![Langlès, Louis-Mathieu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Langl%C3%A8s%2C_Louis-Mathieu.jpg)
Louis-Mathieu Langlès (23 August 1763 – 28 January 1824) was a French
academic,
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
,
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 ...
,
translator
Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...
,
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
,
librarian
A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.
The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...
and
orientalist. He was the conservator of the oriental manuscripts at the
Bibliothèque Nationale in Napoleonic France
[Tathagatananda, Swami]
"How Vedanta Came to the West,"
''Saveda.'' August 15, 2005. and he held the same position at the renamed ''
Bibliothèque du Roi
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
'' after the fall of the empire.
Early life
Langlès was born in 1763 in Pérennes, a section of the commune of
Welles-Pérennes in the department of the Oise. His youthful efforts to obtain a military position were unsuccessful. Instead, he went to Paris where he enrolled at the
Collège de France, studying Arabic and Persian.
Scholarly career
Along with
Antoine Léonard de Chézy (1773–1832),
Jean-François Champollion
Jean-François Champollion (), also known as Champollion ''le jeune'' ('the Younger'; 23 December 17904 March 1832), was a French philologist and orientalist, known primarily as the decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs and a founding figure in th ...
(1790–1832) and
Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat (1788–1832), Langlès was a pupil and protégé of
Silvestre de Sacy
Antoine Isaac, Baron Silvestre de Sacy (; 21 September 175821 February 1838), was a French nobleman, linguist and orientalist. His son, Ustazade Silvestre de Sacy, became a journalist.
Life and works
Early life
Silvestre de Sacy was born in Pa ...
(1758–1838). Langlès's close links with the Collège de France were enhanced by Baron de Sacy's support, which also resulted in Chézy becoming the Collège's first Professor of Sanskrit, Rémusat becoming its first Professor of Chinese, and Champollion becoming its first Professor of Egyptology.
[Karttunen, Klaus]
''Expansion of Oriental Studies in the Early 19th Century.''
''Melammu Symposia 4'' (eds., A. Panaino and A. Piras). October 13–17, 2001. The faculty encompassed Langlès as the college's Professor of Persian.
[Redding]
p. 789.
/ref>
In 1785, he was attached to the Tribunal of the Marshals of France, which was at that time charged with suppressing duels.
In 1795, Langlès became the founder-director the ''Ecole des langues orientales vivantes'' in Paris, which is still operating under the revised name of Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO
Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales ( en, National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations), abbreviated as INALCO, is a French university specializing in the teaching of languages and cultures from the world. ...
).
Langlès was the provisional specialist on India at the Bibliothèque Nationale. France became a center for Indian studies when the accumulated Indian manuscripts languishing in the Bibliothèque Nationale began to be inventoried.
Langlès corresponded with William Jones in Calcutta; and he was responsible for including the history and bibliography of the early publications of the Asiatic Society of Bengal
The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...
in the third volume of the ''Magasin Encyclopédique''.
The 1811 edition of Jean Chardin
Jean Chardin (16 November 1643 – 5 January 1713), born Jean-Baptiste Chardin, and also known as Sir John Chardin, was a French jeweller and traveller whose ten-volume book ''The Travels of Sir John Chardin'' is regarded as one of the finest ...
's ''Voyages de monsieur le chevalier Chardin en Perse et autres lieux de l'Orient'' (''The Travels of Sir John Chardin in Persia and the Orient''), was edited by Langlès. This is still today considered the standard version of Chardin's work. In 1819, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
.
He died in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
at the age of 81. His remains are interred in Père-Lachaise cemetery.[Redding]
p. 283.
/ref>
Honors and awards
* 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 m ...
, Chevalier.
* Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres (Academy of Humanities)
* Légion d'honneur
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 ...
.
* Royal Asiatic Society
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...
, United Kingdom.
* Asiatic Society of Bengal
The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...
* Order of St. Vladimir, Russia.
Selected works
* 1787 – ''Political and Military Institutions of Tamerlane.''[Redding]
p. 285.
/ref>
* 1788 – ''History of the Mahrattas.''
* 1790 – ''Alphabet Tartare Manchou.''
* 1790 – ''Tartare Manchou Française.''
See also
* Isaac Titsingh
Isaac Titsingh FRS ( January 1745 – 2 February 1812) was a Dutch diplomat, historian, Japanologist, and merchant.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Isaak Titsingh" in . During a long career in East Asia, Titsingh was a senior official of the ...
* Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de Guignes
Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de Guignes (; 1759–1845) was a French merchant-trader, ambassador and scholar, born in Paris. He was the son of French academician and sinologue, Joseph de Guignes. He learned Chinese from his father, and then traveled to ...
Notes
References
* Garcin de Tassy, Joseph-Héliodore-Sagesse-Vertu. (1997)
''Muslim Festivals in India and Other Essays''
(ed., Mohammad Tariq Waseem). Oxford: Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
.
* Langlès, Louis J.-S. Merlin, F. Merlin, Louis Édouard Gauttier du Lys d'Arc. (1825
''Catalogue des livres, imprimés et manuscrits, composant la bibliothèque de feu M. Louis-Mathieu Langlès: ... dont la vente se fera ... 24 mars 1825 et jours suivants.''
Paris: J. S. Merlin.
* Redding, Cyrus. (1867)
''Personal Reminiscences of Eminent Men.''
London: Saunders, Otley.
* Raymond Schwab, Raymond. (1984)
''The Oriental Renaissance: Europe's Discovery of India and the East, 1836-1886.''
New York: Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...
.
* Tourneux, Maurice. (1890)
''Bibliographie de l'histoire de Paris pendant la Révolution française.''
Paris: Imprimerie nouvelle
OCLC 2077368
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langles, Louis-Mathieu
1763 births
1824 deaths
French librarians
French orientalists
French Iranologists
French translators
Translators from Persian
Linguists from France
Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir
Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery