isauutoQ
109
LE OOZ
LMlsrcq, Chbebhen, a Franciscan R^collet and
one of the meet aealous missionaries to the Micmac of
Canada, also a distinguished historio^pher of Nou-
Telle France. A Fleming by birth, he loincd the prov-
ince of the R^collets of St. ^toine, in Artois, and went
to Canada in 1675; on 11 October of that year he was
gut in charge of the Micmac mission by Mgr de Laval, [e learned the lan^ua^e of that tribe and devoted him- self to its evangelization. His superiors sent him to fYance in 1680 on business connected with the Fran- ciscan missions in Canxula ; he returned in the following spring with letters authorizing the foundation pf a con- vent m Montreal, whither he went during the summer of 1681 to carry out this work. In the month of November he went back to the Micmac mission, where he passed in all twelve years of his life. In autumn. 1686 he returned finally to France, where he filled various positions of authority in the Artois province of his order. The date of his death, like that of his birth, is unknown, but he was still living in 1698. After his return to France, he completed two works which he pub- lished at Paris in 1691. They are: (1) "Premier 6ta- blissement de la foy dans la Nouvelle-Francc", 2 vols, in 12mo. The first volume contains fourteen unnum- bered leaves and 559 pages; the second 458 pa^es. This work is now very rare and commands a high price. It may be divided into three part^. The first contains the early history of Nouvelle-France, the introduction of Catholicism into that country, and describes the la- bours of the first missionaries in Canada, the Rdcollcts. This part ends at the year 1629 on the taking of Que- bec b^ the English. The second part, from 1632 till 1670 mclusive, continues the history of the colony, re- lates the spreuading of the Faith amone the native tribes through the devoted labours of the Jesuit Fathers, and tells of the return of the Rdcollets to Canada and their new foundation of the convent of Notre-Dame des Anges at Quebec. The third part
S'ves one of the best accounts, and in certain matters le only account of the travels and discoveries of de La Salle, and ends with the victory of the French over the English at ihe siege of Quebec in 1690. The work has been criticized, Cnarlevoix complaining that Le- clercq treats onlv of the religious affairs in which the Ililcollets took part, and even ascribing to Fron- tenac a share in the authorship of the work; but the authenticity of the documents on which the author relied for his information has never been impugned; and it remains an important source for the hiistory of . Canada and of the Catholic Church in North America. An English translation by John Gilmary Shea, was published at New York in 1881, containing an account of the author, portraits, map, views, and facsimile.
(2) "NouvelJe relation de la Gasp^ie", 1 vol. in 12mo, also published at Paris, in 1691, by Auroy, contains four unnumbered leaved and 572 pages. This book describes the scenes of the Apostolic la1)ours of the lealous author from 1675 till 168G. It relates the mis- nonary efforts of Leclercq and some other RdcoIIets around the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Baie des Cha- kurs, and in New Brunswick. But the author de- scribes in particular the life, customs, and beliefs of the savages (called by him by the general name of Gaspesians) who then inhabited these regions. It is an important work, though of mere local interest. From it we learn that Leclercq invented a system of writing by which he taught the Micmac Indians to read their own language. Very probably these hiero- glyphics have been preserved, and are to l>e found in the Micmac writing which still exist. It has been trans- lated into English by W. F. Ganong, with an account of the author am illustrations (1 vol., Edinburgh, 1910).
Arthivei of tha ArehbMopric of Quebec: Leclercq, Prtmier M n b luBo nent lU la toy dann la NouveUe-France (Paris, 1091); Idem. NouvdU rtlatum dg la OaspSne (Pam. 1601); Hennepin. Noureau voyaqe, eU. (Utrecht, 169<>): Reveillaud, IlisUnrt tknnohifique d* la NtrnvtUe-France (Paris. ISS ).
Odorio-M. Join'E.
Lecoy de La Marche (Kichabxx-Albxbt)^ French
historian; b. at Nemours, 1839; d. at Pans, 1897i
He left the Ecole des Chortes in 1861, and was
appointed archivist of the Department of Haute
Savoie. In 1864 he went to Pans as archivist in the
historical section of the Archives Nationales; he was
also, for many years, professor of French history at the
Catholic Institute in Paris. Lecoy de La Marche was
gifted with rare qualities as a writer and scholar, and
what is still more remarkable, he never separated the
research for and the diffusion of historical truth from
the defence and propagation of religious truth. His
masterpiece is liis " (Ilhaire fran^aise au moyen &ge "
rParis, 1868), which was awarded a prize by the
Acad^mie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. It has
served as a model for many books on this subject, but
has remained to this day the standard work of its kind.
It consists of three parts: "Les pr^dicateurs; les
sermons; la socidt^ d*apr^ les sermons". Part I be-
gins with a summary of the history of preaching in the
primitive Church, and in France previous to the
eleventh century, and then gives an exhaustive history
of the French preachers in the following centuries,
especially the thirteenth. Part II deals with the audi-
ences, the time and the place of preaching, and the
various kinds of sermons. Part III, which is perhaps
the most remarkable section of the book, is a study ci
French society in the Bliddle Ages as it appears in the
light of the sermons. Kings, lords, bishops, priests,
monks, burgesses, peasants, men and women, pass
before our eyes, with their characteristic traits and
weaknesses. Lecoy de La Marche also published:
"L'acad^mie de France k Rome" (1874); "Le roi
Ren^, sa vie, son administration " (1875) ; " Anecdotes
historiques, etc." (1876); "La Soci6t^ au XIII*
sidcle" (1880); "Saint Martin" (1881); "Les manu-
scrits et la miniature " (1884); " Relations politiques
de la France et du royaume de Majorque " (1892), etc.
Reime des quesliona hiUoriquea (Paris, 1807).
Pierre Marique.
Le Ck>i, Claude, French bishop, b. at Plou^vea- Parzay (Finist^re), 1740; d. at Villevieiix (Jura), 1815. Pupil, then professor, and finally principal of the Ck|l- l^ge ae Quimper. he took the constitutional oath in 1791, was elected schismatic Bishop of Ille-et-Vilaine. and wrote in defence of his election — declared null ana void by the pope— ;** Accord des vrais principes de la morale et de la raison sur la Constitution civile du cleig6". Elected to the Legislative Assembly he showed courage and ability in defending against the majority Catholic colleges, the ecclesiastical costume, ana even Christian marriage. His moderation drew upon him the severity of the Convention, and he spent fourteen months in the prison of Mont-Saint-MicheU Later, under the Directory, the vigour with which he opposed the substitution oi the decadi for the Christiaa Sunday came near causing his deportation. Under the Concordat, Le Coz was one of the Constitutional bish- ops whom the force of circumstances compelled the Iloly See to recognize, and he became Archbishop of Besan^on. There is a doubt as to the nature of hb re- tractation: Bemier, the ecclesiastical diplomat who negotiated the rehabilitation of the jurors, thought it best, in order to avoid delay, not to make a clear meii- tion of the manner of retractation required by Pius VII; as a consequence, I^e Coz denied ever having retracted, and the awkwanlnessof the situation was ended oi^ by a personal interview between Le Coz and Pius VII, in which both were seen weeping but of which neither ever spoke. As scliismatic Bishop of Ille-et-Vilaine, Le Coz failed in his endeavour to organize the new
Erovince of which he was the metropolitiin; otherwisB e proved a zealous administrator and even a chari- table pastor. As Archbishop of Besan^on he displayed some ffood qualities, but nis sad antecedents, the doubt nanging over hb conversion, and the presenot
