Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 9.djvu/457

 LUDBULLA

416

LUDOVIOITS

LudnuUa (Lidmilla), Saint, wife of Boriwoi, the his principal work. This is not a simple biography first Christian Duke of Bohemia, b. at Mielnik, c. 860; as we understand such to-day, but at once a history, d. at Tetin, near Beraun, 15 September, 921. She a commentary borrowed from the Fathers, a series of and her husband were baptized, probably by St. dogmatic and mond dissertations, of spiritual in« Methodius, in 871. Pagan fanatics drove them from structions, meditations, and prayers, in relation to their country, but they were soon recalled, and after the life of Qirist, from the eternal birth in the bosom reigning seven more years they resigned the throne in -' ^^' ^-^^ ^ •"• '^ •'' ^ - - -

favour of their son Spitignev and retired to Tetin. Spiti^ev died two years later and was succeeded by Wratislaw, another son of Boriwoi and Ludmilla. Wratislaw was married to Drahomira, a pretended Christian, but a secret favourer of paganism. They had twin sons, St. Wenceslaus and Boleslaus the Cruel, the former of whom lived with Ludmilla at

of the Father to His Ascension. It has been called a summa evangelica, so popular at that time, in which the author has condensed and resumed all that over sixty writers had said before him upon spiritual matters. Nothing shows better the great popularity of the "Vita ChriSii" than the numerous manuscript coi)ies preserved in libraries and the manifold editions of it which have been published, from the first two

Tetin. Wratislaw died in 916, leaving the eight-year- editions of Strasburg and Cologne, in 1474, to

old Wenceslaus as his successor. Jealous of the great influence which Ludmilla wielded over Wenceslaus, Drahomira instigated two noblemen to murder her. She is said to have been strangled by them with her veil. She was at first buried in ttee church of St. Biichael at Tetin, but her remains were removed to the church of St. George at Prague before the year 1100,

the last editions of Paris (folio, 1865, and 8vo, 1878). It has besides been translated into Catalo- nian (Valencia, 1495, folio, Gothic), Castilian (Alcald, folio, Gothic), Portuguese (1495, 4 vols., folio), Italian (1570), French, "by Guillaume Lemenand, of the Order of Monseigneur St. Francois", under the title of the "Great Life of Christ"^ (Lyons, 1487, folio,

probably by St. Wenceslaus, her grandson. She is man^ times reprinted), and more recently by D.

venerated as one of the patrons of Bohemia, and her Mane -Prosper Augustine (Paris, 1864) and by D.

feast is celebrated on 16 September. Florent Broquin, Carthusian (Paris, 1883). St.

The chief "ource is Vita el poMio a.Wencedai d a, LuAniUB Teresa and St. Francis de Sales frequently quote from

S3? r&r^^5£?Lrffi£^.'S'.^ro'f"^ilk^: it. fnd it 1^ not ceased to. affork delight to pio,^

Until recently this work was considered a fori^ory of the 12-14 SOUls, who find m it instruction and edincation, food

ceoturv. But Fekar, Die WemeU- und LudmtllO'Leoenden und for both mind and heart.

fef'^Tf^ ^P^^ (Prague. 1905). and Voigt. Die vondem Qufcmr and Echard. Scriptorea Ordinis Pnedicaiorum, I.

Premyaltden Chrxdum verfaaate and AdalbeH^von ggfl^<JJ«fJ,'»^ SeSiBupQms.Inirodutipru Noticejo^ his tr. of the Vita Chriati, t

Biographie dea heil. Wemel und ihre GeachiehtadarateUung (Pracue, 1907), have adduced grave reasons for its genuineness. Acta SS., IV, 16 Sept.; Dunbar, Dictionary of Saintly Women, 1 (London. 1904), 475-7.

Michael Ott.

Lndolph of Saxony (Ludolph the Carthusian), an ecclesiastical writer of the fourteenth century, date of birth unknown; d. 13 April, 1378. His life

(Paris, 1883), i-zxvii; Dorean. Ephemeridea of the Carihiiaian Order, IV (MontreuU-Sui>Mer, 1900). 384-93.

Ambrose Mougel.

LndoviciiB a 8. Oarolo (LuDOvicnB Jacob), Car- melite writer, b. at Chdlons-sur-Mame (according to some at Chalon-sur-Sa6nc), 20 Aug., 1608; d. at Paris 10 ICarch, 1670. The son of Jean Jacob (whence he

is as Uttle known as his works are celebrated. We is also commonly known as Ludovicus Jacob) and

have no certain knowledge of his native country; for Claudine Mareschal. he entered the Order cf C'ar-

in spite of his surname, *'of Saxony", he may weU, melites of the Old Observance in his native to^^n, and

as Echard remarks, have been bom eiUier in the Dio- made his profession 11 June, 1626. While in Italy

cese of Cologne or in that of Mainz, which then be- (1639) he took great interest in epigraph}^, regretting

longed to the Province of Saxony. He first joined the wholesale destruction of inscriptions in the cata-

the Dominicans, passed through an excellent course combs. A lasting fruit of his sojourn in Rome was

of literary and tneological studies, and may have the completion and publication of the "Bibliotheca loumt tJie science of the spiritual life at the school c^^^^tificia", begun by Gabriel Naudd (1600-53, librar- the celebrated doctors Tamer and Suso, his contempo^^^iL^ Cardinal Mazarin). Though not free from raries and companions in religion. After about thif^fi^HlM^d mistakes, the work met with fully deserved

vears spent in the active life, he entered the Charter- succcssr^On^ his return to France he obtained the

house of Strasburg towards the year 1340. Three post of librarian to Cardinal de Retz, and later on the

years later he was called upon to govern the newly dignity of royal cotmcillor and almoner. At a later

founded (1331) C^rterhouse of Coblentz: but scru- period he became librariaji to Achille de Harlay, first

plee of conscience led him to resign his office of prior president of the parliamenf, in whose house he lived

in 1348; and, having again become a simple monk, and finally died.

first at Mainz and afterwards at Strasburg, he spent Besides the work already mentioned, and some

^e last thirty years of his life in retreat and prayer, twelve books which he edited for their respective

and died almost an octogenarian, universally esteemed authors, he left, according to the '^ Bibliotheca Car-

for his sanctity, although he never seems to have been melitana'' (II, 272), twenty-seven printed works and

honoured with any public cult.

Ludolph is one of the many writers to whom the authorship of "The Imitation of Jesus Christ"^ has been assigned; and if history protests against this, it must nevertheless acknowledge that the true author of tiiat book has manifestly borrowed from the Car-

sixty manuscripts, of which the following deserve notice: A relation of the procession held 17 July, 1639, at the church of Sts. Sylvester and Martin at Rome in honour of Our Lady of Mount Carmcl (Paris, 1639). Catalogue of authors proving Ren^ Gros de Saint^Joyre, the poet, to have been related to Pope

ihusian. Other treatises and sermons now either Clement IV (Lyons, 1642). The panegyric of Yen.

lost or very doubtful have also been attributed to him. Two books, however, commend him to posterity: (1^ A "Commentary upon the Psalms ", concise but ex- cellent for its method, clearness, and solidity. He especially developed the spiritual sense, according to the interpretations of St. Jerome, St. Augustme, Caasiodorus, and Peter Lombard. This commentary, which was very popular in Germany in the Midcue

Jeanne de Cambry, of Toumay, Augustinian nun (Paris, 1644). He it was who published the first yearly lists of printed books, an undertaking which speedily found favour with the world of letters as wedl as with the book trade, and in which he has found numerous imitators down to the present time. We have from his pen the lists of Paris publications for 1643-44 and 1645, and the list of French publications

Ages, has pa^ed through numerous editions, of for 1643-45. Among his manuscript notes were col- which the first dates from 1491, and the last (Mon- lections of bibliographical notices concerning his order, iJvuiJ-0ur-Mer) from 1891. (2) The "Mta Christ!'', which were utilized by Martialis a S. Johanne Bap-