Metadata
Identifier
VL 4015
Title
Acta Sanctorum
Creator
Johannes Bolland and the Bollandists, Jean Baptiste Carnandet, Godefridus Henschenius, Daniel von Papernbroeck
Contributor
Jean Stiltingh, Constantin Suyskens, Jean Périer, Corneille de Bye, Joseph Ghesquière
Publisher
Palmé
Language
Latin
Publication Date
1863
Description
The Acta Sanctorum, a 1643 publication in Latin documenting and commenting on the lives of the 6400 saints, is the result of many different sources, including Vatican Latin MS 4015, which informs the Thomas de Cantilupe account. MS 4015 is a 14th century manuscript containing 314 folios, which are divided into 3 sections consisting of witness testimonies of Cantilupe’s acts, memoranda, and documentation of miracles. It is dedicated to the canonization process of St. Thomas de Cantilupe, former Bishop of Hereford. The heading of the Compendium Vitae, or collection of the lives of the saint(s), includes “Compendium Vitae Ex Processu Canonizationis Ex Codice Vaticano 4015.” The original Acta Sanctorum was edited largely by Johannes Bolland and the Bollandists (after Bolland’s death), Jean Baptiste Carnandet, Godefridus Henschenius, and Daniel von Papenbroeck. They were all associated with the clergy. The Falvey Library at Villanova University contains one copy of an 1863 reprinting; a digitized copy of that book is hosted on archive.org. This later edition was edited by Jean Stiltingh, Constantin Suyskens, Jean Périer, Corneille de Bye, and Joseph Ghesquière, and was published by Palmé in Paris. The majority of the text consists of accounts of the lives of saints, in chronological order of feast day, and organized with different headings for different parts of their lives, afterlives, and miracles. Each section appears with annotations from the editors.
Relation to medieval source
Editorial source
Typical content structure
Gives name of a saint, followed by several titled sections describing his or her life, saintly acts, death, and miracles. Each section includes annotations from the editors.
DE [Name of Saint]
[Statement of Title, e.g. Episc. HEREFORDIENSI IN ANGLIA]
COMMENTARIUS PRAEVIUS
I. [Section title about sainthood and martyrdom]
[Life of Saint, with numbered paragraphs, two columns down the page]
II. [New section title about different part of life, e.g. educational/ecclesiastical background, same numbered paragraphs and dual columns down the page]
…[same format of section titles through the saint’s life, death, miracles, and canonization]
Annotata.
[Annotations, lettered]
Some saints, including Thomas de Cantilupe, have additional sections, including:
Compendium Vitae (Organized with Subheadings labeled Caput I, II, III, etc.), with Annotations (Labeled Annotata) at the end
Miracula (Organized by Pars I, II, etc. and then by Miraculum I, II, etc., and Caput I, II, etc., each with annotations labeled Annotata)
Appendix de Miraculis (Organized by Caput I, II, etc.
Access
Available online, digitized by the Falvey Memorial Library at Villanova University https://archive.org/details/actasanc49unse/page/n91/mode/1up Original Latin manuscript available online, digitzed by the Vatican Library https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.lat.4015