The Interrogation of Matthew Barnewall, an Irish Jansenist

MaryAnn Lyons
ofMatthewBarnewall,an Irish
The interrogation
jansenistimprisonedin theBastille,1712-13
Introduction
a priestof Dublindiocese,was one oftwo
On 25 May1712,MatthewBarnewall,
clericsdetainedin the Bastillein Parison a chargeof Jansenism.1
He and his
de
of
in
Saint
a
of
the
diocese
Condom
south-west
associate,
Jean Pardiac2, priest
of
travelled
several
in France,
were
accused
dioceses
France,
having
throughout
in
ofdistributing
order
to
circulate
books
that
underpretext
were
alms,
contrary
was accusedof
to Catholicteachingand suspectedofbeingjansenist.Barnewall
associatingwiththe FrenchOratoriantheologianand spiritualwriter,
Pasquier
a close confidantof one of France'sleadingjansenist
Quesnel (1634-1719),
with
AntoineArnauld(1612-94).He wasalso allegedtohavehadcontact
scholars,
in thejansenistcabal.
otherleadingfigures
Barnewall
wasa native
Bornintoan Old-English
family
gentry
c.1659,Matthew
in northCountyDublin.Nothing
is knownabouthisupbringing
or
ofGracedieu3
in Francein 1674andbeganhis studiesin the
initialeducation.Whenhe arrived
was grippedbythesecondjansenistcontroversy
ofParis,thecountry
University
In 1660,
had beenembroiled.4
in whichIrishclericalstudentsat theUniversity
to
the
of
that
he
Louis
XIV
announced
Assembly Clergy
regardedthe
King
A
matter
of
conscience.
was
of
a
formulary subsequently
extirpation Jansenism
of the fivepropositions
extracted
from
prepared,containinga condemnation
and
male
and
female,was
Jansen's
everyecclesiastic,
(Louvain,1640),
Augustinus
Paix
to
it.
to
the
de
l'Élise
me
convent
at Port(1668-79),
obliged sign Owing
and
of
the
symbolicheadquarters Jansenism,
Royal-des-Champs, spiritual
de Police,Paris,ArchivesPrisonsRoyales,sérieAA5,BastilleII, notes sur les prisonniers,
1 See Préfecture
1661à 1755,f. 344; sérieAA6, BastilleIII, notes sure les prisonniers,1703à 1724,f.488. 2 De Pardiacwas
to anotherprison, Saint-Lazaire,on 27 December 1712for three months. See
subsequentlytransferred
Bibliothèquede l'Arsenal,Paris (B. de l'A.) Archivesde la Bastille,MS 10602, ff87, 90-91, 92-4, 117-18,
de la Bastille,documents
inédits(17vols,Paris,1866-91),xiii,pp 24192-3; FrançoisRavaisson(ed.), Archives
6. 3 Gracedieuwas partofthe Barnewallancestralproperties,whichalso includedTurveyand Fieldstown.
It is situatedin themodernbaronyof Balrothery
East,in thecivilparishof Lusk. 4 Fordiscussionsof Irish
see JosephS. O'Leary,"TheIrishand Jansenismin the seventeenth
involvementin jansenistcontroversies,
connections,
century'in Liam Swords (ed.), The Irish-French
1578-1978(Paris, 1978), pp. 21-43; Thomas
xv (1997O'Connor,'The role of Irishclericsin Paris University
ofUniversities,
politics,1730-40' in History
9), pp 193-225; Priscilla O'Connor, 'Irish students in Paris facultyof theology:aspects of doctrinal
in the ancien régime,1730-60' in Arch.Hib., liii (1998), pp 85-97; idem, 'Irish clerics and
controversy
Frenchpoliticsofgrace:thereceptionofNicholasMadgett'sdoctoraltheses,1732'in Thomas O'Connorand
in EuropeafterKinsale,1602-1820(Dublin, 2003), pp 182-202. For a
MaryAnn Lyons(eds), Irishmigrants
catholicresistance
to the jansenistmovementin Francesee WilliamDoyle,Jansenism:
generalintroduction
totheFrenchRevolution
toauthority
(Basingstokeand New York,2000).
fromtheReformation
79
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ARCHIVIUM HIBERNICUM
was placed under the protectionand patronageof the duchesse de Longueville
(1619-79)5,a member of the royal familywhose pious observance and fidelity
Louis XIV respected.However,duringthattime,the foundationsof the so-called
'second Jansenism'6were set down. Resistance to the formularywas never
entirelysuppressed. Louis XIV was intenselyirritatedbythe eruptionoflocalised
controversiesconcerningJansenismin some of France's more remote dioceses
and bythe factthatleading jansenistscholarscontinuedto publishtranslationsof
scriptureand books in the vernacularthat departedfromTridentinediscipline.
Orthodoxbishops and his Jesuitconfessorfannedthe king's suspicions. Within
weeks of the duchesse de Longueville'sdeath in 1679, the archbishop of Paris
visitedPort-Royaland declared it a centreof sedition. Louis forbadeany further
recruitmentof novices and confessorsat the conventin the hope thatthe existing
communitywould eventuallydie out.
A year later a pamphlet entitledA Case of Conscience(1702) re-opened the
jansenist controversyin France, Belgian officials arrested several leading
jansenist exiles, among them Quesnel, and found thousands of incriminating
documents which exposed the extentof the movement's networkthroughout
provincialFrance as well as its connectionswith Rome. They also revealed the
level of systematicco-ordinationbehind the ostensiblyrandom productionof
jansenist publications.The shock of that discoveryfundamentallytransformed
the king's attitudeto Jansenism.To him and to the catholichierarchyin France,
'farfromthe obsession of a handfulof ageing clericaleccentrics,the fightagainst
the formulary
looked more like an extensiveinternationalconspiracyreachingup
to the highestlevels ofthe Church.'7
Louis XIV's immediatereactionwas to throwQuesnel's Frenchassociates into
the Bastille. Followingnegotiationswith the pope, a new bull, Vineam Domini
(1705)declaredthatrespectfulsilence was not an acceptableresponse to questions
raised in the formulary
and once again condemned Jansenism.The archbishopof
Paris, Cardinal Louis-Antoinede Noailles (1651-1729),8known for his devout
principlesand hostilityto the Jesuits,was determinedto ensure thatthe bull was
the nuns of Port-Royalacceptedbythe most stridentopponentsofthe formulary,
des-Champs. They refused,and in 1709, in order to preventthe conventfrom
the buildingswere
becoming a pilgrimagesite,the sisterswere dispersed.By1711,
completelyrazed and the remains of those buried in the grounds of the convent
disinterred.Responsibilityforthisdraconianmeasure laywithLouis XIV himself
and perhapswithhis most zealous Jesuitconfessor,Michel Le Tellier(1643-1719),
who was appointed in 1709. Not contentwith the physicaldestructionof PortRoyal,Le Tellierwanted a definitive,unambiguous condemnationof Jansenism.
Actingon his advice, Louis asked Pope Clement XI forsuch a bull. Reluctantly,
de Port-Royal
5 JeanLesaulnierand AntonyMcKenna (eds), Dictionnaire
(Paris,2004), pp 686-88. 6 Term
used by Doyle in Jansenism,
chap. 4. 7 Doyle,Jansenism,
p. 43. 8 Lesaulnierand McKenna,Dictionnaire,
pp 761-62.
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INTERROGATION OF MATTHEW BARNEWALL,JANSENIST, I712-I713
the pope acquiesced and a congregationcommenced an exhaustiveexamination
of Quesnel's ReferionsMoralesin search of compromisingpropositions.
It was in this atmosphereof extremeintoleranceof Jansenismthat Matthew
Barnewallwas arrestedand imprisonedin the Bastilleon 25 May1712.He was just
one of severalhigh profileIrish clerics in France,including Philip O'Lonergan,
JohnCallaghan, Malachy Kellyand Michael Moore who were believed to have
espoused jansenist beliefs.9 However, it was the timing of the authorities'
discoveryof his peregrinationsand the extentof his incriminatingcontactswith
severalindividualsand institutionsknown to have strongjansenist associations
that resulted in BarnewalTs severe censure. While studyingtheology at the
whose ideas were
Sorbonne,Barnewallwas taughtby ProfessorPirot(1631-1713)
cited by the Frenchprofessorof theology,Pierre Nicole (1625-95) to justifyhis
jansenist views.10Later in his career, Barnewall was appointed rector of the
diocesan seminaryin Grenoble by Cardinal Etienne Le Camus (1632-1707), a
close friendof Quesnel and Arnauld.11
Althoughnot a member of the Port-Royal
Honoré
the
Abbé
community,
preacher
Reynaud de Gaillard (1641-1727),who
invitedBarnewallto accompany Saint Jeande Pardiac on a tourof the diocese of
Senlis in order to distributealms and books, had ties with leading jansenists,
includingBlaise Pascal.12Barnewallwas found to have been in receiptof a letter
fromQuesnel duringhis sojourn in Grenoble.He also admittedthathe had not
which created furthergrounds for suspicion of jansenist
signed the formulary,
tendencies.The interceptionof a letterwrittenby de Pardiac,in which the latter
details his 'aventuresévangéliques' and refersto the towns of Normandyin the
same termsas St Paul spoke about pagan cities of Asia Minor,confirmedpolice
suspicions regardingthe two clerics'membershipof a jansenist cabal.13
In late March1712,the Frenchsecretaryofstate,Louis de Phélypeaux,comtede
Pontchartrain(1643-1727) and the lieutenantof police in Paris, Marc René de
Voyerde Paulmy (1652-1721),marquis d'Argenson,were awaitingthe returnof
Barnewalland Saint Jeande Pardiacto Paris.Two ordresdu roihad been issued for
theirimmediatearrest.D'Argenson was to seize all papers belongingto the two
priests, to interrogatethe two in detail and to forward the text of their
to the secretaryof state.14Having held a succession of legal offices
interrogations
at the Frenchcourt priorto his appointmentas lieutenantin 1697, d'Argenson
had a reputationfor being particularlysevere and inflexible.His derision for
exponentsofJansenismwas evidentwhen he oversawthe destructionofthe rural
in 1711,earning him the titlele destructeurde
abbey of Port-Royal-des-Champs
assurances that le roi a cetteaffaire
on
Pontchartrain's
by
Port-Royal'.Spurred
provost
ofTrinity,
9 See O'Leary,'The Irishand Jansenism',pp 21-43;Chambers,MichaelMoore€.1639-1726:
rector
ofParis(Dublin, 2005), pp 105-09. 10 O'Leary,'The Irishand Jansenism',p. 41; MM. FirminDidot,
Nouvellebiographie
jusqu'à nosjours,xxx(Paris,1862), pp 320-21. 11
généraledepuislestempslesplus reculés
See MM. Firmin Didot, Nouvellebiographiegénérale(Paris, xxx), pp 172-3; Lesaulnier and McKenna,
Dictionnaire,
p. 435. 13 Letterby SaintJeande
pp 607-08, 847. 12 Lesaulnierand McKenna,Dictionnaire,
to
Pardiac,4 June1712(B. de l'A., Archivesde la Bastille, MS 10602, ff163-66).
14 Pontchartrain
inédits(17vols, Paris,
d'Argenson,22 Mar. 1712(FrançoisRavaisson (ed.), Archivesde la Bastille,documents
1866-91),xiii,p. 24).
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ARCHIVIUM HIBERNICUM
d'autant
fortà coeur7and that'le succèset la diligencede votrepartvousferont
the
two
clerics
arrested
had
plusde mériteauprèsde S[a]M[ajestie]',
d'Argenson
andconveyed
totheBastille.15
and
Uponhis admissiontotheBastille,Barnewairs
paperswereconfiscated16
he was repeatedlyinterrogated
the monthsof Juneand July.17
throughout
was closely monitoredby
D'Argenson'shandling of the interrogations
who demandedthathe be fullybriefedregarding
Pontchartrain
theirprogress,
thatthekingpaid 'une attention
case.18
trèssérieuse'to thisparticular
stressing
On 8 June,Pontchartrain
witha listofsubjectsuponwhich
presented
d'Argenson
he wastocarry
outdetailedinterrogations
andde Pardiac.He wasto
on Barnewall
of severalsuspectbooks about
questionthem regardingtheirdistribution
in Parisandthroughout
theprovinces.
notably
jansenisttexts,
Theywere
religion,
also to be questionedregardingthe manyjansenistworksthathad been in
circulationduringthe previousyear.19In conductinghis interrogations
of
withthe pursuitof
Barnewall,d'Argensonalso displayedhis preoccupation
of Barnewall
personsfalselyclaimingnoble titles;hence, his interrogation
hischangeofnametode Barneville.20
regarding
newsofthepriests'arrestspreadthroughout
Paris.Justas Pierre
Meanwhile,
de Langle,bishopofBoulognewas sealinghisletter
toCardinalde Noailles,dated
of the 'deuxsaints
17 June,he receivednews of the arrestand imprisonment
that'si ce n'estqu'ils
De Langlewas perplexed
prêtres'.
bythereport,
admitting
sontsoupçonnésde jansénisme;Dieu saitce que toutcela veutdire'.21
Several
advocatesof the two priestsprotestedtheirinnocenceand lobbiedfortheir
22
releasethroughout
Juneand July1712. Like manyprisonersin the Bastille,
Barnewall
was permitted
tocorrespond
withhis associates.On 30 June,he wrote
MrHuré,askinghim
totheprincipal
ofhisresidenceattheCollègede Boncourt,
to returnto MichaelMoorehis copyofMaldonatus'
workon thegospels,which
Moorehadlenttohim.He also askedHurétosendhima LatinImitation
ofChrist
byThomasà Kempis,withan EnglishBiblein octavo,coveredin black,in order
thathe mightsearchforthepassagesabusedbytheProtestants,
thereby
enabling
himto countertheirclaims.23
On 19 July,
Pontchartain
againpressedd'Argenson
forcopiesoftheinterrogations
which,he said,'le roiattendavecimpatience'.24
to d'Argenson,26 Apr.1712(ibid.); Pontchartrain
to d'Argenson,27 Apr.1712(ibid.). Only
15 Pontchartrain
those arrestedby orderof the king (bya lettrede cachet)were imprisonedin the Bastille,whichservedas a
and thenumberofprisonerswas
stateprison.In themain,itwas reservedforthenobilityand intellectuals,
always small: a total of fortywere detained during the reign of Louis XIV. See Jacques Hillairet,
Connaissancedu vieuxParis,3rdedn. (Lonrai,s.d.), p. 11. 16 B. de l'A.,Archivesde la Bastille,MS 10602,
f.162. 17The textsofhis interrogations
on 18 Juneand 14 July1712along withotherfragmentssurvive.See
B. de l'A., Archivesde la Bastille, MS 10602, ff 96-97, 120-21, 126-8, 132-41. 18 Pontchartrainto
d'Argenson,1 June 1712 (Ravaisson (ed.), Archivesde la Bastille,xiii, pp 24-5). 19 Pontchartrainto
d'Argenson,8 June1712(ibid.). 20 See O'Leary,'The Irish and Jansenism',pp 40-41; FrançoisBluche,
Dictionnaire
du GrandSiècle(Paris,1990), p. 103. 21 Pierrede Langle,évêque de Boulogneto Cardinalde
Noailles,17June1712(ibid.,p. 25). 22 LettersbyDemartin,5 Juneand 21July1712(B. de l.'A.,Archivesde la
Bastille,MS 10602, ff117-18,192-3); letterby a Paris-basedlawyernamed Marais, 1712(Ravaisson (ed.),
Archivesde la Bastille,documentsinédits,xiii, p. 25). 23 De Barnevilleà Mr Huré, 30 June(B. de l'A.,
Archivesde la Bastille,MS 10602, ff130-1). 24 Pontchartrain
to d'Argenson,19 July1712(Ravaisson(ed.),
Archives
de la Bastille,documents
inédits,
xiii,p. 26).
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INTERROGATION OF MATTHEW BARNEWALL,JANSENIST, I712-I713
By mid-June1713,the kinghad indicatedhis willingnessto see Barnewall
to him and he leftthe
released,and on 27 June,all his paperswerereturned
his
tension
Bastille.25
imprisonment
During
concerningJansenismhad not
abated,and less thanthreemonthslater,Pope ClementXI finallyissued the
bull Unigenitus,
whichcategorically
denounced101of
unambiguous
resoundingly
All
were
catholics
forbidden
to
read,
Quesnel'spropositions.
copyor use the
Morales
on
of
excommunication.26
wholived
However,
Barnewall,
pain
Réflexions
intohis lateseventies,
continuedto mixin jansenistcirclesand becamea more
belligerentsupporterof the movementbefore his death in 1738. One
whoremarked
his greatpietyand zeal,notedthat'il observait
un
contemporary,
et
travaillait
à
la
concorde
silence
des
écritures'.27
Around
he
beaucoup
grand
1731
in extremist
his
becameinvolved
association
with
the
popularJansenism
through
a groupthathaditsoriginsin thecultsurrounding
thedeathand
convulsionnaires,
in Paris,in
burialofa jansenistdeacon,Françoisde Parisat St Médardcemetery,
in
interest
de
Paris
and
the
sense
popular
growing
1729.Buoyedup byescalating
at
in
ofmiraculous
his
the
ofexpectation
grave,jansenistgroups
happenings
city
Barnewallwas associatedwithone of the more
exploitedthesedevelopments.
radicalofthesesects,whichwas led by 'FrèreAugustin'or JeanRobertCosse,
an increasingly
stancein thepursuitofhis activities.
whoadvocated
extra-legal
Barnewall
and
a
werearrested
On 12 January
1736
groupof 'Augustinistes'
the
former
home
of
Porta
to
Jansenism, Royal.Duringhis
during pilgrimage
in
the
du Palais in Paris,he wrotehis
Conciergerie
subsequentimprisonment
in
he
set
out
his
which
blatantly
jansenistviewsand denounced
defoy
Profession
fromhim whenhe was
of Jansenism
thathad been extracted
the recantation
in theBastille.MathewBarnewall
diedin theConciergerie
in 1738.28
incarcerated
is valuablefortheinsights
itprovidesintothevicissitudes
ofan
His interrogation
ofhis migration
to France,his
Irishcleric'scareer,detailingthecircumstances
withIrelandand theimpactof changesin
education,his ongoingconnections
lifeon thedirection
ofthatcareer.Likea number
Irishpoliticaland ecclesiastical
all his adultlife
ofIrishclericswhotrainedin France,Barnewallspentvirtually
in
This
is
useful
as itoffers
French
dioceses.
interrogationespecially
ministering
on thevariety
ofactivities
in whichtheseclericswereengaged.
a rareperspective
thestubborn
ofan
thetextis particularly
participation
revealing
regarding
Lastly,
movement.
Irishpriestin theclandestine
jansenist
signedby Barnewall,27 June1703[1713](B. de l'A.,Archivesde la Bastille,MS 10602, fo.162).
25 Certificate
à la révolte:lesjansénistesdu XVIIe siècle(Paris, 1968), pp 322-30; J.H.
26 AntoineAdam, Du mysticisme
Shennan, Louis XIV (London, 1986), p. 31; RichardWilkinson,Louis XIV, Franceand Europe,1661-1715
chap. 5. 27 Manuscit à la Bastille,8ème lettre(Bibliothèque
(London, 1998), p. 46; Doyle,Jansenism,
Historiquede la Ville de Paris, MS C.P. 3509, fF87~9); Chambers,MichaelMoore,p. 110. 28 B. de l'A.,
Archivesde la Bastille,MS 10602, ff92-4. See Chambers,MichaelMoore,pp 110-11.
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ARCHIVIUM HIBERNICUM
TEXT
de l'Arsenal)
MS. 10602 (Bibliothèque
du Sr de Barneville,prêtre,jeudi 14 juillet1712dans la salle du
Interrogatoire
château de la Bastille.Interrogésur son nom, âge, qualité,pays et demeure.
A ditaprèsavoirmis les mainssurla poitrineet promisde direvérité,qu'il se
nommeMathieuBarneuville
et parchangement
de Barneville,
âgé de cinquante
troisans,prêtre
du diocèsede Dublinen Irlande,natifde GraceDieu à septmiles
de Dublinetqu'ildemeurait,
lorsqu'ila étéarrêtéetconduitdansce château[dela
au Collègede Boncourt.29
Bastille],
Pourquoyil a changéson nomde Barneuvïlleen celuide Barneville
A ditque c'estun religieuxcapucinqui a causé ce changement,
lui ayantfait
et
entendre
la
lui
de
Basse
Normandie
famille
de
était
que
(répondant) originaire
Il
à
anciennement
le
nom
de
Barneville.30
a
le
portait
engaga répondant prendre
le nom.
Commentse nommece capuchinetd'où il le connait
A ditque ce capucinestson cousinetqu'il se nommaitde Barneville.31
Ajoutele
des
d'Irlande,
répondant
que ce capuchin,qui étaitcommissaire
capucins
général
estmortil ya environ
vingtans.32
29 The Collège de Boncourton the rue Bordellewas veryclose to the rue de la Harpe where the Irish
College was situated.See L'AbbéLebeuf,Histoirede la villeet de toutele diocèsede Paris(5 vols, Paris,188393), i, pp 130,253. It was not one of the university'scollègesde pleinexercisein whichpublic courses were
taught.Founded in 1353as a residenceforuniversitystudentsfromFlanders,the college was small and
resembleda hostel.In 1638,the thensuperiorofthe IrishCollege community,
and thoseunderhis
Tyrrell,
direction,were said to be residentin this college. Irish ties withthe Collège de Boncourtdate back to at
least 1617when MalachyO'Kellywas professorof philosophythere.See L.W.B.Brocklissand PatrickFerté,
'Prosopographyof Irish clerics in the Universitiesof Paris and Toulouse, 1573-1792'in Arch.Hib., lviii
regarding
(2004), p. 35,no. 223, pp 89-90, no. 743. My thanksto PriscillaO'Connor forthisinformation
Tyrrell'sresidence. 30 The familyname was de Barnevalin the medievalperiod.The firstofthe familyto
arrivein Irelandwas Sir Michaelde Bernevalor Barnevalwho landed at Berehaven,CountyCork,allegedly
beforeStrongbowreached Leinster.He was the directdescendantof Alanus de Barneval,the companionin-armsof William the Conqueror. See Bernard Burke,A genealogicalhistoryof the dormant,abeyant,
and extinctpeeragesof the BritishEmpire(London, 1866 edn.), p. 23.
31 This was Barnabas
forfeited,
Barnewall,OFM, Cap., readerofdivinityin Franceand superiorofthe Capuchinsin Ireland.A memberof
the Crickstown,
CountyMeathbranchof the familyand a relativeof the Flemingsof Slane, Barnabaswas
responsibleforconveyingthe orphanedchildrenof Randall Fleming,Lord Slane and his wifePenelope to
Francewhere Michael Moore acted as theirlegal guardianand providedthem witha catholiceducation.
MichaelMoore (c.1639-1726),priest,philosopherand educationalistwas thefirstCatholicprovostofTrinity
College, Dublin and the only Irish rectorof the Universityof Paris (1701).He was well connectedwitha
wide circle of Catholicfamiliesfromthe Pale and was a close associate of both Matthewand Barnabas
Barnewall. See Canice Mooney,OFM, Irish Franciscansand France(Dublin and London, 1964) p. 109;
Brocklissand Ferté,'Prosopography',p. 107, no. 907; ElizabethanneBoran, 'Michael Moore' in H.C.G.
Matthewand Brian Harrison(eds), Oxforddictionary
38 (Oxford,2004), pp 903-04;
ofnationalbiography,
liam Chambers,'Michael Moore' in Thomas Duddy (ed.), Dictionary
(Bristol,2004), pp
ofIrishphilosophers
241-44; idem, MichaelMoore(Dublin, 2005). 32 Barnabas Barnewallis likelyto have died earlierthan
c.1692.
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INTERROGATION OF MATTHEW BARNEWALL,JANSENIST, I712-I713
S'il y a longtemps
que le repondantesten France
A ditqu'il y est venu à Tage de quinze ans avec un ecclésiastiqueirlandaisnommé
[Valois?]qui lui avaitété donné par sa mère pour le conduireen France.Son père,
qui était un gentilhommeIrlandais, était par lors décédé. Qu'ils sont arrivésà
Paris. Il futmis par cet ecclésiastique dans une communauté d'Irlandais dont le
Sieur Michel33étaitle supérieur.Et laquelle communauté était située près de la
porteSt Michel.
S 'ifa faitsesétudesen France
A dit qu'il les a toutes faites à Paris, suivant ses humanités au Collège des
et sa théologieen Sorbonne,
Grassins34,sa philosophie au Collège d'Harcourt35,
Pirot36
et
les
Docteurs
sous
Desperiers.
Ce qu'ildevintaprèsavoirfaitsa théologie
A dit qu'étant par lors âgé de vingt-cinqans et sa mère lui ayantfaittémoigné
à Dublin, et lui en ayantenvoyéde l'argentpour
qu'elle désiraitqu'il retournerait
son voyage,il retournéauprès d'elle, après avoirreçu la tonsurepar les mains de
Mr l'évêque de Bethléem37,
ayanteu à cet effet(le répondant)la demissoriede Mr
le sien.
Dublin38
est
de
qui
l'évêque
à Dublin auprèsde sa mèreet en quelleannée
À quoyil s'occupalorsqu'il
fut retourné
a-i-ily retourné
ou
A ditqu'il [a] retournéà Dublin versles années mil-six-cent-quatre-vingt-cinq39
fut
arrivé
et
son
que
évêque
pas plutôt
mil-six-cent-quatre-vingt-sixqu'il n'y
l'engagé à se disposer à prendreles ordrespour à quels parveniril s'est mit en
retraitechez un curé qui lui a donné les instructionsnécessaires et après une
année ou environde retraite,il reçu successivementles ordres même, ceux de
prêtre,par les mains de Mr l'évêque de Dublin.
33 ProbablyDavid Mulcahil,a priestof the diocese of Leighlinwho was electedsuperiorof Leinsterclerics
in Collège du Cardinal Lemoine in 1670. Mulcahil's name is sometimes spelled Michel or Michael in
sources. See BibliothèqueNationale,Paris,MS Fr.21735,ff264-319. My thanksto Priscilla
contemporary
O'Connor and Liam Chambersforthis information. 34 The Collège des Grassins,rue des Amandiers,
establishedc.1571.See Abbé Lebeuf,Histoirede la villeetde toutele diocèsede Pans (5 vols, Paris,1883-93),* >
p. 254. SeveralIrishclericslecturedin thiscollegeincludingRobertO'Kearney,humanitiesprofessorin the
1630s and Michael Moore, who was professorof philosophyand deputyprincipalof the college in the
1670s. See Brocklissand Ferté,'Prosopography',p. 49, no. 357,p. 107, no. 907. Several Irish clericsalso
studiedthere,notablyin the mid-and late eighteenthcentury.See Brocklissand Ferté,ibid.,p. 151,1367,p.
155,nos 1419-25,p. 156, nos 1429-31,p. 157,no. 1454,p. 158,nos 1464-67, p. 159, no. 1468; Chambers,
MichaelMoore,pp 33-4. It is likelythatit was here thatBarnewallbecame acquaintedwithMoore. 35 The
to the Collège des Lombards,was establishedin 1280. See
Collège de Harcourt,situatedin close proximity
He lecturedin theologyand was
Lebeuf,Histoire,p. 130. 36 Edme. Pirot,Frenchtheologian(1631-1713).
examinerof theologicalworksand theses. He was quoted by the eminentjansenistscholar,PierreNicole
(1625-95) in 1691to justifythe latter'sjansenistidea of delectatiovictrix.See MM FirmanDidot, Nouvelle
xl (Paris,1866), pp 320-21; O'Leary,'The Irishand Jansenism',
p. 41. 37 Bethléemwas a
générale,
biographie
dependenton themetropolitansee of Sens. 38 PatrickRussell(1629-92), archbishopof Dublin (1683-92).
A nativeof Rush in northCountyDublin, Russell was a near neighbourof Barnewall.See Matthewand
Harrison(eds), Oxforddictionary
48 (Oxford,2004), p. 328.
ofnationalbiography,
85
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ARCHIVIUM HIBERNICUM
S'il restalongtemps
en Irlandeaprèsavoirestéordonnéprêtre
A ditque Mrl'évêquede Dublin,ayantvoulule chargerd'unegrossecurédans
son diocèse,le répondant
le priade vouloirbientrouver
bienqu'auparavant
qu'il
les instructions
en Francepouryprendre
prisaucunemploi,il pûtencorerevenir
lui
de l'emploiqu'ildésirait
qui lui étaientnécessairespoursoutenir
l'importance
donner.Ce que cet évêque ayantagrée,le répondantrevinten Franceavec la
permissionde sa mère,qui lui donna les secoursnécessairespour faireson
etmunid'unsceaude son évêque.
voyage,
Si, aprèsavoirétéordonnéprêtreà Dublin,il y [a] célébrélessaintesmystères
A ditqu'oui.
En quelleannéele repondantrevinten France
A ditqu'il revintà ce qu'il croitversla finde l'annéemil-six-cents-quatre-vingtsixou au commencement
de mil-six-cents-quatre-vingt-sept.40
Etqu'à son arrivéeà Paris,il [est]entréen la maisond'unprêtrede la Missionde
Saintd'oùon l'a déterminé
à allerfaireles fonctions
de vicaireau village
Lazare41,
de Mousson,prèsde Beaumont-sur-Oise,
diocèsede Paris,où il demeuraenviron
deux ou troisans à la sollicitation
de Messrs de Saint-Lazarequi en sont
prédicateurs.
S'il a étévicairedans d'autreparoisses
A ditque non.
du vicariatde Mousson
Pourquoyil ne restaque deux ou troisans dans l'exercise
A dit que c'est parcequeon l'engagéde venirà Paris prendresoins d'une
communauté
établierue Honoréchevalier.42
d'Irlandais,qui étaitnouvellement
Laquellecommunauté
n'ayantparici subsistéeplusd'uneannée,il entraensuite
à l'Oratoire43
etya
parl'ordrede Mrsonévêque,etparle conseilde sondirecteur,
demeurél'espacede dix-huit
ans ou environ.
Dans quellesmaisonsde l'oratoire
il a demeuré
A ditqu'il a demeuréun an ou environdans la maisonde l'institution
à Paris,
en
où
il
a
faitles
années
celle
de
diocèse
de
Soissons
Saint-Paul-aux-Bois44,
cinq
whenin February,
of IrishCatholicsimproved
JamesII
39 In 1685the situation
(albeittemporarily)
in June)became
succeeded
CharlesII andthefollowing
Richard
Talbot(created
earlofTyrconnell
month,
commander
of regiments. 40 Whilethepoperegularly
nominaldeansof ChristChurch
appointed
in Dublinthroughout
wasinitiated
cathedral
theseventeenth
in February
1687,a changeofpolicy
century,
was
whenthepapacymadeappointments
andMatthew
Barnewall
tootherpostsin thecathedral
chapter
madeprecentor.
and by May1688 BarnewalPs
KingJamesII was furiousat thepapal appointments
of
hadbeenfilledbyJohnDempsy.See Chambers,
MichaelMoore,
position
p. 54. 41 TheCongregation
ofpeopleinrural
Priests
oftheMission,
totheevangelisation
founded
de Paul,wasdedicated
byStVincent
areas.See http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15434c.htm
1663,the Fathersof the
42 On 23 January
in Parisacknowledged
sale ofannualrenton fiveoftheirhousessituated
on RueSaintHonoré,
Oratory
to EdwardTyrrell.
A doctoroftheology
in theCollègede Navarre,
theOratory's
church,
Tyrrell
adjoining
intheparishofStNicolas
wassuperior
ofIrish,whowereresident
intheColleged'Arras
ofthecommunity
du Chardonet.
useoftheoldItalianCollègedesLombards
andfrom
In 1677Irishclergy
weregranted
1685,
in Paris
wasfounded
oftheOratory
theLeinster
students
becameresidents.43TheFrench
Congregation
is
at thebeginning
oftheseventeenth
byCardinalPierrede Bérulle. 44 Saint-Paul-aux-Bois
century
situated
south-east
ofAmiens.
86
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INTERROGATION OF MATTHEW BARNEWALL,JANSENIST, I712-I713
le tirapourle
fonctiones
curialles,de laquellemaisonMrl'évêquede Soissons45
de son séminaireoù aprèsavoirdemeurépendantquatreans,le
fairedirecteur
tirale repondant
de cettemaisonetil l'envoyaà Grenoble
généralde l'Oratoire46
où il ne futpas plutôtarrivéque Mrle CardinalLe Camus47lui donnala direction
de son grandséminaireque le répondanta exécutépendantsix années,après
etl'agrément
de songénéraletde Mrle CardinalLe
lesquellesil allapardirection
de revenirau plutôt.À quoyle
Camus qui, avantson départ,lui fitpromettre
demeuré
à
Rome
mois et étantensuiterevenuà
obéit,
n'ayant
qu'un
répondant
Grenobleoù le répondantformaun nouveauséminairede jeunes clericspar
de Mrle CardinalLe Camus:48etaprèsavoirdirigéce
ordreetsous la protection
séminairependantun an, il revinten la maisonde l'Oratoirede Parisavec la
de M. Le Camus.Le répondant
en
ayantforméle desseinde retourner
permission
Irlandeoù il n'a pas néanmoinsretourné
parle conseilde plusieurspersonnesà
à l'èrecontreles ecclésiastiques.49
causedes persecutions
qu'onyexerçait
Il se retiraensuiteparl'ordredu pèregénéralen la maisondes écoliersprèsde
le
Paris,où, aprèsavoirdemeuréenvironquatremois,le SieurMoore,Irlandais,
de
demeurer
avec
en
du
de
des
artiers
lui,
Navarre,50
l'engaga
Collège
principal
en
attendant
pourretourner
que le tempset l'occasiond'euxy seraitfavorable
troisannées
le dessein,etdemeura(lerépondant)
Irlandecommeil en avaitformé
desboursiers.51
où on luia donnéle soinde la conduite
dansle Collègede Navarre
Ce quefitle répondantaprèsavoirdemeurétroisannéeau Collègede Navarre
ensuiteen Irlande.
A ditqu'ilalla à Romedansle desseinde s'enretourner
Ce qu'ilalla faireà Romeets'ily demeuralongtemps
A dit qu'il y demeuraenvironquinze mois et que sa principalevue lorsqu'il
les saintslieux,ce quiin'avaitpu fairela première
à Romefutd'yvisiter
retourna
whoresigned
de Saint-Marthe,
de Sillery,
bishopofSoissons(1690-1714).46 Abel-Louis
45 FabioBrulart
was greatly
disturbed
the congregation
in 1696. Duringhis generalship,
by jansenistcontroversies.
in 1671andwascreated
wasappointed
doctor
oftheSorbonne,
bishopofGrenoble
47 Le Camus,a former
in Paris,he
1686.Although
a longdistanceawayfromhis jansenistfriends
cardinalon 2 September
tohisformer
from
theOratory,
friends
withthemandshowedconsiderably
tocorrespond
continued
loyalty
cardinal.
Theseassociations
theabbayede la Trappeand Port-Royal,
priorto his becoming
particularly
togrowincreasingly
authorities
causedtheFrench
suspiciousofLe Camus. 48 CardinalLe Camuswas
and anotherin Saint-Martin-de-Miseré.
See
one in Grenoble
twoseminaries,
forfounding
responsible
xxx(Paris,1862),p. 173. 49 In 1704,the'Acttoprevent
the
MM.Firman
Didot,Nouvelle
générale,
biographie
thatclergy
with
Act'werepassed.Theserequired
andthe'Registration
ofpopery'
further
register
growth
theentry
offurther
into
tooneperparish,
andprohibited
theirnumber
clerksofthepeace,limited
priests
the kingdom. 50 MichaelMoorewas appointedprincipalof Artsstudents(mainlythosestudying
thecollegewasone ofthe
de Champagne,
at thecollegein 1702.Foundedin 1304byJeanne
philosophy)
de
institutions
in France.It wasuniqueamongtheParisiancollèges
oldestandmostprestigious
teaching
in theology
as wellas in the
instruction
publiccourses)in thatit provided
(whichoffered
pleinexercise
'MichaelMoore'in Duddy
See Boran,'MichaelMoore',p. 903; Chambers,
and philosophy.
humanities
MichaelMoore,
pp 99-105.SeveralotherIrish
p. 242; Chambers,
ofIrishphilosophers,
(ed.),Dictionary
in the
ofphilosophy
in thiscollege,including
clericslived,studiedandlectured
JamesWogan,professor
from
convictus
atthecollege,JohnPlunkett,
O'Kenny,
royalin theology
professor
Anthony
1720s,Nicholasand Ferté,
in thecollegein 1726.See Brockliss
Blake,whowas resident
1749to 1786,and Galterius
p. 113,no. 964, p. 134,no. 1165,p. 127,no. 1102,p. 129,no. 1121. 51Moorerecruited
'Prosopography',
hisreform
atthecollegefrom1703to1706toassisthimin implementing
Barnewall
as an under-principal
Michael
See Chambers,
inthatinstitution.
Moore,
p. 111.
programme
87
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ARCHIVIUM
HIBERNICUM
foisqu'ily avaitesté.Ajoutele répondant
qu'ayantsu de plusieursIrlandaisqu'il
trouvaà Romequ'il n'yavaitplusen Irlandequ'un seul évêquequi étaitceluide
il
Cashel,52
lequelà cause de son grandâge ne pouvoitplusfaireses fonctiones,
crutd'avoitreprésenté
au pape le besoinoù étaitl'églised'Irlandede pasteurs.53
Il revint
ensuiteà Paris.
en Irlandeoù il nous a ditque son
Pourquoyil revintà Parisplutôtque de retourner
desseinavoitestéde retourner
son
lorsqu'ilpartitpour
voyageà Rome
A ditqu'onne lui conseillapas de retourner
à causede la guerre.54
A quoyil s'occupaà son retourde Rome
A ditqu'unepersonnede piétéle priéede vouloirbienprendresoind'unhôpital
fortnegligédansle faubourg
de Senlis,ce qu'il acceptaparordrede Mrl'évêque
et y demeuraquinze mois après lesquels le Sr Abbé Gaillard55
engageale
de visiterles pauvresdu diocèsede Senlis,qu'ilavaitapprisêtredans
répondant
un extrême
fiten ayantreçul'ordredu Sr Abbéde
besoin,ce que le répondant
Pruines,grandvicairede l'évêquede Senlis,qui étaitparlorsabsent.
Combiende tempsil a employéà la visitedespauvresdu diocesede Senlisets'ypersonne
ne l'accompagnait
dans cettevisite
A ditqu'ila employéenviron
du Sr
un moisà cettevisiteetqu'ilétaitaccompagné
de St Jean,prêtreet ami du Sr AbbéGaillard.Que pendantce temps,ils y ont
distribué
quantitéd'aumônesetdes livresde piétéque leditSrAbbéGaillardleur
donnaità ceteffet.
aux pauvresdu diocèsede
Quels livresle répondantet le Sr de SaintJeanontdistribué
Senlis
A dit que les seuls qu'ils y ont distribuésontdes NouveauxTestaments,
des
de la traduction
du PèreGirard,
homélies,de heures,et de jours,des imitations
des fêtesetdimanches,
des avisauxpèresetmèrespour
jésuite,la sanctification
la bonneeducationdes enfants
etla viede JesusChrist.
Si lui répondantetleditSr de SaintJeann'ontpointétésdans d'autrediocèsesque dans
celuide Senlis
A ditqu'ilsontétéaussi reprendre
des livresdansles
des aumôneset distribués
diocèsesde Sens,d'Auxerre,
de Beauvaiset de Soissons.Etque ça toujoursa été
leditAbbéGaillardqui les a employéetleura remisles fondspourcela.
52 EdwardComerfordwas providedto the archdiocesein November1695, consecratedarchbishopon 28
June1697 and died 21 February1710.See T.W. Moody,F.X. Martinand F.J.Byrne(eds), A newhistory
of
lists.A companionto Irishhistory,
Ireland,IX. Maps, genealogies,
part II (Oxford,1984), p. 355. 53 Given
Comerford'sadvancedage and Barnewall'sclose associationwithhis predecessorin Cashel, JohnBrenan
(1677-93), who dispatcheddetailedreportsregardingthe state of the catholicchurchand laityto Rome,
Barnewallmaywell have informally
assumed the role of Comerford'smessengerto the pope. 54 The war
ofthe Spanish succession (1702-13). 55 Honoré Reynaudde Gaillard(1641-1727),oratorand preacher,was
confessorto Maryof Modena, wife of JamesII. Althoughnot a member of the Port-Royalcommunity,
Gaillarddisplayedan adherenceto the spiritof povertyadvocatedby de Saint-Cyran.See Lesaulnierand
McKenna (eds), Dictionnaire,
p. 435.
88
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INTERROGATION OF MATTHEW BARNEWALL,JANSENIST, I712-I713
d'aumôneset deslivresde l'agrément
des
S'ils ontfait cesdémarcheset cesdistributions
de
ces
diocèses
évèques
se retrouveront
dansses papiers.
A ditqu'ouietque les certificats
avec leditSr de SaintJeandeslivressuspectssurla
S'il n'a pas distribué
conjointement
et
jansénistes
religion principalement
aucunsde ces livresqui eurentétécontrela vue
A ditqu'ilsn'ontjamaisdistribué
avaient
commeils ontfait,les pauvres.
etl'inclination
d'instruire,
qu'ils
S'ils n'en ontpas distribuéd'un traductionou avec des notteset des remarquesqui
n'étaient
pointapprovées
a étéde n'endistribuer
aucunequi ne fussent
A ditque leurattention
particulière
trèsapprouvées.
avecquelquesjansénistes
S'il n'a pointétéen relationeten commerce
A ditqu'iln'a jamaisétéen relation
n'yavaiteu commerceavecaucunepersonne
ce
se
souvient
néamoins
de parti,
qu'il a environseize à six-septans, étantà
il
du
Père
autantqu'ilpeut
a
une
lettre
Grenoble, reçu
Quesnel,fortindifférente
il
n'a
fait
aucun
à
s'ensouvenir laquelle
jamais
réponse.
d'eux
S'il n'a pas écritaux gensde la caballeetn'a pas reçudeslettres
A ditqu'il a toujoursdétestéet détesteencoretoutessortesde caballes,et que
n'ayantjamaiseu de relationn'yde commerceavecces sortesde gens,il n'a eu
aucuneslettres.
gardéde leurécriren'yd'enrecevoir
Si le répondantn'a pas eu d'aprèsrelationsavec le PèreQuesneletsesadhérantssoitde
vue,voixou par l'écritets'il ne leura pas fait connaîtreet à d'autresqu'ilfutd'avisdes
aux décisionsde l'églisesurla matièrede la grâce
contraires
sentiments
A ditque non,qu'iln'a reçuqu'uneseulelettredu PèreQuesnelpendantque lui
ainsiqu'ilnousl'a ci-devant
déclaréeque la véritéil
étaità Grenoble,
(répondant)
mais qu'on n'en lui a pas présenté.Ajoutequ'il est
n'a pas signéle formulaire
toutesles décisionsde l'église.
prèsde signerde soutenir
etreprouvées
de les interrogatoires
Lecturefaiteau répondant
89
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