Augustus Asplet Le Gros
Encyclopedia
Saint Helier
Saint Helier is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St. Helier has a population of about 28,000, roughly 31.2% of the total population of Jersey, and is the capital of the Island . The urban area of the parish of St...
–3 December 1877) was a Norman language
Norman language
Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. Norman can be classified as one of the northern Oïl languages along with Picard and Walloon...
poet from Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
and a Jurat
Jurat
Jurat is the name given to the clause at the foot of an affidavit showing when, where, and before whom the actual oath was sworn or affirmation was made....
of the Royal Court of Jersey.
Biography
A.A. Le Gros was raised in the parish of Saint Peter, JerseySaint Peter, Jersey
Saint Peter is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is in the west central part of the island. It is the only parish with two separate coastlines, stretching from St. Ouen's Bay in the west to St. Aubin's Bay in the south, and thereby cutting St. Brelade off from other...
. One of the first pupils at Victoria College
Victoria College, Jersey
Victoria College is a fee paying States of Jersey-provided school in membership of the HMC, in St Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands. The castellated neo-gothic architecture is a landmark overlooking the town.-History:In the 1590s, Laurens Baudains - a wealthy farmer from St...
founded in 1851, he entered a solicitor's office, but abandoned his study of the law to work on the farm of his grandfather in Saint Peter. In 1865, he was elected secretary of the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society
Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society
The Royal Jersey Agricultural & Horticultural Society is an agricultural association in Jersey. It has been instrumental in the development of the Jersey cow and its success throughout the world, and today is responsible for management of the breed in its Island home.The Royal Jersey Showground,...
. In 1873, the parishioners of Saint Peter elected him constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
, the head of the municipality.
In the same year he was one of the founders of the Société Jersiaise
Société Jersiaise
La Société Jersiaise is a scholarly society in Jersey which was founded in 1873, it promotes and encourages:* The study of the history, the archaeology, the natural history, the language and many other subjects of interest in the Island of Jersey...
, of which he became the first secretary. He began work on a dictionary, which remained unfinished, of Jèrriais
Jèrriais
Jèrriais is the form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, in the Channel Islands, off the coast of France. It has been in decline over the past century as English has increasingly become the language of education, commerce and administration...
, which served as the basis for the Glossaire du Patois Jersiais edited by the Société Jersiaise in 1924.
His poems, in a rather lyrical style, signed A.A.L.G., in Jèrriais
Jèrriais
Jèrriais is the form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, in the Channel Islands, off the coast of France. It has been in decline over the past century as English has increasingly become the language of education, commerce and administration...
, in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and in 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...
, appeared in the papers and almanacs of Jersey and Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
.
Mont Orgueil
Mont Orgueil is a castle in Jersey. It is located overlooking the harbour of Gorey. It is also called Gorey Castle by English-speakers, and lé Vièr Châté by Jèrriais-speakers....
in Jersey : Mont Orgueil Castle: Its History and Ruins.
In 1875, the electors of the island made him a Jurat. He died at the age of 37 in 1877.
Some of his texts have been set to music in the 20th and 21st centuries.
External links
- Textes d’A.A. Le Gros (in Jèrriais)