Émile Théodore Léon Gautier (8 August 183225 August 1897) was a French

literary historian The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment, enlightenment, or instruction to the reader/listener/observer, as well as the development of the literary techniques ...

. He was born at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

, France. He was educated at the

École des Chartes École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Sav ...

, and became successively head of the archives of the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' of

Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.Imperial Archives in Paris (1859). In 1874 he became a professor of

palaeography Palaeography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") ...

at the École des Chartes. He was elected a member of the

Academy of Inscriptions An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

in 1887, and became chief of the historical section of the National Archives in 1893. Gautier rendered great services to the study of early

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than Fr ...

, the most important of his numerous works on medieval subjects being a critical text (

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

, 1872) with translation and introduction of the ''

Chanson de Roland ''The Song of Roland'' (french: La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th-century ''chanson de geste'' based on the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 AD, during the reign of the Carolingian king Charlemagne. It is ...

'', and ''Les Épopées françaises'' (3 volumes, 1866–1867; 2nd edition, 5 volumes, 1878–1897, including a ''Bibliographie des

chansons de geste The ''chanson de geste'' (, from Latin 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th cen ...

'').

Works

* ''Œuvres poétiques d'Adam de Saint-Victor'' (1858/59) – Poetic works of

Adam de Saint-Victor Adam of Saint Victor (; died 1146) was a prolific poet and composer of Latin hymns and sequences. He has been called "...the most illustrious exponent of the revival of liturgical poetry which the twelfth century affords." Life Adam of Saint Victor ...

. * ''Les Épopées françaises'' (1865/68) – The French epics. * ''La Chanson de Roland'' (critical edition, 1872) * ''Portraits contemporains et questions actuelles'' (1873) * ''La Chevalerie'' (1884) – On

chivalry Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours we ...

. * ''Histoire de la poésie liturgique au Moyen Âge: les tropes'' (1886) – History on liturgical poetry of the Middle Ages. * ''Portraits du XIXe siècle I. Poètes et romanciers'', (1894/95) * ''Portraits du XIXe siècle. Historiens et critiques'', (1894/95) * ''Portraits du XIXe siècle. Nos adversaires et nos amis'', (1894/95) * ''Bibliographie des chansons de geste'' (1897).HathiTrust Digital Library
Published works by Léon Gautier * ''La France sous Philippe-Auguste'' (1899)

References

External links

Digital edition of the ''Portraits du XIXe siècle. Historiens et critiques'' on the website of the Europeana

Digital edition of the ''Portraits du XIXe siècle. Nos adversaires et nos amis'' on the website of the Europeana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gautier, Emile Theodore Leon 1832 births 1897 deaths Academic staff of the École Nationale des Chartes French archivists 19th-century French historians French literary historians Writers from Le Havre French medievalists Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres French male non-fiction writers École Nationale des Chartes alumni 19th-century French male writers