Migne, Jacques Paul

Born Oct. 25, 1800, in St. Flour; died Oct. 24, 1875, in Paris. French abbot and publisher of medieval literature.

Notable among Migne’s numerous multivolume publications is his Patrologia, published in two series, the Latin and the Greek. The Latin series contains works of church authors of the second through the early 13th centuries. The Greek series is chiefly a compendium of works of Orthodox (Greek) writers up to the 16th century; the series published texts in the original Greek together with their Latin translations. In addition to religious writings, the Patrologia included many annals, papal bulls, and letters. These collections were reprints of sources from the best previous publications and were often accompanied by introductory articles by the most important scholars of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Because of its vast scope, the Patrologia has retained its importance up to the present time, although in the 20th century many of the texts have been published in more up-to-date scholarly editions.