BERAULT-BERCATSELL, ANTOINE

BERAULT-BERCATSELL, ANTOINE-HENRI. — Church historian, one of the most widely read in his time. Born at Briey in 1720 (some say 1722) and died about 1794, during the height of the French Revolution. Originally a Jesuit, later a secularized parish priest at Ormeville, he first made a name for himself as a poet and novelist, though neither particularly outstanding nor especially restrained. He then turned to history and published a *Histoire de l'Église* in 24 volumes (Paris 1777–90), which was reprinted in the following century and translated into several languages. The work was commended for its lively and fluent style. Though inferior to the celebrated Fleury, he remained far more distant from the Gallican tendencies prevalent at the time he wrote.