TIILDEBERT (HYDALBERT, GILDEBERT, ALDEBERT) Of Le Mans and afterwards of Tours, a prominent church-leader, and one of the best Latin writers of his century, was born about 1055 at Lavardin near VendOme, became a pupil of the famous Berengarius of Tours, and made so great progress in all the learning of the time that be was made head master of the school, archdeacon, and finally, in 1097, bishop of Le Mans. In the beginning of his episcopate much trouble was caused him by the jealousy of his dean, Godfrey, who had accused him of immorality; but finally he succeeded in fully vindicating his innocence. He next had to encounter the persecutions of William Rufus, who had captured the city; and those proved so harassing that he ultimately felt it necessary to withdraw to Rome, with the intention of resigning his charge ; but Pope Paschalis II. declined to give him his release. On his return to Le Mans, Hildebert found the diocese in a state of great commotion, which had been caused by the preaching of Henry the Deacon ; but he speedily succeeded in restoring order after he had banished the agitator. About 1125 he was translated, much against his will, to the see of Tours ; and soon afterwards he held the important synod of Nantes, convened for the purpose of correcting tho abuses and terminating the disorder which had so long prevailed in Brittany. A dispute with Louis the Fat about the rights of ecclesiastical patronage brought him into much disfavour with that monarch ; but their mutual relations had much improved before the death of Hildebert, which took place on December 18, 1134. From some writers he has received the name of Saint, but his name occurs in no martyrology.

The works of Hildebert, which include letters, sermons, and poems, as well as formal contributions to philosovhy and dogmatic theology, have been edited by Beaugondre (Paris, 1708), and in part both by Baluze and Muratori. (See also Galland's Bibliotheca Patram, vol. xiv.) The poems, which are on very various subjects, are disfigured by many faults of metre and defects of style, but nevertheless enjoyed great popularity in their time, and were frequently used as classics in the schools of France and Italy, as also were the letters, of which the literary merit is greater (129 in 3 books). The sermons are often eloquent and instructive, but generally overloaded with imagery and disfigured by an excessive use of the allegorical method of interpretation. The tendency to Mariolatry is strongly developed in them ; and the Dc Cana Domini has an historical interest, as exhibiting the first instance of the use of the word transubstantiation. The Traetcdus de querintonia s. eonfiietu earns et animwisan imitation of Boetius ; and the Moralis Philosophia has its sources in earlier Latin authors, and especially in Cicero and Seneca. The Tractalus theologicus appears to have determined the form of later systems, and thus to be of importance in the history of dogmatic theology. His method is first to lay down the thesis, which is then supported by scripture proofs and by passages from the fathers, especially from Augustine; he finally proceeds by detailed argument to dispose of difficulties and objections with considerable acuteness, and without that excessive subtlety which characterized later scholastic writers.