Jean Fontaine (2 December 1936 – 1 May 2021) was a French writer, theologian, and missionary.

Biography

In 1953, Fontaine earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics. On 15 September 1955, he left for

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

as part of the

White Fathers The White Fathers (french: Pères Blancs), officially the Missionaries of Africa ( la, Missionarii Africae) abbreviated MAfr), are a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right (for Men) Founded in 1868 by then Ar ...

. From 1956 to 1957, he studied theology at Saint-Joseph de Thibar in

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before becoming a teacher in Algeria. He then took three years of theology courses in

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

studied in

Manouba Manouba ( ar, منوبة ') is a city in north-eastern Tunisia, and is part the metropolitan area of Tunis, also called "Grand Tunis". It is located at the west of Tunis city center at around . It is the capital city of Manouba Governorate. Mano ...

from 1962 to 1964. From 1964 to 1965, he completed his Arabic studies at the

Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies The Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies ( it, Pontificio Istituto di Studi Arabi e d'Islamistica, la, Pontificium Institutum Studiorum Arabicorum et Islamicorum; PISAI) traces the origins of its foundation back to 1926 and the work o ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In 1968, he obtained a licentiate in Arabic from

Tunis University Tunis University ( ar, جامعة تونس, french: link=no, Université de Tunis) is a university in Tunis, Tunisia. It was founded in 1960 on the basis of earlier educational establishments. The University of Tunis is a member of the Mediterr ...

. From 1968 to 1977, he was a librarian at the and directed the journal ''Ibla'' from 1977 to 1999. He earned a doctorate from the

University of Provence The University of Provence Aix-Marseille I (french: Université de Provence) was a public research university mostly located in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. It was one of the three Universities of Aix-Marseille and was part of the Academy of ...

in 1977. Jean Fontaine died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

on 1 May 2021, at the age of 84 in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

, Tunisia.

Publications

*''Vingt ans de littérature tunisienne 1956-1975'' (1977) *''Mort-résurrection : une lecture de Tawfiq al-Hakim'' (1978) *''Aspects de la littérature tunisienne 1976-1983'' (1985) *''Histoire de la littérature tunisienne par les textes, t. I : Des origines à la fin du XIIe siècle'' (1988) *''Études de la littérature tunisienne 1984-1987'' (1989) *''La littérature tunisienne contemporaine'' (1990) *''Écrivaines tunisiennes'' (1990) *''Regards sur la littérature tunisienne'' (1991) *''Romans arabes modernes'' (1992) *''Histoire de la littérature tunisienne par les textes, t. II : Du XIIIe siècle à l'indépendance'' (1994) *''La crise religieuse des écrivains syro-libanais chrétiens de 1825 à 1940'' (1996) *''Bibliographie de la littérature tunisienne contemporaine en arabe 1954-1996'' (1997) *''Propos de littérature tunisienne 1881-1993'' (1998) *''La blessure de l'âne'' (1998) *''Recherches de littérature arabe moderne'' (1998) *''Itinéraire dans le pays de l'autre'' (1998) *''Histoire de la littérature tunisienne par les textes, t. III : De l'indépendance à nos jours'' (1999) *''Le roman tunisien de langue arabe. 1956-2001'' (2002) *''Kalimât muhâjira'' (2002) *''Le roman tunisien de langue française'' (2004) *''Points de suspension…'' (2008) *''Le roman tunisien a 100 ans (1906-2006)'' (2009) *''Traduction de Noureddine Alaoui. Une musette de mirages'' (2010) *''Bréviaire des prisonniers étrangers en Tunisie'' (2012) *''Du côté des salafistes en Tunisie'' (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontaine, Jean 1936 births 2021 deaths French theologians French writers Tunis University alumni University of Provence alumni People from Nord (French department) Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia Tunisian theologians