François Just Marie Raynouard (18 September 1761–27 October 1836) was a French dramatist and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

. Raynouard was born at

Brignoles Brignoles (; oc, Brinhòla) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Alongside Draguignan, it is one of two subprefectures in Var. It was the summer residence of the counts of Pro ...

in Provence, trained for the bar, and practiced at

Draguignan Draguignan (; oc, Draguinhan) is a commune in the Var department in the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (formerly Provence), southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of ...

. In 1791 he represented the department of

Var Var or VAR may refer to: Places * Var (department), a department of France * Var (river), France * Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran * Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...

in the Legislative Assembly, but after the fall of his party, the

Girondist The Girondins ( , ), or Girondists, were members of a loosely knit political faction during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnard ...

s, he went into hiding. Discovered and imprisoned in Paris, he wrote his play ''Caton d'Utique'' (1794) during his imprisonment. In 1803 he won the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute ...

's poetry prize. ''Éléonore de Bavière'' and ''Les Templiers'' were accepted by the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

. ''Les Templiers'' was produced in 1805, and, over the opposition of Geoffroy, was a great success. Elected to the Académie française in 1807, elected to the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigr ...

in 1816, Raynouard was admitted ''secrétaire perpétuel'' of the Académie française in 1817. From 1806 to 1814 he represented the department of

in the

Corps législatif The was a part of the French legislature during the French Revolution and beyond. It is also the generic French term used to refer to any legislative body. History The Constitution of the Year I foresaw the need for a ''corps législatif''. ...

. Raynouard wrote other plays, one of which, ''Les États de Blois'' (acted 1810), offended

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

by its freedom of speech. Realizing that the public taste had changed and that

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

would triumph, Raynouard abandoned the stage and devoted himself to linguistic studies. His researches into Provençal were to an extent inaccurate, but his enthusiasm and perseverance opened the way for the study of the subject. Raynouard is sometimes called the founder of

Romance linguistics Romance linguistics is the study of linguistics of Romance languages. Basic features Romance languages have a number of shared features across all languages: * Romance languages are moderately inflecting, i.e. there is a moderately complex system ...

, although his contribution was marked by a fundamental misconception: he believed that the Romance languages were derived from a common post-Latin language, which he called ''le roman'', and not directly from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, as is in fact the case. Raynouard's chief works are ''Choix de poésies originales des troubadours'' (6 vols., 1816–1821), of which the sixth volume, ''Grammaire comparée des langues de l'Europe latine, dans leurs rapports avec la langue des troubadours'' (1821), was separately published; ''Lexique roman ou dictionnaire de la langue des troubadours comparée avec les autres langues de l'Europe latine'' (6 vols., 1838–1844). He spent the last years of his life at Passy. Raynouard was Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. In the 16th arrondissement of Paris, a street and a square have been named after him. In

, a monument pays tribute to him near the house he was born in, and the secondary school (''lycée'') and a boulevard have been named after him.

Works

Theatre

* ''Caton d’Utique'', tragedy, 1794 * ''Les Templiers'', tragedy, premiered at the Comédie-Française le 24 floréal an XIII (14 May 1805)
Read online
* ''Éléonore de Bavière'', tragedy, 1805 * ''Les États de Blois ou la mort du duc de Guise'', tragedy, 1809 * ''Don Carlos'', tragedy, non-presented * ''Débora'', tragedy, non-presented * ''Charles Ier'', tragedy, non-presented * ''Jeanne d’Arc à Orléans'', tragedy, non-presented

Poetry

* ''Socrate dans le temple d’Aglaure'', 180
read online
* ''L'immolation des templiers''

History

* ''Recherches sur l’antiquité de la langue romane'', 1816 * ''Éléments de la grammaire de la langue romane'', 1816 * ''La Grammaire des troubadours'', 1816 * ''Des troubadours et les cours d’amour'', 1817 * ''Grammaire comparée des langues de l’Europe latine dans leurs rapports avec la langue des troubadours'', 1821 * ''Choix des poésies originales des troubadours'', 6 vol., 1816–1821 * ''Lexique de la langue des troubadours'', 1824 * ''Histoire du droit municipal en France, sous la domination romaine et sous les trois dynasties'', 1829 * ''Nouveau choix des poésies originales des troubadours'', 1836–1844 * ''Lexique roman'', 6 vol., 1838–1844 *
Tome 1
*
Tome 2, A-C
*
Tome 3, D-K
*
Tome 4, L-P
*
Tome 5, Q-Z
*
Tome 6, Appendice, vocabulaire

References

Notes Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raynouard, Francois Juste Marie 1761 births 1836 deaths Burials at Passy Cemetery People from Var (department) Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Members of the Académie Française 18th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights French philologists Occitan linguists Romance philologists Members of the Chamber of Representatives (France)