Bernard de Montfaucon

Bernard de Montfaucon
Dom Bernard de Montfaucon, O.S.B.
Born	13 January 1655
Died	21 December 1741 (1741-12-22) (aged 86)

Dom Bernard de Montfaucon, O.S.B. (French: [də mɔ̃fokɔ̃]; 13 January 1655 – 21 December 1741) was a French Benedictine monk of the Congregation of Saint Maur. He was an astute scholar who founded the discipline of palaeography, as well as being an editor of works of the Fathers of the Church. He is regarded as one of the founders of modern archaeology.

Montfaucon was born on 13 January 1655 in the Castle of Soulatgé, a small village in the southern town of Corbières, then in the ancient Province of Languedoc, now in the modern Department of Aude. After one year he was moved to the Castle of Roquetaillade, residence of his family. When he was seven, he was sent to Limoux, to the college run by the Fathers of Christian Doctrine.

Montfaucon served in the French army as a volunteer and participated in the Franco-Dutch War of 1673. He was a captain of grenadiers and made two campaigns under the command of Marshall Turenne, participated in the Battle of Herbsthausen and fell ill in Saverne in Alsace. Because of his infectious illness he made a vow to to give one hundred livres to her sanctuary in Limoux and to become a monk, if he was able to return to his country as a result of her intervention.