Auguste Le Prévost
Encyclopedia
Auguste Le Prévost was a French geologist
, philologist, archaeologist and historian
.
While studying classics and law, Le Prevost developed a passion for history and archeology. To further it, he learned, besides Latin
and Greek
, English
, Italian
, German
, Swedish
, Hebrew and Sanskrit
. His encyclopedic knowledge, the critical and rigorous method he applied to his research, were clearly an innovation in his time. As an historian, Le Prevost pioneered, along with his friend Arcisse de Caumont
, research on the Romanesque and Gothic architecture in Normandy and France. In 1824, he cofounded with de Caumont, Charles de Gerville
and Father Gervais de La Rue, the Société des Antiquaires de Normandie, a veritable "school in motion of specialists of architecture". He was elected a member of the Académie des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Rouen
in 1813, and chaired, on various occasions, the learned societies of Seine-Inférieure and Eure
. He was elected a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
in 1838.
Le Prévost, who was fascinated by the History of Normandy
, published the five volumes of the Norman chronicler Orderic Vitalis
' work. He showed his versatility by authoring, among many scientific papers, a Discours sur la poésie romantique in 1825. In 1830, he published two sets of detailed notes on the important discovery of "the treasure of Berthouville
", a fabulous collection of Gallo-Roman silverware listed today among the most valuable pieces medal cabinet of the Bibliothèque nationale de France
. He is responsible for the restoration of the Parlement de Normandie
in Rouen and conservation of Roman theater of Lillebonne
.
He began a political career with his election as general counselor in Bernay in 1831, then as deputy in 1834. He was consistently re-elected until the Orleans family fell from power after the French Revolution of 1848
. he did not oppose the republic, but said humorously, "The Republic and I greet one another, but we do not talk." He then resumed scholarly activities he had never really abandoned, and earned the nickname of "Norman Pausanias". When he died in 1859, he had gone almost blind.
He is featured in Jean de La Varende's most famous novel, Nez-de-Cuir (1936), when the hero, Roger Tainchebraye, meets "a black man feverishly measuring, looking, counting, an active and tiny insect: it was Auguste Le Prevost, the archaeologist of Bernay, semi-founder of the science that would get such a upswing" walks through the ruins of the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. Nez-de-Cuir also mentions a mysterious crypt in the abbey with "miscellaneous valuables, rings and bits of sticks, which come from a discovery made around here"...
The innumerable unpublished Notes historiques et archéologiques by Le Prevost were later published in several volumes between 1866 and 1869 by Louis Passy and Léopold Delisle. They have been widely used by generations of researchers, and are still authoritative.
Le Prévost was appointed sub-prefect of Bernay in August 1814 before he was discharged in November 1815. A street of his native town of Bernay was named after him.
, pendant l'année 1824, Nicétas Périaux, Rouen, 1826 Édition de : Orderic Vital, Historiae ecclesiasticae (...), 5 vol., J. Renouard, Paris, 1838–1855 ; Johnson Reprint, New York, 1965 Essai sur les romances historiques du Moyen Âge, Pierre Périaux, Rouen, 1814 Le Roman de Rou et des ducs de Normandie, Édouard Frère
, Rouen, 1827 Mémoire sur la collection de vases antiques trouvée, en mars 1830, à Berthouville, T. Chalopin, Caen, 1830 Mémoires et notes de M. Auguste Le Prévost pour servir à l’histoire du département de l’Eure, publiées par Léopold Delisle et Antoine Passy, 3 vol., A. Hérissey, Évreux, 1862–1869 Note sur les antiquités romaines de Serquigny, Ancelle fils, Évreux, 1830 Notes pour servir à la topographie et à l’histoire des communes du département de l’Eure au Moyen âge, A. Hérissey, Évreux, 1849 Notice historique et archéologique sur le département de l’Eure, Ancelle, Évreux, 1832 Notice sur la châsse de Saint-Taurin d’Évreux, J. J. Ancelle, Évreux, 1838 Observations philologiques et grammaticales sur le Roman de Rou : et sur quelques règles de la langue des trouvères au douzième siècle, Édouard Frère, Rouen, 1829 Rapport sur les pièces adressées à l’Académie Royale des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts de Rouen, par M. le Professeur Carl Rafn, Nicétas Périaux, Rouen, 1830 Réflexions sur Alain Blanchard
, Brière, Rouen, 1829 Réflexions sur les antiquités des départements de l'Eure et de la Seine-Inférieure, et notamment sur les restes d'Agnès Sorel, Académie de Rouen, Rouen, 1815 Réponse à l’écrit de M. Letronne intitulé : « Examen critique du prétendu cœur de saint Louis », 1844 Supplément aux notes historiques sur le "Roman de Rou
", Rouen, Édouard Frère
, 1829 Sur la poésie romantique, Pierre Périaux, Rouen, 1825
Numerous articles in the journals of various learned societies.
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
, philologist, archaeologist and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
.
While studying classics and law, Le Prevost developed a passion for history and archeology. To further it, he learned, besides Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, Hebrew and Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
. His encyclopedic knowledge, the critical and rigorous method he applied to his research, were clearly an innovation in his time. As an historian, Le Prevost pioneered, along with his friend Arcisse de Caumont
Arcisse de Caumont
Arcisse de Caumont was a French historian and archaeologist.-Biography:Arcisse Caumont was born at Bayeux to François de Caumont and Marie-Louise de Mathan Hue. One of his mentors was Charles de Gerville, known, amongst other things, for coining the term "roman". In 1810, he was sent to school at...
, research on the Romanesque and Gothic architecture in Normandy and France. In 1824, he cofounded with de Caumont, Charles de Gerville
Charles-Alexis-Adrien Duhérissier de Gerville
Charles-Alexis-Adrien Duhérissier de Gerville was a scholarly French antiquarian, historian and naturalist, from an aristocratic family of Normandy...
and Father Gervais de La Rue, the Société des Antiquaires de Normandie, a veritable "school in motion of specialists of architecture". He was elected a member of the Académie des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Rouen
Académie des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Rouen
The Académie des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts de Rouen is a learned society created by letters patent of Louis XV on 17 June 1744.The Academy of Rouen got its early start with a few friends with a common appreciation for botany who were in the habit of gathering in a small garden of the...
in 1813, and chaired, on various occasions, the learned societies of Seine-Inférieure and Eure
Eure
Eure is a department in the north of France named after the river Eure.- History :Eure is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
. He was elected a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres is a French learned society devoted to the humanities, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France.-History:...
in 1838.
Le Prévost, who was fascinated by the History of Normandy
History of Normandy
Normandy was a province in the North-West of France under the Ancien Régime. Initially populated by Celtic tribes in the West and Belgian tribes in the North East, it was conquered in 98 AD by the Romans and integrated into the province of Gallia Lugdunensis by Augustus. In the 4th century, Gratian...
, published the five volumes of the Norman chronicler Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis was an English chronicler of Norman ancestry who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th and 12th century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. The modern biographer of Henry I of England, C...
' work. He showed his versatility by authoring, among many scientific papers, a Discours sur la poésie romantique in 1825. In 1830, he published two sets of detailed notes on the important discovery of "the treasure of Berthouville
Berthouville
Berthouville is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.-Population:-Sights:The Manoir de Berthouville is a hunting lodge that was built 1652. It is privately owned....
", a fabulous collection of Gallo-Roman silverware listed today among the most valuable pieces medal cabinet of the Bibliothèque nationale de France
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
. He is responsible for the restoration of the Parlement de Normandie
Parlement de Normandie
The Parliament of Normandy , also known as the Parliament of Rouen after the place where it sat , was a provincial parlement of ancien regime France...
in Rouen and conservation of Roman theater of Lillebonne
Lillebonne
Lillebonne is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It lies miles north of the Seine and east of Le Havre by railway.-History:...
.
He began a political career with his election as general counselor in Bernay in 1831, then as deputy in 1834. He was consistently re-elected until the Orleans family fell from power after the French Revolution of 1848
French Revolution of 1848
The 1848 Revolution in France was one of a wave of revolutions in 1848 in Europe. In France, the February revolution ended the Orleans monarchy and led to the creation of the French Second Republic. The February Revolution was really the belated second phase of the Revolution of 1830...
. he did not oppose the republic, but said humorously, "The Republic and I greet one another, but we do not talk." He then resumed scholarly activities he had never really abandoned, and earned the nickname of "Norman Pausanias". When he died in 1859, he had gone almost blind.
He is featured in Jean de La Varende's most famous novel, Nez-de-Cuir (1936), when the hero, Roger Tainchebraye, meets "a black man feverishly measuring, looking, counting, an active and tiny insect: it was Auguste Le Prevost, the archaeologist of Bernay, semi-founder of the science that would get such a upswing" walks through the ruins of the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. Nez-de-Cuir also mentions a mysterious crypt in the abbey with "miscellaneous valuables, rings and bits of sticks, which come from a discovery made around here"...
The innumerable unpublished Notes historiques et archéologiques by Le Prevost were later published in several volumes between 1866 and 1869 by Louis Passy and Léopold Delisle. They have been widely used by generations of researchers, and are still authoritative.
Le Prévost was appointed sub-prefect of Bernay in August 1814 before he was discharged in November 1815. A street of his native town of Bernay was named after him.
Summary Bibliography
Anciennes divisions territoriales de la Normandie, Crapelet, Paris, 1837 Architecture gallo-romaine et architecture du moyen age, Imprimerie Impériale, Paris, 1857 Dictionnaire des anciens noms de lieux du département de l’Eure, Ancelle, Évreux, 1839 Dictionnaire du patois normand en usage (...) dans l’Eure (avec Paul Eugène Robin et le marquis de Blosseville), Hérissey, Évreux, 1879–1882 ; Slatkine Reprints, Genève, 1978 Du classique et du romantique : recueil de disçours pour et contre, lus à l'Académie royale des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de RouenAcadémie des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Rouen
The Académie des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts de Rouen is a learned society created by letters patent of Louis XV on 17 June 1744.The Academy of Rouen got its early start with a few friends with a common appreciation for botany who were in the habit of gathering in a small garden of the...
, pendant l'année 1824, Nicétas Périaux, Rouen, 1826 Édition de : Orderic Vital, Historiae ecclesiasticae (...), 5 vol., J. Renouard, Paris, 1838–1855 ; Johnson Reprint, New York, 1965 Essai sur les romances historiques du Moyen Âge, Pierre Périaux, Rouen, 1814 Le Roman de Rou et des ducs de Normandie, Édouard Frère
Édouard Frère
Édouard Frère was a French bookseller, archivist, biographer, and historian specialized in the Normandy area.-Life:...
, Rouen, 1827 Mémoire sur la collection de vases antiques trouvée, en mars 1830, à Berthouville, T. Chalopin, Caen, 1830 Mémoires et notes de M. Auguste Le Prévost pour servir à l’histoire du département de l’Eure, publiées par Léopold Delisle et Antoine Passy, 3 vol., A. Hérissey, Évreux, 1862–1869 Note sur les antiquités romaines de Serquigny, Ancelle fils, Évreux, 1830 Notes pour servir à la topographie et à l’histoire des communes du département de l’Eure au Moyen âge, A. Hérissey, Évreux, 1849 Notice historique et archéologique sur le département de l’Eure, Ancelle, Évreux, 1832 Notice sur la châsse de Saint-Taurin d’Évreux, J. J. Ancelle, Évreux, 1838 Observations philologiques et grammaticales sur le Roman de Rou : et sur quelques règles de la langue des trouvères au douzième siècle, Édouard Frère, Rouen, 1829 Rapport sur les pièces adressées à l’Académie Royale des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts de Rouen, par M. le Professeur Carl Rafn, Nicétas Périaux, Rouen, 1830 Réflexions sur Alain Blanchard
Alain Blanchard
Alain Blanchard was a commander of the crossbowmen of Rouen during the Hundred Years' War.He was active in the defence of the city during its siege by king Henry V of England. When the city capitulated on January 20, 1419 the English demanded that three notable inhabitants be surrendered to be...
, Brière, Rouen, 1829 Réflexions sur les antiquités des départements de l'Eure et de la Seine-Inférieure, et notamment sur les restes d'Agnès Sorel, Académie de Rouen, Rouen, 1815 Réponse à l’écrit de M. Letronne intitulé : « Examen critique du prétendu cœur de saint Louis », 1844 Supplément aux notes historiques sur le "Roman de Rou
Roman de Rou
Roman de Rou is a verse chronicle by Wace in Norman covering the history of the Dukes of Normandy from the time of Rollo of Normandy to the battle of Tinchebray in 1106...
", Rouen, Édouard Frère
Édouard Frère
Édouard Frère was a French bookseller, archivist, biographer, and historian specialized in the Normandy area.-Life:...
, 1829 Sur la poésie romantique, Pierre Périaux, Rouen, 1825
- The Conquest of England, from Wace's poem of the Roman de Rou, [s.n.], Londres, 1860
Numerous articles in the journals of various learned societies.