Henri Basnage de Beauval (7 August 1656 – April 1710) was a French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

lawyer, controversist and

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretica ...

, known also as a journal editor.

Life

He was born at Rouen, son of the advocate Henri Basnage de Franquesnay and brother of

Jacques Basnage Jacques Basnage De Beauval (8 August 165322 December 1723) was a celebrated French Protestant divine, preacher, linguist, writer and man of affairs. He wrote a ''History of the Reformed Churches'' and on ''Jewish Antiquities''. Biography Jacques ...

. After the

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes The Edict of Fontainebleau (22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to practice their religion without s ...

, he made some attempts to stay in France, but left for

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1687. He died in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

Works

He wrote ''Tolérance des religions'', published by Henri de Græff at Rotterdam in 1684; it was a plea to French Catholics for

religious tolerance Religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". ...

. His ''

Histoire des Ouvrages des Savans ''Histoire des Ouvrages des Savans'' was a scholarly journal edited by Henri Basnage de Beauval and published by Reinier Leers, starting in September 1687. It was styled after the journal, ''Nouvelles de la république des lettres'', which had been ...

'' was a periodical appearing from 1687 to 1709; it was a sequel to the ''

Nouvelles de la République des Lettres ''Nouvelles de la république des lettres'' (''News from the Republic of Letters'') was a periodical devoted to reviews of current publications, edited and in large part written by Pierre Bayle. It began publication in 1684, and is the first known ...

'' of

Pierre Bayle Pierre Bayle (; 18 November 1647 – 28 December 1706) was a French philosopher, author, and lexicographer. A Huguenot, Bayle fled to the Dutch Republic in 1681 because of religious persecution in France. He is best known for his '' Histori ...

, who had sheltered him and his brother Jacques. The change of title was in fact cosmetic, to avoid trouble with the publisher of the ''Nouvelles''. Basnage himself did almost all the editorial, and the reviews of John Locke's works, in particular, did much to spread his ideas. He worked over the ''Dictionnaire universel'' of Antoine Furetière, producing an expanded edition; it went through numerous editions, before being taken up by Jean Brutel de la Rivière (1727, The Hague). Basnage's version was considered "Protestant"; the Jesuits of the ''

Mémoires de Trévoux ''Mémoires'' (''Memories'') is an artist's book made by the French social critic Guy Debord in collaboration with the Danish artist Asger Jorn. Its last page mentions that it was printed in 1959, however, it was printed in December 1958. This p ...

'' found heresy in articles where they considered he had introduced a Protestant view. Basnage defended himself in the '' Journal des sçavans'', but the Jesuits went ahead with an expurgated edition, a model for the '' Dictionnaire de Trévoux''. Basnage's lexicographical approach was in fact more descriptive than normative. Under the pseudonym Le Fèvre, Basnage also wrote the ''Lettre sur les differends de M. Jurieu & de M. Bayle.'' His publications were: * ''Tolérance des religions''; edited by

Elisabeth Labrousse Elisabeth Labrousse (10 January 1914 – 1 February 2000) was a French philosopher, historian, and academic. She became known for her work on Pierre Bayle and the history of French Protestantism. Early life and education Elisabeth Goguel was born ...

, New York; London, Johnson Reprint Corp., 1970 * ''

''. Volumes 1-24. (September 1687-June 1709), Geneva, Slatkine Reprints, 1969 * ''Dictionnaire universel: contenant generalement tous les mots françois tant vieux que modernes, & les termes des sciences et des arts ... : et enfin les noms des auteurs qui ont traitté des matieres qui regardent les mots, expliquez avec quelques histoires, curiositez naturelles, & sentences morales, qui seront rapportées pour donner des exemples de phrases & de constructions : le tout extrait des plus excellens auteurs anciens & modernes''. New edition by Jean-Baptiste Brutel de La Rivière (1727). Reprinted by Hildesheim, New York, Georg Olms, 1972. *''Traitez de mechanique, de l'equilibre des solides et des liqueurs : où l'on ajoute une nouvelle maniere de demontrer les principaux théorêmes de cette science'', with

Bernard Lamy Bernard Lamy (15 June 1640 – 29 January 1715) was a French Oratorian, mathematician and theologian. Life Lamy was born in Le Mans, France. After studying there, he went to join the Maison d'Institution in Paris, and to Saumur thereafter. I ...

, Amsterdam, Mortier, 1734 * ''Lettre sur les differends de M. Jurieu & de M. Bayle'', 1690 * ''Réponse de l'auteur de l'Histoire des ouvrages des sçavans à l'Avis de M. Jurieu'', Rotterdam,

Reinier Leers Reinier Leers (1654 – 1714) was a publisher in Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Net ...

, 1690 * ''Lettres historiques: contenant ce qui se passe de plus important en Europe; et les réflexions nécessaires sur ce sujet. Tome I 101 Mois de Janvier 1692 Dec. 1736', with Jean Dumont et al., The Hague, Adrian Moetjens, 1692-1736

References

* Hans Bots, Lenie van Lieshout, ''Contribution à la connaissance des réseaux d'information au début du XVIII^e siècle: Henri Basnage de Beauval et sa correspondance à propos de l’«Histoire des ouvrages des savans », 1687-1709 : publication annotée de quelque cent lettres et index thématique et analytique'', Amsterdam, Holland University Press, 1984 * Hans Bots, ''Henri Basnage de Beauval en de Histoire des Ouvrages des Savans, 1687-1709'', Verkenningen binnen de Republiek der letteren aan de vooravond van de Verlichting'', A'dam, Holland Universiteits Pers, 1976. * ''Contribution la connaissance des réseaux d'information au début du XVIII^e siècle. Henri Basnage de Beauval (1656-1710) et sa correspondance propos de l'Histoire des ouvrages des Savans, 1687-1709'', Amsterdam, 1984. Contains about 100 letters, commented and indexed. * Chantal Wionet, ''Pour informatiser le Dictionnaire universel de Basnage (1702) et de Trévoux (1704): approche théorique et pratique'', Paris, Champion, 2001. * Sara Graveleau, '' "Les hérésies sont d'utiles ennemies" : itinéraire d'Henri Basnage de Beauval (1656-1710), avocat de la République des Lettres et penseur de la tolérance civile", PhD thesis, Université d'Angers, 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basnage de Beauval, Henri Writers from Rouen 1657 births 1710 deaths Huguenots 17th-century French historians French historians of religion French lexicographers Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences Lawyers from Rouen