Gaston Paris
Encyclopedia
Bruno Paulin Gaston Paris (August 9, 1839 – March 5, 1903), known as Gaston Paris, was a French writer and scholar.
He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature
in 1901, 1902 and 1903.
(Marne
). In his childhood, he learned to appreciate Old French romances as poems and stories, and this early impulse for the study of Romance literature
was placed on a solid basis by courses of study at Bonn
(1856) and at the École des chartes
.
At first he taught French grammar in a private school, later succeeding his father
as professor of medieval French literature
at the Collège de France
in 1872; in 1876 he was admitted to the Academy of Inscriptions
and in 1896 to the Académie française
; in 1895 he was appointed director of the Collège de France. He won a European reputation as a Romance scholar. He had learnt German methods of exact research, but besides being an accurate philologist he was a literary critic of great acumen and breadth of view, and brought a singularly clear mind to bear on his favourite study of medieval French literature. His Vie de Saint-Alexis (1872) broke new ground and provided a model for future editors of medieval texts. It included the original text and the variations of it dating from the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries. He contributed largely to the Histoire littéraire de la France
, and with Paul Meyer
published Romania, a journal devoted to the study of Romance literature.
In 1877 Gaston Paris was invited to Sweden
for the 400th anniversary of the Upsala University, where he was made an honorary doctor. Before returning home he also visited Kristiania (Oslo
) to take part in a celebration of the Norwegian
philosopher Marcus Jacob Monrad. At the University of Kristiania
Gaston Paris also held a lecture about the two folktale collectors, Asbjørnsen and Moe, which he believed to be, besides the Grimm Brothers
, the best re-tellers of the genre.
He died in Cannes
in 1903.
His works of a more popular nature include:
His excellent summary of medieval French literature forms a volume of the Temple Primers.
Paris endeared himself to a wide circle of scholars outside his own country by his unfailing urbanity and generosity. In France he trained a band of disciples at the École des Chartes and the College de France who continued the traditions of exact research that he established. Among them were Leopold Pannier; Marius Sepet, the author of Le Drame chrétien au Moyen Âge (1878) and Origines catholiques du théâtre moderne (1901); Charles Joret; Alfred Morel-Fatio
; Gaston Raynaud, who was responsible for various volumes of the excellent editions published by the Société des anciens textes français
; Arsène Darmesteter
; and others.
He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
in 1901, 1902 and 1903.
Biography
Paris was born at AvenayAvenay-Val-d'Or
Avenay-Val-d'Or is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Marne department...
(Marne
Marne
Marne is a department in north-eastern France named after the river Marne which flows through the department. The prefecture of Marne is Châlons-en-Champagne...
). In his childhood, he learned to appreciate Old French romances as poems and stories, and this early impulse for the study of Romance literature
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
was placed on a solid basis by courses of study at Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
(1856) and at the École des chartes
École Nationale des Chartes
The École Nationale des Chartes is a grand établissement, an elite French university-level educational institution based in Paris. It provides education and training for archivists and librarians and forms part of the University of Paris.-History:...
.
At first he taught French grammar in a private school, later succeeding his father
Alexis Paulin Paris
Alexis Paulin Paris , was a French scholar and author.He was born at Avenay . He studied classics in Reims and law in Paris. He published in 1824 an Apologie pour l'école romantique and took an active part in Parisian journalism...
as professor of medieval French literature
Medieval French literature
Medieval French literature is, for the purpose of this article, literature written in Oïl languages during the period from the eleventh century to the end of the fifteenth century....
at the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
in 1872; in 1876 he was admitted to the Academy of Inscriptions
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:...
and in 1896 to the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
; in 1895 he was appointed director of the Collège de France. He won a European reputation as a Romance scholar. He had learnt German methods of exact research, but besides being an accurate philologist he was a literary critic of great acumen and breadth of view, and brought a singularly clear mind to bear on his favourite study of medieval French literature. His Vie de Saint-Alexis (1872) broke new ground and provided a model for future editors of medieval texts. It included the original text and the variations of it dating from the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries. He contributed largely to the Histoire littéraire de la France
Histoire littéraire de la France
Histoire littéraire de la France is an enormous history of French literature initiated in 1733 by Dom Rivest and the Benedictines of St. Maur but it was abandoned in 1763 after the publication of volume XII...
, and with Paul Meyer
Paul Meyer
Marie-Paul-Hyacinthe Meyer , was a French philologist.-Biography:Meyer was born in Paris and educated at the Lycée Louis le Grand and the École des Chartes, specializing in the Romance languages....
published Romania, a journal devoted to the study of Romance literature.
In 1877 Gaston Paris was invited to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
for the 400th anniversary of the Upsala University, where he was made an honorary doctor. Before returning home he also visited Kristiania (Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
) to take part in a celebration of the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
philosopher Marcus Jacob Monrad. At the University of Kristiania
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
Gaston Paris also held a lecture about the two folktale collectors, Asbjørnsen and Moe, which he believed to be, besides the Grimm Brothers
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
, the best re-tellers of the genre.
He died in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
in 1903.
Other works
Among Paris' other numerous works are:- Les Plus anciens monuments de la langue française (1875)
- Manuel d'ancien Français (1888)
- Mystère de la passion d'Arnoul Greban (1878), in collaboration with Gaston Raynaud
- Deux rédactions du roman des sept sages de Rome (1876)
- a translation of the Grammaire des langues romanes (1874–1878) of Friedrich DiezFriedrich Christian DiezFriedrich Christian Diez , German philologist, was born at Gießen, in Hessen-Darmstadt.He was educated first at the gymnasium and then at the university of his native town and Göttingen...
, in collaboration with MM. Brachet and Morel-FatioAlfred Morel-FatioAlfred Paul Victor Morel-Fatio was the leading French Hispanist of his time, educated at École des chartes, Paris....
.
His works of a more popular nature include:
- La Poésie du Moyen Âge (1885 and 1895)
- Penseurs et poètes (1897)
- Poèmes et légendes du moyen âge (1900)
- François Villon (1901), an admirable monograph contributed to the "Grands Écrivains Français" series
- Legendes du Moyen Âge (1903).
His excellent summary of medieval French literature forms a volume of the Temple Primers.
Paris endeared himself to a wide circle of scholars outside his own country by his unfailing urbanity and generosity. In France he trained a band of disciples at the École des Chartes and the College de France who continued the traditions of exact research that he established. Among them were Leopold Pannier; Marius Sepet, the author of Le Drame chrétien au Moyen Âge (1878) and Origines catholiques du théâtre moderne (1901); Charles Joret; Alfred Morel-Fatio
Alfred Morel-Fatio
Alfred Paul Victor Morel-Fatio was the leading French Hispanist of his time, educated at École des chartes, Paris....
; Gaston Raynaud, who was responsible for various volumes of the excellent editions published by the Société des anciens textes français
Société des anciens textes français
Société des anciens textes français is a learned society founded in Paris in 1875 with the purpose of publishing all kinds of medieval documents written either in langue d'oïl or langue d'oc . Its founding members are Henri Bordier, marquis J. de Laborde, A...
; Arsène Darmesteter
Arsène Darmesteter
Arsène Darmesteter was a distinguished philologist and man of letters.He studied under Gaston Paris at the École des Hautes Etudes, and became professor of Old French language and literature at the Sorbonne. His Life of Words appeared in English in 1888...
; and others.
Further reading
- "Hommage à Gaston Paris" (1903), the opening lecture of his successor, Joseph BédierJoseph BédierJoseph Bédier was a French writer and scholar and historian of medieval France.-Biography:Bédier was born in Paris, France to Adolphe Bédier, a lawyer of Breton origin, and spent his childhood in Réunion. He was a professor of medieval French literature at the Université de Fribourg, Switzerland ...
, in the chair of medieval literature at the College de France; - A. Thomas, Essais de philologie française (1897);
- W. P. Ker, in the Fortnightly Review (July 1904);
- M. Croiset, Notice sur Gaston Paris (1904);
- J. Bédier et M. Roques, Bibliographie des travaux de Gaston Paris (1904).