Manuscripts written by the Bollandists have been added to UNESCO's international Memory of the World (MoW) register on Thursday. This marks the seventh entry from Belgium.
The Society of Bollandists was founded by Jesuit Jean Bolland in 1630 and dedicated to the critical study of saints, their lives, and cults. Their flagship work, the Acta Sanctorum, comprises over 60,000 pages spread across 67 volumes written between the 17th and 18th centuries, marking the most monumental scientific endeavour of the Ancien Régime. Notably, this collection stands out for its innovative historical criticism applied to religious studies.
These manuscripts join 73 other archives from around the globe, bringing the total to 496 documents in the Memory of the World register.
Previous Belgian entries in the MoW include the Universal Bibliographic Repertory, considered the first search engine, and the archives of the Officina Plantiniana, which represent the most significant publishing and printing enterprise ever established in Belgium.
The MoW programme was initiated in 1992 to raise global awareness of the existence and importance of documentary heritage, facilitate its preservation and ensure universal access.
