume 1 of the work.
​Aisle (Lat. ala; Old Fr. aile), sometimes written Isle, Yle, and Alley; in architecture one of the lateral or longitudinal divisions of a church, separated from the nave (sometimes called the centre aisle) by rows of piers, pillars, or columns. Sometimes a church has one side-aisle only. Often the aisle is continued around the apse. Occasionally the aisles stop at the transepts. In very large churches transepts may have three aisles. As a rule in Gothic architecture the aisle-roofs are much lower than the nave roof, allowing the admission of light through the clerestory windows, but in most of the Romanesque churches the aisle-roofs are but little lower than that of the nave. The aisle is generally one story, but occasionally there is an upper story, sometimes used as a gallery. As a general rule, churches are divided into three aisles, but there is no fixed rule that governs the number. The cathedrals at Chichester, Milan, and Amiens have five aisles; Antwerp and Paris seven. The most remarkable in this respect, the cathedral of Cordova in Spain, has nineteen. Aisles existed in the Roman basilicas, and in the majority of Christian churches of all periods. Transepts were sometimes called the cross isle or yle. The term is popularly used to describe the passage between pews or seating.
Thomas H. Poole.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Aistulph

From volume 1 of the work.
​Aistulph (also Aistulf, Astulph, Astulf, and Astolph), King of the Lombards; d. 756. He succeeded his brother Ratchis in 749, and set about the conquest of all Italy. After taking from the Greeks the Exarchate of Ravenna he was about to seize the Patrimony of St. Peter when Pope Stephen II (or III—752–57) appealed for aid to Pepin the Short, King of the Franks. Failing to influence the Lombard king by persuasion, Pepin led an army through the passes of the Alps, defeated Aistulph, and besieged him in the city of Pavia (754). A peace was then concluded, Aistulph undertaking to surrender the Exarchate and all other territory conquered by him. But Pepin and his Franks had hardly returned to their own country when Aistulph besieged Rome itself, and laid waste the surrounding territory. A second time responding to the Pontiff's call, Pepin again besieged Pavia and again overpowered Aistulph. This time Pepin took care to exact substantial guarantees for the fulfilment of Aistulph's promises; the latter was obliged to pay an indemnity and surrender to his conqueror the town of Comacchio, on the Adriatic, which had not formed part of the Exarchate. Constantine Copronymus, the Byzantine Emperor, asserted that the Exarchate of Ravenna was his by right, and had been violently wrested from him by Aistulph. He demanded its restitution by Pepin. The latter replied that the Exarchate and all other territory rescued from the hands of Aistulph belonged to the victor by right of conquest; he then endowed the Holy See with these territories, his representative, Fulrad, Abbot of St. Denis, formally laying the keys of the fortified places with a deed of gift upon the altar of St. Peter. Aistulph even yet found pretexts to postpone the actual evacuation of some of the theoretically surrendered places, and it is probable that he contemplated another essay of the chances of war. A fall from his horse while hunting (or according to some, a wound received from a wild boar) ended his life before he had time to renew his warlike enterprises. He left no male issue. (See Temporal Power.)
Baronius, Ann. Eccl. ad an. 750, 3-756, 2; Liber Pontif. (ed. Duchesne) I; Duchesne, Les premiers temps de l'état pontifical (Paris, 1896); Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders (Oxford, 1896), VI; Mann, The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages (London, 1902).
E. Macpherson.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Alabanda

From volume 1 of the work.
​Alabanda, a titular see of Caria in Asia Minor, supposed to be the present Arab-Hissar. A list of its bishops is known from 451 to 879. In antiquity its inhabitants were noted for their habits of luxury. It was the seat of a district court in imperial times and a very flourishing town.
Smith, Dict. of Greek and Rom. Geogr., I, 81; Lequien, Oriens Christianas (1740), I, 91.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Akhmin

From volume 1 of the work.
​Akhmīn, a city of Upper Egypt, situated on the banks of the Nile. Of late years it has attained great importance, on account of the discoveries made in its cemeteries. The hill of Akhmīn, some two miles long, is filled with human remains piled up in pits which contain as many as eight or ten small chambers, one above the other, with a dozen coffins in each. There are also caves containing mummies crowded together in the common ditch. Heathens and Christians are heaped together in such a fashion as to make it frequently impossible to say whether the owner of the little articles found near a body was a heathen, a Christian, or a member of some heretical sect, since we know Eutychianism had become the religion of almost the whole Coptic nation, from the fifth century onward.
The city is chiefly famous for its papyri and for its tapestries. Among the former, the fragments known as the "Gospel of Peter", the "Apocalypse of Peter", and the "Book of Henoch" hold the first place, but need not be discussed here. The tapestries, however, have furnished material of primary importance to the history of textile handicrafts in ancient times. A few pieces, of uncertain date, were to be found in various European museums. The excavations at Akhmīn and the copies made by R. Forrer have now supplied us with a quantity of materials in excellent preservation and of the greatest possible variety. The style of these Akhmīn tapestries is sometimes original, but in a great many instances it approximates the decorative type of Roman or Eastern art. The older ones are far superior to the others in design, especially in their treatment of the human figure. The growing want of skill in this regard enables us to trace, step by step, the progress of decadence. These most ancient tapestries are in two colors, yellow and pale brown. With the introduction of polychromy, ornament and animal decoration take the place of human figures. Even this animal decoration is often so angular, so poorly rendered, as to end in outlines resembling geometrical designs.
The discoveries at Akhmīn have not been confined to tapestries, though these are of the greatest importance to the history of the industrial arts. Forrer has brought to light ampullæ of terracotta, clay, and bronze, also jewels and toilet articles of gold or ivory. The discoveries have, however, revealed but few symbolisms not previously known. One tapestry, indeed, shows the Lamb of God, bearing the little banner, which is probably the most ancient example of this still familiar symbolism.
Leclercq, in Dict. d'archéol. chrét. et de liturgie, I, 1042–53; Gerspach, Les tapisseries coptes (Paris, 1890); Forrer, Die Grüber und Textilfunde von Achmin—Tanopolis (Strasburg, 1891); Forrer, Die Textilien von Achmin und ihr Verhältniss zu den Katakombenmalereien, in Die frühchristleichen Alterthümer aus dem Gräberfelde von Achmin—Tanopolis (Strasburg, 1893).
H. Leclercq.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Alabaster

From volume 1 of the work.
​Alabaster (Gr. ἀλάβαστρος,–ον; Lat. alabaster, -trum; of uncertain origin). The substance commonly known as alabaster is a fine-grained variety of gypsum (calcium sulphate) much used for vases and other ornamental articles. Oriental alabaster, the alabastrites of the classical writers, is a translucent marble (calcium carbonate) obtained from stalagmitic deposits; because of its usually banded structure, which gives it some resemblance to onyx, it is also called onyx marble, or simply, though incorrectly, onyx. From remote times it was highly esteemed for decorative purposes. Among the ancients Oriental alabaster was frequently used for vases to hold unguents, in the belief that it preserved them; whence the vases were called alabasters, even when made of other materials. Such was the "alabastrum unguenti" (Matt., xxvi, 7; Mark, xiv, 3, Luke, vii, 37), with which the sinful woman anointed the Saviour. The vase, however, though probably of alabaster, was not necessarily of that material, as our English translation "alabaster box of ointments" seems to imply.
Thomas in Vig., Dict. de la Bible, I, 330.
F. Bechtel.