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 NITHARD

85

NOAILLES

Archbishop Cyrus in 489 closed it and expelled mas- ters and pupils, who withdrew to Nisibis. They were welcomed by Barsumas, a former pupil of Edessa. The school was at once re-opcnod at Nisibis under the direction of Narses, called the harp of the Holy Ghost. The latter dictated the statutes of the new school. Those which have been discovered and pubUshed be- long to Osee, the successor of Barsumas in the See of Nisibis, and bear the date 496; they must be substan- tially the same as those of 489. In 590 they were again modified. The school, a sort of Catholic uni- versity, was established in a monastery and directed by a superior called Rabhan, a title also given to the instructors. The administration was confided to a majordomo, who was steward, prefect of discipline, and librarian, but under the supervision of a council. Un- like the Jacobite schools, devoted chiefly to profane studies, the school of Nisibis was above all a school of theology. Tlie two chief masters were the instructors in reading and in the interpretation of Holy Scripture, explained chiefly with the aid of Theodore of Mopsues- tia. The course of studies lasted three years and was entirely gratuitous; but the students provided for their own support. During their sojourn at the uni- versity, masters and students led a monastic life under somewhat special conditions. The school had a tri- bunal and enjoyed a civil personality, being able to acquire and possess all sorts of property. Its rich li- brary possessed a most beautiful collection of Nesto- rian works; from its remains Ebed-Jesus, Metropolitan of Nisibis in the fourteenth century, composed his celebrated catalogue of ecclesiastical writers. The disorders and dissensions, which arose in the sixth cen- tury in the school of Nisibis, favoured the develop- ment of its rivals, especially that of Seleueia; how- ever, it did not really begin to decline until after the foundation of the School of Bagdad (832). Among its literary celebrities mention should be made of its founder Narses; Abraham, his nephew and successor; Abraham of Kashgar, the restorer of monastic life; John; Babai the Elder; three catholicoi named Jesus- yab.

Smith, DictionaTy of Greek and Roman Geography, II (London, 1870), 440; GniDl, GK Staluti delta Scuola di Ninbi in Giornale della Society asiatica italiana, IV, 165-195; Ch.^bot, L'Bcole de Nisibe. Son histoire, ses slatuts (Paris, 1896) ; Labouht. Le chris- tianisme dans Vempire perse (Paris, 1904), passim; Duval, La Utteralure syriaque (Paris, 1899), passim; CniNET, La Turquie (t'Asie, 11 (Paris), 269.

S. Vailhe.

Nithard, Frankish historian, son of Angilbert and Bertha, daughter of Charlemagne; d. about 843 or 844 in the wars against the Normans. Little is known about his early life, but in the quarrels between the sons of Louis the Pious he proved a zealous adherent of Charles the Bald, by whose command he went as am- bassador to Lothair in 840, though without success. At the battle of Fontenoy, in 841, he fought bravely at the side of Charles, and afterwards wrote, at the request of that prince, the history of the period in or- der to establish the right of Charles the Bald. This work, which usually bears the title: "De dissensioni- bus filiorum Ludovici Pii ad annum usque 843, seu Historiarum libri quattuor 841-843", recites in rather uncouth language the causes of the quarrels and de- scribes, minutely and clearly, the unjust behaviour of Lothair, sometimes a little partially, but with under- Standing and a clear insight into the conditions. He was the only layman of his time who devoted himself to the writing of a history, and he reported earnestly and truthfully what he himself had seen and heard. It is very probable that he was lay abbot of St. Riquier. His body was buried there, and when it was found, in the eleventh century, Mico, the poet of the abbey, composed a lengthy rhymed epitaph. Nithard's historical work has been published by Migne, in "P. L.", CXVI, 45-76; also in the "Mon. Germ. Hist.: Script.", II, 649-72, and in "Scriptores

rerum Germanicarum in usum Scholarum" (Hanover, 1830, reprinted 1907). Cierman translations by Jas- mund appeared at Berlin, 1859; third edition, by Wat- tenbach, Leipzig, 1889.

Wattenbach. Dcutschlands Geschichlsquellcn, I (Berlin, 1904), 233-37; Potthast, Bibliotheca, H (Berlin, 1S96), 856 sq.

Patricius Schlager. Noah. See Noe.

Noailles, Lonis-ANXoiNE de, cardinal and bishop, b. at the Chat.eau of Teyssiere in Auvergne, France, 27 May, 1651 ; d. at Paris, 4 May, 1729. His father, first Due de Noailles, was captain-general of Roussillon; his mother, Louise Boyer, had been lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne of Austria. Louis de Noailles studied theology at Paris in the College du Plessis, where Fcnelon was his fellow-student and friend, and ob- tained his doctorate at the Sorbonne, 14 March, 1676. Already provided with the Abbey of Aubrac (Diocese of Rodez), he was, in March, 1679, appointed to the Bishopric of Cahors, and in 1680 transferred to ChA- lons-sur-Marne, to which see a peerage was attached. He accepted this rapid removal only at the formal command of Innocent XL In this office he showed himself a true bishop, occupying himself in all kinds of good works. He confided his theological seminary to the Lazarists, and founded a petit setninaire.

The regularity of his conduct, his family standing, and the support of Mme de Maintenon induced Louis XIV to make him Archbishop of Paris, 19 August, 1695. At Paris he was what he had been at Ch&lons. Lacking in brilliant qualities, he was po.ssessed of piety, zeal, and activity. He was simple in manners and ac- cessible to poor and rich alike. In 1709 he sold his sil- ver plate to provide food for the famine-stricken. His generosity towards churches was also remarkable, and he spent large sums from his private fortune in deco- rating and improving Notre-Dame. The decorum of public worship and the good conduct of the clergy were the particular objects of his care. Inspired more by customs prevalent in France than by the prescrip- tions of the Council of Trent, he caused the Breviary, Missal, and other liturgical books of Paris already published by his predecessor de Harlay, to be reprinted. To these he added the Rituale, the Caeremoniale, and a collection of canons for the use of his Church. By decrees issued on his accession (June, 1696) he im- posed for the first time on aspirants to the ecclesiasti- cal state the obligation of residing in seminaries for several months before ordination. He organized ec- clesiastical conferences throughout his diocese and conferences in moral theology once a week at Paris; priests were obliged to make an annual retreat, wise rules were drawn up for the good conduct and regu- larity of all ecclesiastics, the Divine service, the assi.st- ance of the sick, and the primary schools. Seminaries for poor clerics were encouraged and supported, and one was founded which served as a shelter for poor, old, or infirm priests.

While still Bishop of Chdlons he took part in the conferences held at Issy to examine the works of Mme Guyon (q. v.). His part was only secondary, but he succeeded in having the accused's entire defence heard. Shortly afterwards he became involved in a controversy with Fenelon (q. v.) concerning the lat- ter's "M;ixiiiic.s rlc^s Saints," which w;is (■(inilcnined by the Bishojjs of Mi-aux, Chartres, and de Nn.-iillcs him- self. In 1700 he w;i,s made a cardinal by Innocent XII. Several months later de Noailles presided at the General Assembly of the French clergy. This assem- bly exerted great inlluence on the teaching of moral theology in France, and after Bossuet no one had so great a share as de Noailles in its decisions. He be- came prior of Navarre in 1704, head of the Sorbonne in 1710, and honorary dean of the faculty of law. Ex- cept for his :illituilc "towards Jansenism the cardinal's career would be deserving only of praise. Uc :dway8 denied being a Jansenist, and condemned the five