Joseph Loth (27 December 1847 – 1 April 1934) was a French linguist and historian who specialised in the study of

Celtic languages The Celtic languages ( usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward ...

Early life

Loth was born in

Guémené-sur-Scorff Guémené-sur-Scorff (; br, Ar Gemene) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. Inhabitants of Guémené-sur-Scorff are called ''Guémenois''. Geography Guémené is situated on the Scorff river and is unus ...

, Brittany.Maison de Joseph Loth, patrimoine de Guémené
/ref> After his studies at Sainte-Anne-d'Auray, he became a teacher at

Pontivy Pontivy (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the confluence of the river Blavet and the Canal de Nantes à Brest. Inhabitants of Pontivy are called ''Pontivyens'' in French. Map History ...

, then

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography The ...

and

Saumur Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur s ...

until the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. After the end of the conflict, he worked in various institutions in Paris. At this time he made the acquaintance of

Henri d'Arbois de Jubainville Marie Henri d'Arbois de Jubainville (; 5 December 1827 – 26 February 1910) was a French historian, philologist and Celtic scholar. Career He qualified as a lawyer in 1850, and entered a seminary with the intention of becoming a Catholic priest, ...

, who encouraged him to study Celtic languages.

Career

In 1883 he was appointed to the Faculty of Arts at Rennes University, where he taught Celtic. That same year he founded the journal ''Annales de Bretagne'', in which he published numerous studies and edited until 1910. He was appointed professor at the

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris ...

in 1910 and was elected member of 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 1919. Loth published numerous articles in the ''

Revue Celtique A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own durin ...

'', re-edited Pierre de Chalons' Breton-French dictionary, and translated into French important Celtic literature including the

Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, create ...

. He was also an early supporter of the detailed study of variations in local dialects.

Award and achievements

Loth developed an influential model of the historical expansion of the

Breton language Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic languages, Brittonic language of the Celtic languages, Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic languag ...

into France. The farthest limit of spoken Breton is known as the "Loth line". It runs from

Mont-Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is ...

, through Hédé, and on to the west of

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departmen ...

to reach the Loire. He received an honorary doctorate (

LL.D Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

) from the University of Glasgow in June 1901.

Writings

* ''L'Émigration Bretonne en Armorique du Ve au VII siècle de notre ère'', Rennes 1883 réédition Slatkine Reprints Paris-Genève-Gex 1980 () * ', 1884 * ''Remarques sur le bas vannetais'', 1886 * ''Le Mabinogi de Kulhwch et Olwen, tiré à part de la Revue de Bretagne et de Vendée, mars / avril / mai 1888, Éd. Prud'homme, Saint-Brieuc. * ''Le Dialecte de l'Île aux Moines'', 1893, (réédité et corrigé par Patrick Le Besco, Ar Skol vrezoneg/Emgleo Breiz, Brest, 1999) * ''Chrestomathie bretonne''

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loth, Joseph 1847 births 1934 deaths People from Guémené-sur-Scorff Linguists from France Celtic studies scholars Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Arthurian scholars Collège de France faculty French lexicographers