Pierre-Philippe Grappin

Pierre-Philippe Grappin , known under the name Dom Grappin (born February 1, 1738 in Ainvelle (Haute-Saône) , † November 20, 1833 in Besançon ) was a French Benedictine monk , historian and writer . Until 1791 he was Benedictine of the Congregation of Saint-Vanne et Saint-Hydulphe, from 1771 to 1777 and from 1783 to 1789 head of the College of Saint-Ferjeux, after the outbreak of the French Revolution from 1791 to 1801 priest of the constitutional dioceseDoubs and from 1802 to 1815 Vicar General of the Diocese of Besançon. He was also a member of several academies and led, among other things, important correspondence with the Abbé Grégoire .

Life

Early career

Pierre-Philippe Grappin came from a respected middle-class family; his father was a notary . He embarked on a spiritual career, entered the Benedictine order at the age of 18 and became a novice in the Abbey of Luxeuil . Then he began under the direction of Anselm Berthod , the prior of the abbey, the study of history and diplomacy . As a result of the knowledge he acquired in this way, he was able to be sent to Faverney by his superiors a few years later to organize the archives of this abbey.

At the same time the newly founded Académie des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Besançon et de Franche-Comté was collecting material for the history of the province and a prize for writing a special history of a town or abbey in the county of Burgundy Suspended in 1770, Grappin wrote two memoranda on the Abbeys of Luxeuil and Faverney. In doing so, he relied on documents that were under his supervision. The first of these works won the award but was not printed; the second appeared under the title Mémoire sur la ville et abbaye de Faverney (Besançon 1771), received the side prize and spread the literary reputation of the author. Three years earlier, Grappin had already had a pamphlet against his dissatisfied fellow religious, Dom Jean-Joseph Cajot ( Lettre à l'auteur de "l'examen philosophique de la règle de Saint-Benoît", ou examen religieux de l'examen philosophique , Besançon 1768) composed. In this pamphlet he allowed himself rudeness towards Cajot, but was not able to completely refute his claims and therefore incurred severe criticism himself. Grappin had presented a historical work entitled Mémoires historiques sur les guerres de seizième siècle dans le comté de Bourgogne (Besançon 1768).

Grappin published both the above-mentioned treatises and the Histoire abrégée du comté de Bourgogne (Avignon 1773; second increased edition Besançon 1780) and all subsequent writings anonymously, but the author was well known in the circles involved, as he was a diligent collaborator of the Journal ecclésiastique was widely read at the time . For this magazine he wrote the following articles:

• Réponse à l'auteur de "l'histoire des variations de la confession" , 1775
• Quand et pourquoi s'est introduit l'usage de faire gras le jour de noël, arriva-t-il un vendredi ou un samedi , 1775
• Lettre contre l'usage des pensions annuelles des religieux , 1775
• Relation de ce qui s'est passé à la fête des mœurs établie à Saint-Farjeux le 25 août 1776 , 1776
• Lettre touchant les dots ou pensions des novices , 1776

Grappin also made contributions to the Annales de la Religion , the France catholique , the Affiches de Franche-Comté and the Chronique religieuse , in which the Mémoire sur les sorciers d'Arras et de Franche-Comté are particularly worth mentioning.

This literary activity drew the attention of the religious superiors to the young monk and prompted his appointment as professor at the College of the Benedictine Abbey near Besançon. In addition to fulfilling the duties of his office, he continued his historical research in his spare time. Grappin's solution to the questions put forward by the Academy of Besançon in 1774 and 1778 on the origin of the rights of the dead hand in the provinces of the former Kingdom of Burgundy was honored with a prize ( source est l'origine des droits de main-morte dans les provinces qui ont composé le premier royaume de Bourgogne , Besançon and Paris 1779) and on the coinage of the county of Burgundy ( Recherches sur les anciennes monnaies, poids et mesures du comté de Bourgogne , Besançon and Paris 1782).

In addition to this work, Grappin had already been busy with his teacher and friend Berthod for several years, preparing an inventory of all the public and private archives in the province and making copies of the most important documents to send them to a general document depot suggested by Minister Bertin. When Berthod left for Brussels in 1784 to take part in the continuation of the Acta Sanctorum , which was interrupted by the abolition of the Jesuit order , Grappin alone continued to take up and exploit the archives, for which he received repeated letters of commendation from the minister. By Berthod's departure, a position in the Academy of Besançon had become vacant, which was transferred to Grappin. This justified his choice with several solid lectures, among which above all a separately printed treatise on Cardinal Granvelle and his participation in the unrest in the Netherlands ( Mémoire historique, où l'on essaie de prouver que le cardinal de Granvelle n'eut point de part aux troubles des Pays-Bas dans le seizième siècle , Besançon 1788) is worth mentioning. He had recognized the importance of the cardinal's memoirs and state pamphlets, which were only published in the 19th century, for the history of the 16th century and recommended their publication to Minister Bertin, but the minister could not raise the necessary financial resources due to the high state deficit.

The two volumes of Grappin's historical paperback of Besançon ( Almanach historique de Besançon et de la Franche-Comté, pour les années 1785 et 1786 ), which contain a detailed description of the towns and villages in the province, and the eulogies were also published at that time Cardinal Jean Jouffroy ( Éloge historique de Jean Jouffroy, cardinal d'Alby, lu à l'académie des sciences de Besançon le 23 avril 1785 , Besançon 1785) and the historian Philippe-André Grandidier ( Éloge historique de M. l'abbé Grandidier , Strasbourg 1788).

Role during the French Revolution

When the convocation of the imperial estates was discussed in view of the problematic financial situation in France, the minister, because of his doubts about the advisability of this measure, demanded that Grappin publish a memorandum on the old estates of the province of Franche-Comté . Satisfied with this first work, the keeper of the seal commissioned him to write and disseminate a number of popular writings, the aim of which was to prepare public opinion for those changes which had to be made in taxation but which met with bitter resistance from the privileged classes. Grappin therefore now dealt with political questions, an area that had remained unfamiliar to him until then. So he was gradually drawn into the turmoil of the French Revolution that broke out at the time , in which he first saw an energetic step against prevailing grievances. But soon he also noticed their negative excesses.

Grappin took the civic oath required by the priests and was appointed Metropolitan Vicar of Besançon. However, he took no part in the administration of the diocese, but withdrew to the house of his family, who lived at the foot of the Vosges , because of his increasing fear of the course of events , after he had taken a position in a pamphlet against the allegations made against the clergy. After the reign of terror , he was sent in 1797 by the constitutional priests of the Haute-Saône department to the assembly that was named National Council . The congregation elected him one of its secretaries. He also held this office at the council of 1801, where he got to know the Abbé Grégoire and the other leaders of the constitutional church of France better and with whom he maintained a lively correspondence from that time on.

When the constitutional bishop Claude Le Coz became Archbishop of Besançon as a result of the Concordat concluded in 1801 , he appointed Grappin one of his vicar general and often followed his advice when the diocese was reorganized. Alongside this activity, Grappin resumed his studies and used his influence to restore the former Academy of Besançon, which made him its permanent secretary. Despite his old age, he eagerly performed this honorary position and, according to the old custom, wrote eulogies for several deceased members. He also shared historical notes on Trouillet, David de St. George, d'Usies, Father Chrysologue, de Grandfontaine, Requet, Ronotte, Palliot, Charles and Dom Sornet. These eulogies and notes were included in the Academy's memoranda.

Next life

After the death of his patron Le Coz (1815), Grappin left the archbishopric because his position became uncomfortable. From then on he was only concerned with learned studies. During his vicariate general he had edited a French translation of Antonio Pereira's work on the power of bishops ( Traité du pouvoir des évêques , Paris 1803). After Le Coz's death, he published his remarks on La Tour d'Auvergne ( Quelques détails sur Latour d'Auvergne, Corret, premier grenadier de France , Besançon 1815).

Soon after, Grappin suffered such permanent health damage from an unfortunate fall that he was rarely able to leave his room. He now occupied himself even more intensively with his books, invited inquisitive young people whom he encouraged for historical studies, and worked out numerous articles for specialist journals. Grappin, who was a member of many academies and literary societies, died on November 20, 1833, at the age of 95 in Besançon.

Several well-elaborated historical writings from all periods of his life were found in his estate, including:

• Histoire de la ville et de l'abbaye de Luxeuil (award publication awarded by the Academy of Besançon)
• Histoire de l'abbaye de Saint-Paul de Besançon
• Recherches sur les anciens états-généraux de France
• Histoire de états provinciaux de Franche-Comté, tenus en 1788
• Dissertation on the taille des anciens Bourguignons
• Vie de M. Lecoz, archevêque de Besançon
• Notices historiques sur MM. De Courbouzon, de Clévans et le prieur D'Audeux
• Journal du siège de Besançon par les Autrichiens immédiatement avant l'heureux retour de Bourbons
• Chronology of the Landgraves d'Alsace
• Chronologie historique des comtes de Ferrette

Grappin also tried his hand at being a poet. During the Revolution he published several odes ( Ode à la religion , Ode aux états-généraux , Ode contre le duel , Ode sur la question ). He also left a handwritten Loisirs du chevalier de *** in the poetic field . His small plays ( Le nouveau bourgois gentilhomme ; Le serment civique ; Le retour à la raison , 1790) were also not printed .

literature

• Philipp H. Külb : Grappin (Pierre Philippe) . In: Johann Samuelansch , Johann Gottfried Gruber (Ed.): General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts , 1st Section, Vol. 88 (1868), pp. 32–34.

Web links

• Pierre-Philippe Grappin on data.bnf.fr