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BEC

lotion tx) the Church and is considered one of the best jreachers of the eighteenth century. In 1783 he esigned his bishopric and settled at Paris. In i7S9 he was made a member of the States-General. His sermons were printed at Paris in 1806, prefaced jy an interesting account, written by the Abb6 lioulogne, of the preacher and his discourses. Tlie nost celebrated of his funeral orations is the one on Louis XV; this discourse, however, failed to please the courtiers. The best of his panegyrics are one jn St. Augustine, delivered before the Assembly jf the Clergy of France, and one on St. Louis, before the Academic Fran?aise.

De Feller, Biographic universelle {Funs, 1847); Bernard, La chaire fran^ise au dix-huitihne aOicle (Paris. 1901).

Jos. N. GiGNAC.

Beauvan, RENE-FR.\Nfois de. See Toulouse.

Beaven, Thomas. See Springfield, Diocese of.

Bebian, Roch-Amboise-Auguste, b. 4 August, 17,S9at Pointe-a-Pitre. Guadeloupe; d. there 24 Feb- ruary, 1839. His father sent him to France, where he was committed to the care of his godfather, the .\bb6 Sicard, the well-known educator of the deaf and dumb. The latter put him under the direction of Abb6 Jauffret then exhibiting a great interest in the education of deaf-mutes. After a brilliant course at the Lycee Charlemagne in Paris, Bebian devoted himself to the study of the system of educa- tion of the deaf and dumb. He followed the courses of instruction given by Abbe Sicard and gave special attention to Laurent Clerc, a deaf-mute who afterwards became president of an institution for the deaf and dumb at Hartford, Connecticut, U. S. A. As prefect of studies in the institution for the deaf and dumb at Paris, he directed all his efforts to finding the signs best adapted, in precision and extension of meaning, to the expression of the ideas of the deaf and dumb.

Bebian published the result of his studies in his first book, "Essai sm- les sourds-muets et sur le langage naturel " (1817). His principal works, un- der the titles " Mimographie " (1S22) and ^^' Manuel d'enseignement pratique des sourds-muets" (1822), laid down the principles used in the institution for the deaf and dumb in Paris. After leaving this school, he published several other works, the most important being "L'education des sourds-muets mise ■1 la port^e des instituteurs primaires et de tons les parents". Having refused the direction of the schools for the deaf and dumb of St. Petersburg and New York he founded a similar institution at Pans on the boulevard Montparnasse; later he became director of the school of Rouen and finally went back to Guadeloupe, where lie founded a school for the ncnroes Ho hn<l already written, in 1819, " Eloge his- torique de I'abbe de I'Epge", which was awarded the prize offered by the Academy of Sciences. •^ G. M. Sauvage.

Bee, Abbey of.— The Benedictine Abbey of Bee, or Le Bee in Normandy, was founded in the earlier part of the eleventh century by Herluin, a Norman knic'ht who about 1031 left the court of Count Gil- bert of Brionne to devote himself to a life of religion. The abbey itself is now in ruins, but the modern name of the place, Bec-Helloin, preserves the memory of its founder There is some differenci in reckoning the date of the foundation, for Herluin's religious family was twice moved to new quarters, and any one of the three dates may be regarded as the be- ffinning of the famous abbey. Herluin s first tounda- tion wa5 at Bonneville, or Burneville, where a monas- tery was built in 1034, and here in 1037, Herluin was consecrated abbot. But in a few years it was decided to move to a more suitable site, two miles away by the banks of the Bee (Danish, Ba:k, a brook) which gave its name to the abbey. This removal took place about 1040. About two years after this, Lanfranc,

who had already become famous for his lectures at Avranches, left the scene of his triumphs and came to bury himself in this humble home of piety. At first his retreat was unknown to the world without, while his new brethren seem to have been unaware of his \\orth. But within a few years from his arrival at Bee, he had opened a new school, and scholars were flocking from all parts to listen to his lectures. The abbey grew and prospered, and the good work begun by the simple piety of Herluin was crp-mied by the learning of Lanfranc. Before long it was necessary to build a larger and more lasting monas- tery. As the site first chosen had proved to be un- satisfactory, the new foundations were laid in an- other spot, higher up the valley of the Bee and further away from the water. This important change was really the work of Lanfranc, who was now the prior and the right hand of the aged abbot. As the first change of site was closely followed by the arrival of one great teacher, this second foundation was almost coincident, with the coming of a yet greater glory of the abbey, St. Anselm of Canterbury.

The future archbishop and Doctor of the Church first came to Bee in 1060 while the work of building was in progress, and the year before the monks were able to move into their new home. In 1062, Lan- franc was appointed Abbot of Caen, and Anselm, in spite of the fact that he had been such a short time at Bee, was chosen to take his place as prior. In the school also the famous master was succeeded by his yet more illustrious disciple. When the new abbey church at Bee, which had taken some fifteen years to build, was finished in 1077, it was appropriately consecrated by Lanfranc, who was now Archbishop of Canterbury. Abbot Ileriuin, the founder, died in the following year, and Anselm succeeded him as second Abbot of Bee. Only six years later Abbot Anselm was called to take the place of his old master. Lanfranc, as Archbishop of Canterbury. The abbey continued in existence down to the French Revolu- tion. The long list of abbots from the eleventh to the eighteenth century, given in "Gallia Christiana" (XI, 222-239), contains many of the most illustrious French names, and shows that even in its later years Bee was a place of some importance. It had suffered much in the Hundred Years War with England, and still more in the Huguenot troubles. But after these days of desolation it was restored to something of its former state by the Congregation of St. Maur. Thus the chief house of medieval learning was renewed by the fathers of modern historical scholarship. This restoration was too soon undone by the forces of revolution; but the Maurists rendered a more en- during service to the abbey by their admirable editions of Lanfranc, Anselm, and the "Chronicon Beccense". Of the old abbey whose erection is re- corded in that chronicle, some ruins still remain. The later buildings now ser\'e as a military station. This transformation is a curious counterpart to the happier change effected at Fort Augustus.

In its later years the Abbey of Bee was but one among many religious houses doing good work for learning and religion, but in the golden age of Lan- franc and Anselm it held a unique position, and exerted a far-reaching influence on the course ol church history and the advancement of theological learning. In its eariy days the abbey gave three archbishops to the See of Canterbury: Lanfranc. Anselm, and Theobald the fifth abbot. Among other prelates who came from this famous school, it will be enough to mention Pope Alexander II, William, Archbishop of Rouen, Arnost, Gundulf, and Ernull, Bishops of Rochester, Ivo of Chartres, Fulk of Beau- vais, and Gilbert Crispin, Abbot of Westminster. Of the influence of Lanfranc's work at Bee John Richard Green says very truly: "His teaching rai.se(l Bee in a few years into the most famous school of