Ctruth
"Seeking the Truth about Chronology Today"
Denis Pétau
Denis Pétau is more well known by his other name, Dionysius Petavius. He was born in France in 1583 and died in Paris in 1652. He became a Jesuit around age 22. He has also been considered the main person who maintained and improved Joseph Scaliger’s chronology.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
1583 – He is born on the 21st of August in Orlèans, France.
1600 – At age 16, he receives his master of arts degree.
1603-1605 – At age 19, he begins teaching philosophy in Bourges.
1604 – He studies theology at Sorbonne and studies ‘patristic studies’ under Isaac Casaubon.
1605 – He becomes a Jesuit.
1609 – He teaches rhetoric at Reims.
1610 – He gets ordained.
1611-1621 – He teaches rhetoric at Jesuit colleges in Reims and La Flèche.
1612 – He edits the works of ‘bishop synesius’.
1613 – He edits the 16 orations of ‘Themistius’.
1614 – He edits the 3 orations of ‘julian the apostate’.
1616 – He edits the ‘Braviarium historicum of nicephorus i’.
1618 – He teaches rhetoric at the Collège de Clermont.
1621/22-1644 – He teaches positive theology in Paris at Collège de Clermont.
1622 – He edits the complete works of ‘St. epiphanius of constantia’.
1627 – His ‘Doctrina tempurum’ (2.v) is published. This is a revision of Scaliger’s world chronology.
1627: He introduced for the first time the habit of counting backwards from the birth of Christ as a means of assigning dates to events. By the late 1700’s this had become a common practice.[3, p.10]
1628 – His ‘Tabulae chronologicae’ is first published. This sets the frame for future Benedictine works. Additional editions are published in 1629, 1633, and 1657.
1629 – He leaves France on invitation by Philip IV to teach ecclesiastical history at Madrid.
1633 – His ‘Rationarium tempurum’ is published. This is an abridged version of his 1627 ‘Doctrina tempurum’ and a summary of ‘Tabulae chronologicae’.
1639 – He leaves France again to become a cardinal in Rome “where Pope Urban VIII wanted him”.
1644 – He publishes ‘De la Pénitence publique et de la préparation à la communion’.
1643 – The first three volumes of his ‘Dogmata theologia’ are written (dated 1644).
1644-1652 – He serves as a library at the same college.
1650 – The fourth and fifth volumes of his ‘Dogmata theologia’ are published.
1652 – His correspondence with famous persons is published.
1652 – He dies in Paris on the 11th of December.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
References:
[2] – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Pétau
[3] – E. J. Bickerman. “Chronology of the Ancient World” (1968). Accessed 30 Jan 2021.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Gain access to exclusive Ctruth activities, benefits, and content @
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Buy Ctruth t-shirts, hoodies, and more at:
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Support Ctruth directly by donating @
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Ctruth 
It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d definitely donate to this outstanding blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to brand new updates and will share this site with my Facebook group. Chat soon!
LikeLike