Pascual de Gayangos y Arce (June 21, 1809 – October 4, 1897) was a Spanish scholar and orientalist.

Life

Born in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, he was the son of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

José de Gayangos,

intendente An intendant (; pt, intendente ; es, intendente ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In ...

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

, in

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

(Mexico). After completing his primary education in Madrid, at the age of thirteen he was sent to school at Pont-le-Voy near

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

. Then, he began the study of

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 ...

in the École spéciale des Langues orientales of Paris under

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 ...

. Gayangos visited

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, where he married in 1828 Frances, daughter of

Henry Revell Henry Revell (1767–1847) was a London radical of the Reform Bill period, a leading figure in the National Political Union (England), National Political Union. Early life He was the eldest son of John Read of Walthamstow, known in early life a ...

. He then obtained a post in the Spanish treasury, and was transferred to the foreign office as translator in 1833. In 1837 he returned to Britain, wrote extensively in British periodicals, like ''The Athenaeum'', and in publications of the SDUK, like ''The Penny Cyclopaedia for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge'' and ''The Biographical Dictionary''. In these years he completed his

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

as an

arabist An Arabist is someone, often but not always from outside the Arab world, who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and culture (usually including Arabic literature). Origins Arabists began in medieval Muslim Spain, which lay on the ...

: the translation, for the

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 ...

, of the first part of Al Makkari's biography of

Ibn al-Khatib Lisan ad-Din Ibn al-Khatib ( ar, لسان الدين ابن الخطيب, Lisān ad-Dīn Ibn al-Khaṭīb) (Born 16 November 1313, Loja– died 1374, Fes; full name in ar, محمد بن عبد الله بن سعيد بن عبد الله بن � ...

. The edition was entitled the ''History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain'' and appeared in two volumes in 1840 and 1843 . While in England, he entered in the

Holland House Holland House, originally known as Cope Castle, was an early Jacobean country house in Kensington, London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

circle, where he made the acquaintance of

George Ticknor George Ticknor (August 1, 1791 – January 26, 1871) was an American academician and Hispanist, specializing in the subject areas of languages and literature. He is known for his scholarly work on the history and criticism of Spanish literature. ...

, to whom he was very helpful. In 1843 he returned to Spain as professor of Arabic at the University of Madrid, a post he held until 1871. In 1861, 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 ...

elected him an international Member. He entered in politics in 1881, when he was made director of public instruction. He resigned on being elected senator for the district of

Huelva Huelva (, ) is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is between two short rias though has an outlying spur including nature reserve on the Gulf of Cádiz coast. The rias ...

. His latter years were spent in cataloguing the Spanish manuscripts in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

; he had previously continued

Gustav Adolf Bergenroth Gustav Adolf Bergenroth (26 February 1813 – 13 February 1869) was a German historian. Life He was born at Oletzko, in East Prussia, on 26 February 1813. From his father, the magistrate of the town, a stubborn and incorruptible patriot, he rec ...

's catalogue of the manuscripts relating to the negotiations between England and Spain in the

Simancas Simancas is a town and municipality of central Spain, located in the province of Valladolid, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated approximately 10 km southwest of the provincial capital Valladolid, on the ro ...

archives. His best-known original work is his lengthy introduction on Spanish romances of chivalry in volume 40 (''Libros de caballerías'', vol. 1, 1857) of

Adolfo Rivadeneyra Adolfo Rivadeneyra (April 10, 1841 in Santiago de Chile – February 5, 1882 in Madrid) was a Spanish diplomat, orientalist, editor and traveler. Biography Son of the renowned Catalan printer and publisher Manuel Rivadeneyra ( :es:Manuel Rivad ...

's ''Biblioteca de autores españoles''. This was the first survey of Spanish chivalric romances. He died in London.

References

* Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Gayangos y Arce, Pascual de 1809 births 1897 deaths Spanish scholars Spanish orientalists Linguists from Spain Spanish Arabists People from Seville Spanish expatriates in the United Kingdom