'HISTOIRE GENERALE DE LANGUEDOC': A STUDY OF MAURIST HISTORIOGRAPHY

The Histoire generale de Languedoc was the best of several provincial histories produced by the Benedictine Congregation of Saint-Maur in the eighteenth century. This study places the work in its setting in the Maurist tradition and in eighteenth-century historiography before analyzing the history itself.;The context of the history is presented in the initial chapters. The period of the Unigenitus controversy is emphasized in describing the history of the Maurists from 1618 to 1792. The Maurist tradition is discussed as the product of a course of studies developed by Gregoire Tarisse and the towering example of Jean Mabillon. The story behind the history of Languedoc is given an entire chapter because of the untypical struggle between two groups of Maurist scholars.;Before turning to the history, the intentions and attitudes of the historians are examined through their reports to the Estates of Languedoc and the preface to the first volume. Their intentions placed the authors in the erudite tradition of French historiography and represented an effort to move from collecting and annotating sources to writing "general history" on a more solid foundation than contemporary literary histories.;Three chapters examine the history to expose historiographical techniques, biases, themes, and interpretations. The standard of "reporting from the sources" which the authors expressed was found throughout the work, illustrating the strengths and weaknesses of the Maurist approach to historiography. The study reveals that many of the issues identified by the Maurists continue to interest historians although the values and interpretations of the authors are no longer taken seriously. The Histoire generale de Languedoc continues to fulfill the intentions of the authors because the work is still used as a reference for the history of Languedoc.;The Histoire generale de Languedoc was undertaken by Claude de Vic and Joseph Vaissette in 1715 at the request of the Estates of Languedoc. Five volumes in folio were published between 1730 and 1745. During these years the congregation experienced in controversy over Unigenitus which sapped its vitality and endangered the progress of the history because of the role of the authors in those events. The program of studies which inspired the Maurist tradition underwent a change in that period and the history of Languedoc was part of a trend to more secular works.