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caused him to be sent to the Abbey of Sainte-Croix
at Bordeaux. Finally, in 1687, he was transferred
to Paris, to the Abbey of St-Gerinain-des-Pres,
which, iHiiler the rule of Mabillon, had become one
of the chief centres of French erudition. He was
then chosen to a.ssist in preparing the edition of the
Greek Fathers which the Benedictines had under-
taken. To perfect his own training, he also began
the study of Hebrew, Chaldean, Syriac, and Coptic,
as well as that of numismatics, and in 1694 was
appointed curator of the numismatic collection at
St-Germain-des-Pr(?s.
In ItiOO Montfaucon had published a treatise on La v6ritc de I'histoire de Judith". The monu- mental edition of the works of St. Athanasius, on which he laboured with Dom Pouget and Dom Lopin, appeared in 169S and was well received (3 vols., folio, Paris; reproduced in P. G.,XXV-XXVIII). Before undertaking new patristic labours, he re- solved to study the manuscripts in the libraries of Italy. Obtaining permission in 1698, he set out with Dom Paid Briois. At Milan he made the acquaint- ance of Muratori; at Venice he was received very coldly, and was not even allowed to see the manu- scripts in the Benedictine monasteries of San Giorgio Maggiore and San Marco. On the other hand, he was welcomed at Mantua, Ravenna, and especially at Rome by Innocent XI. Having been named by his superiors procurator general at Rome of the Order of St. Benedict, certain diflficulties with the Jesuits led to his resignation of that office which brought with it so many distractions from his chief work, and in 1701 he secured his recall to France. The scientific results of his journey were embodied in the quarto volume of his "Diarium Italicum" (Paris, 1702). He also collected the notes of his companion, Dom Paul Briois, who had died on the journey (edited by Omont, "Revue des Biblio- theques", XIV, 1904).
In the full maturity of his powers, at liberty to satisfy his passion for work, with a large experience of life and an immense fund of general information, Montfaucon now took up his abode at the Abbey of St-Germain-des-Prcs, where he spent the last forty years of his life. Here a choice body of scholars gathered around him, his avowed disciples, whose affection for their master prompted them to take the name of "Bernardins". Among these were Claude de Vic and Joseph Vaissette, authors of the "Histoire de Languedoc", the hellenist Charles de la Rue (his favourite disciple), Dom Lobineau, the historian of Brittany, and even the Abbe Prevost, who was then a collaborator on the "Gallia Christ- iana". Montfaucon, moreover, corresponded with scholars all over Europe, and, in spite of the heavy tasks he took upon himself, he succeeded, thanks to his abstemious and regular life, in working almost to his last day. During this, his most productive period, he supplemented the former edition of the Greek Fathers with a "CoUectio nova patrum et scriptorum grEecorum" (2 vols., folio, Paris, 1706). In 1709 he tran.slated into French the "De vita con- templativa" of Philo Judajus, and essayed to prove that the Therapeuta; there mentioned were Chris- tians. Next appeared the edition of Origen (2 vols., fol., Paris, 1713) and that of St. John Chrysostom (13 vols., folio, Paris, 1718), prepared with the assis- tance of Francois F^averolles, treasurer of St-Denis, and four Benedictines, who spent thirteen years in collating .300 manuscripts.
The thoroughly scientific bent of Montfaucon's mind led him to elaborate a new auxiliary science out of the studies he had made for the verification of his Greek texts. As Mabillon had created the science of diplomatics, so Montfaucon was the father of Greek
EalEBOgraphy, the principles of which he established y the rigour of his method in grouping his personal
•observations. His great " Palxographia Grseca"
(folio, Paris, 1708) inaugurated the scientific study of
Greek texts. Another auxiliary science of history,
that of liibliography, owes to him a work still of
considerable value, the "Bibliotheca bibliothecarum
manu.scriptorum nova" (2 vols., folio, Paris, 1739),
a catalogue of the Greek manuscripts of the chief
libraries of Europe. L;istly, Montfaucon intuitively
saw what benefit might accrue to history from the
stutly of figured monuments, and, if he was not the
creator of archa-ology, he was at least the first to
show what advantages might be derived from it.
Two of his works show him to be an originator.
In 1719 he published "L'Antiquite expliquee et
representee en figures" (10 vols., folio, Paris), in
which he reproduces, methodically grouped, all the
ancient monuments that might be of use in the study
of the religion, domestic customs, material life,
military institutions, and funeral rites of the ancients.
Of this work, which contains 1120 plates, the whole
edition of 1800 copies was exhausted in two months,
in spite of its enormous size. The regent, Philippe
d'Orlcans, desired that the author should become a
member of the Academic des Inscriptions et Belles-
Lettres, and he was elected to replace P6re Letellier
(1719). Montfaucon then conceived a more daring
idea, a work, similar to "I'Antiquitfi expliqude",
which should embrace the entire history of France.
This work, the "Monuments de la monarchic fran-
gaise", dedicated to Louis XV, appeared from 1729
to 1733 (5 vols., folio, Paris). In it Montfaucon
studies the history, as it is shown in the monuments,
of each successive reign down to that of Henry
IV. His reproductions are inexact, and the work
remained incomplete. On 19 December, 1741,
he read before the Academy of Inscriptions a plan for
completing this work; two days later he passed away
tranquilly, without any premonitory symptoms of
illness. An indefatigable scholar, a bold thinker, an
originator of scientific methods, he left after him a
mighty generation of disciples 'to form the connecting
link between the old Benedictine learning and modern
scholarship.
De Broolie, La Societe de St-Germain-des-Pris au XVIII' siicle: Bernard de Montfaucon et les Bernardins 17IS-17S0 (2 vols., Paris. 1S91) ; Gigas, Lettres des Btnidictins de la congregation de St-Miiur, 170S-17il (2 vols., Paris, 1893); Omont, Bernard de Montfaucon, sa famille et ses -premitires annees in Annates du Midi, I (1SU2), 84, 90; Histoire de I' Academic des Inscriptions et BelleS' Lettres, XVI (Paris, 1751).
Louis Bri£hier.
Montfort, Simon de, Earl of Leicester, date of birth unknown, d. at Toulouse, 2.5 June, 1218. Simon (IV) de Montfort was descended from the lords of Montfort I'Amaury in Normandy, being the second son of Simon (III), and Amicia, daughter of Robert de Beaumont, third Earl of Leicester. Having succeeded his father as Baron de Montfort in 1181, in 1190 he married Alice do Montmorency, the daughter of Bouchard (III) de Montmorency. In 1199 while tak- ing part in a tournament at Ecry-sur-Aisne in the province of Champagne he heard Fulk de Neuilly preaching the crusade, and in company with Count Thibaud de Champagne and many other nobles and knights he took the cross. Unfortunal ely, the crusade got out of control, and the French knights, instead of co-operating with the pope, decided on a campaign in I'Igypt, and on their arrival at Venice entered on a contract for transport across the Mediterranean. Be- ing unable to fulfil the terms of the contract, they compounded by assisting the Venetians to capture Zara in Dalmatia. In vain the pope urged them to set- out for the Holy Land. They preferred to march on Constantinople, though Simon de Montfort offered energetic opposition to this proposal. Notwithstand- ing his efforts, the expedition was undertaken and the pope's plans were defeated.
In 1204 or 1205 Simon succeeded to the Earldom of
