PEZ (PETZ), BERNARD. - In the world Leopold, Benedictine of the abbey of Melk (Lower Austria), b. 22 Feb. 1683 at Ybbs, d. at Melk on 27 March 1735. He entered Melk in 1699 and was there, from 1713 until his death, librarian and director of the monastery’s museums.
He corresponded with the scholars of his time, travelled throughout much of Europe on long journeys, gathering abundant historical material for his publications. The principal collections edited by P. are: Bibliotheca Benedictino-Mauriana (Augusta 1716); Ven. Godifredi abbatis Admutensis homiliae (2 vols., ibid. 1725); Engilberti opuscula philosophica (Ratisbona 1727), besides various historical-patriotic and biographical works. Still very useful are: Thesaurus anecdotorum novissimus (6 vols., Augusta-Graz 1721-29); Bibliotheca acctica antiquo-nova (12 vols., Ratisbona 1723-40). He left much unpublished; among other things, in the abbey archive, copious material for a Bibliotheca Benedictina generalis.