[S. Paul Arnauld, Agnes; PASCAL, Jacqueline de Sainte-Euphémie; Sainte-Gertrude, Marguerite de]
As the inscription states, these consitutions were written mainly by Mother Agnes Arnauld (1593-1691) of the monastery of Port Royal in Paris. The Reglement pour Les Enfans, beginning on p. 423, was written by one of the nuns, Jacqueline de Sainte-Euphémie Pascal (1625-61), a sister of the famous Blaise Pascal, French polymath. A vis a la Maistress des Novices was composed by Mother Marguerite de Sainte-Gertrude. This abbey of Cistercian nuns was established in 1204 but became famous when its discipline was reformed by Mother Marie Angelique Arnauld (1591-1661) in 1609. The Arnauld family became its patrons and the abbey's subsequent history was directed by a number of its members, including Agnes. This work was actually printed by Daniel Elzevier of Amsterdam on behalf of the Mons bookseller Gaspard Migeot (1630-1703). Barber I, 735. Willems, 1353.