Chrestien Le Clercq, O.M.R., (born 1641) was a Recollect Franciscan friar and missionary to the Mi'kmaq on the Gaspé peninsula of Canada in the mid-17th century. He was a chronicler of New France, who wrote two early histories, and translator of a Native American language of that region, adapting an apparently indigenous mnemonic glyph system into a writing system known as

Míkmaq hieroglyphic writing The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the no ...

Life

A Fleming by birth, Le Clercq joined the Recollect Province of St. Anthony, based in Artois. He was sent to the missions of the

French colonial empire The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...

in Canada in 1673. On 11 October of that year, he was put in charge of the Micmac mission by Francois de Laval, the Bishop of Quebec. There he learned the language of that tribe and devoted himself to its evangelization. In 1676 he tried to persuade the Micmacs that it would be more advantageous to build houses in the French manner, which earned him a stunning rebuke from the Micmac Chief.Penny Petrone, ''First People, First Voices''
University of Toronto Press: (1984), p. 18 Father Le Clercq, said that he had seen some Mi'kmaq children using charcoal to write on birchbark with hieroglyphics. He was inspired by this to adapt these symbols to teach hymns and prayers. The Mi'kmaq sometimes used porcupine quills directly into the bark in the shape of symbols. Le Clercq's superiors sent him back to France in 1680 on business connected with the Franciscan missions in Canada. He returned the following spring with letters authorizing the foundation of a friary in Montreal, where he went during the summer of 1681 to carry out this work. In November he returned to the Micmac mission, where he spent the next twelve years. In autumn 1686 Le Clercq left Canada permanently and returned to France, where he filled various positions of authority in the Artois Province of his Order. The date of his death is unknown, but he was still living in 1698. After his return to France, he completed two works which he published at Paris in 1691. An English translation of one of these works, ''Nouvelle Relation de la Gaspesie'', was provided by William F. Ganong in 1910 as part of the Champlain Society's General Series.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''''Establishment of the Faith'' by Le Clercq
* ''New Relation of Gaspesia'' by Le Clercq, Part of the Champlain Society's General Series {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Clerq, Crestien 1641 births 17th-century French Roman Catholic priests 18th-century deaths Creators of writing systems Franciscan missionaries French Roman Catholic missionaries Mi'kmaq in Canada People from Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine People from Nord (French department) Recollects Roman Catholic missionaries in Canada Roman Catholic missionaries in New France Missionary linguists