Louis-Mathieu Langlès
Encyclopedia
Louis-Mathieu Langlès was a French
academic, philologist, linguist, translator, author
, librarian
and orientalist
. He was the conservator of the oriental manuscripts at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Napoleonic France and he held the same position at the re-named Bibliothèque du Roi after the fall of the empire.
in the department of the Somme. His youthful efforts to obtain a military position were unsuccessful. Instead, he went to Paris where he enrolled at the Collège de France
, studying Arabic and Persian.
(1773-1832), Jean-François Champollion
(1790-1832) and Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat (1788-1832), Langlès was a pupil and protegé of Silvestre de Sacy
(1758-1838). Langlès close links with the Collège de France were enhanced by Baron de Sacy's support, which also resulted in Chézy becoming the Collège's first Professor of Sanskrit, Rémusat becoming its first Professor of Chinese, and Champollion becoming its first Professor of Egyptology. The faculty encompassed Langlès as the college's Professor of Persian.
In 1785, he was attached to the Tribunal of the Marshals of France, which was at that time charged with suppressing duels.
In 1795, Langlès became the founder-director the Ecole des langues orientales vivantes in Paris, which is still operating under the revised name of Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales
(INALCO).
Langlès was the provisional specialist on India at the Bibliothèque Nationale. France became a center for Indian studies when the accumulated Indian manuscripts languishing in the Bibliothèque Nationale began to be inventoried.
Langlès corresponded with William Jones
in Calcutta; and he was responsible for including the history and bibliography of the early publications of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in the third volume of the Magasin Encyclopédique.
The 1811 edition of Jean Chardin
's Voyages de monsieur le chevalier Chardin en Perse et autres lieux de l'Orient (The Travels of Sir John Chardin in Persia and the Orient), was edited by Langlès. This is still today considered the standard version.
He died in Paris at the age of 81. His remains are interred in Père-Lachaise cemetery.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
academic, philologist, linguist, translator, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, librarian
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
and orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
. He was the conservator of the oriental manuscripts at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Napoleonic France and he held the same position at the re-named Bibliothèque du Roi after the fall of the empire.
Early life
Langlès was borne in 1763 at PéronnePéronne, Somme
Péronne is a commune of the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It is close to where the Battles of the Somme took place during World War I...
in the department of the Somme. His youthful efforts to obtain a military position were unsuccessful. Instead, he went to Paris where he enrolled 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...
, studying Arabic and Persian.
Scholarly career
Along with Antoine Léonard de ChézyAntoine Leonard de Chézy
Antoine-Léonard de Chézy was a French orientalist.He was born at Neuilly. His father, Antoine de Chézy , was an engineer who finally became director of the École des Ponts et Chaussées. The son was intended for his father's profession; but in 1799 he obtained a post in the oriental department of...
(1773-1832), Jean-François Champollion
Jean-François Champollion
Jean-François Champollion was a French classical scholar, philologist and orientalist, decipherer of the Egyptian hieroglyphs....
(1790-1832) and Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat (1788-1832), Langlès was a pupil and protegé of Silvestre de Sacy
Silvestre de Sacy
Antoine Isaac, Baron Silvestre de Sacy , was a French linguist and orientalist. His son, Ustazade Silvestre de Sacy, became a journalist.-Early life:...
(1758-1838). Langlès close links with the Collège de France were enhanced by Baron de Sacy's support, which also resulted in Chézy becoming the Collège's first Professor of Sanskrit, Rémusat becoming its first Professor of Chinese, and Champollion becoming its first Professor of Egyptology. The faculty encompassed Langlès as the college's Professor of Persian.
In 1785, he was attached to the Tribunal of the Marshals of France, which was at that time charged with suppressing duels.
In 1795, Langlès became the founder-director the Ecole des langues orientales vivantes in Paris, which is still operating under the revised name of Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales
Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales
The Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales is located in Paris, France. It was founded in 1795 after the French Revolution and is now one of the country's Grands établissements with a specialization in African, Asian, East European, Oceanian languages and civilisations...
(INALCO).
Langlès was the provisional specialist on India at the Bibliothèque Nationale. France became a center for Indian studies when the accumulated Indian manuscripts languishing in the Bibliothèque Nationale began to be inventoried.
Langlès corresponded with William Jones
William Jones (philologist)
Sir William Jones was an English philologist and scholar of ancient India, particularly known for his proposition of the existence of a relationship among Indo-European languages...
in Calcutta; and he was responsible for including the history and bibliography of the early publications of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in the third volume of the Magasin Encyclopédique.
The 1811 edition of Jean Chardin
Jean Chardin
Jean Chardin , born Jean-Baptiste Chardin, and also known as Sir John Chardin, was a French jeweller and traveller whose ten-volume book The Travels of Sir John Chardin is regarded as one of the finest works of early Western scholarship on Persia and the Near East.-Life and work:Chardin was born in...
's Voyages de monsieur le chevalier Chardin en Perse et autres lieux de l'Orient (The Travels of Sir John Chardin in Persia and the Orient), was edited by Langlès. This is still today considered the standard version.
He died in Paris at the age of 81. His remains are interred in Père-Lachaise cemetery.
Honors and awards
- Institut de FranceInstitut de FranceThe Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française.The institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and chateaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which...
, Chevalier. - Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettresAcadémie des Inscriptions et Belles-LettresThe 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:...
(Academy of Humanities) - Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
. - Royal Asiatic SocietyRoyal Asiatic SocietyThe Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was established, according to its Royal Charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia." From its incorporation the Society...
, United Kingdom. - Asiatic Society of Bengal
- Order of St. VladimirOrder of St. VladimirThe Cross of Saint Vladimir was an Imperial Russian Order established in 1782 by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus....
, Russia.
Selected works
- 1787 -- Political and Military Institutions of Tamerlane.
- 1788 -- History of the Mahrattas.
- 1790 -- Alphabet Tartare Manchou.
- 1790 -- Tartare Manchou Française.