Louis Le Cardonnel (22 February 1862 – 28 May 1936) was a Roman Catholic priest and French poet. He won two literary prizes from the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

Early life

Louis Le Cardonnel was born on 22 February 1862 in Valence,

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

, France. He was of Irish descent. His father, Louis Aimable Le Cardonnel, was an engineer. His mother, Amély Joséphine Cumin, was the owner of a clothing shop. His brother, Georges Le Cardonnel, was a novelist and critic. Le Cardonnel briefly attended a seminary in

Issy-les-Moulineaux Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called ''Isséens'' in French. It is one of Paris' entrances and is located from Notre-Dame Cath ...

before dropping out. He subsequently attended another seminary in Rome, and he was an ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1896.

Career

Le Cardonnel served as a priest until 1900, when he joined the

Order of Saint Benedict The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedic ...

and became an

oblate In Christianity (especially in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service. Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally livi ...

. He subsequently served as the vicar of the Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste in

Pierrelatte Pierrelatte (; oc, Pèiralata) is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Since the 1980s it hosts one of the biggest production plants of the enriched uranium existing in the world, used both for civil and military purposes. ...

. Le Cardonnel began composing poetry in 1881. He began composing poetry while he was a priest in France, then resumed poetry in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, Italy for nine years. He was influenced by

classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

and the

Celtic culture Celtic culture may refer to: *the culture of Celts *the culture of Celts (modern) *the culture of Celtic nations: **Culture of Ireland **Culture of Scotland **Culture of the Isle of Man **Culture of Wales **Culture of Cornwall ** Culture of Brittan ...

. His main themes were the seasons, especially the autumn, melancholy, death, and the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

. His poetic style emphasized the sounds of vowels and

alliteration Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...

s. Le Cardonnel won two literary prizes from the

: the Prix Capuran for ''Poèmes'' in 1905, and the

Prix Broquette-Gonin The prix Broquette-Gonin was a former prize awarded by the Académie française. It rewarded four disciplines: history, literature, philosophy and poetry. A separate prize was awarded by subject. Prix Broquette-Gonin (history) The prix Broque ...

for ''Carmina sacra'' in 1913.

Death

Le Cardonnel died on 28 May 1936 in Avignon.

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Cardonnel, Louis 1862 births 1936 deaths French people of Irish descent People from Valence, Drôme 19th-century French poets 20th-century French poets French Roman Catholic priests

Early life

Career

Death

Works

Further reading

References