Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé (9 January 1626, Paris – 27 October 1700, Soligny-la-Trappe) was a French abbot of La Trappe Abbey, a controversialist author,[1] and a founding father of the Trappists.

[5] His uncle, who wanted him as coadjutor bishop, made him archdeacon, and caused him to be elected deputy of the second order to the General Assembly of the French Clergy in 1655.

Later in 1660 he assisted at the death of Duke of Orléans, which made so great an impression on him that he said: "Either the Gospel deceives us, or this is the house of a reprobate".

[3] Rancé's reform focused first and foremost centered on penitence; his severity "went beyond the Cistercian tradition," and was modelled in many ways on early Eastern monasticism, with John Climacus playing a leading role.

Rancé prescribed hard manual labour, silence, a meagre diet, isolation from the world, and renunciation of most studies.

An important controversy ensued when he engaged in a polemic with Jean Mabillon about how much monks were to study, which according to de Rancé was very little.

His influence remained minor until the nineteenth century,[10] when the French monasteries devoted to his ideals grew and created new foundations abroad.