Bersuire (Bressuire), Pietro

BERSUIRE (BRESSUIRE), PIETRO. - Benedettino, n. a St.-Pierre du Chemin toward the end of the 13th century, d. in Paris in 1362. He entered the Franciscan Order young, but left it to pass among the Benedictines of St. Salvatore. In 1332 he was named abbot of Fosse de Tigné and in 1336 transferred to the abbey of Bruyeres-le-Châtel. Having gone to the court of the Popes in Avignon, he was among the familiars of Card. Pietro Deprès, to whom he dedicated his two principal works, and he also knew Petrarch, who esteemed him for his learning and piety. Through the efforts of the same cardinal, in 1343 he received the abbey of Notre Dame de Clisson and in 1349 that of Coulombs. He nevertheless resided in Paris, where he attended university courses, and in 1350 he was confined in the episcopal prison because of his independent character and the criticisms he leveled at ecclesiastical authorities. Freed through the intervention of the university, he became secretary of King John of France. In 1354 he received the priory of St-Eloi in Paris, where he ended his days. He wrote several highly esteemed works, among them the Reductorium morale (1340) and the Repertorium morale (1359), both dedicated to Card. Deprès; he was the first to translate and comment on Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Agostino Amore