Paul Sébillot (6 February 1843 in
Matignon, Côtes-d'Armor
Matignon (; ; Gallo: ''Mateinyon'') is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France.
Population
Inhabitants of Matignon are called ''matignonnais'' in French.
See also
*Communes of the Côtes-d'Armor departme ...
, France – 23 April 1918 in Paris) was a French
folklorist
Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...
, painter, and writer. Many of his works are about his native province,
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
.
Early life and art
Sébillot came from an old Breton family and a line of doctors. His father Pierre Sébillot was cited for his devotion during the cholera epidemic of 1832 at
Saint-Cast-le-Guildo
Saint-Cast-le-Guildo (; br, Sant-Kast-ar-Gwildoù; Gallo: ''Saent-Cast-le-Giledo'') is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is port city on the English Channel as it also has a nautical center, the Ce ...
, and became mayor of
Matignon in 1848.
After studying at the communal college of
Dinan
Dinan (; ) is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan.
Geography
Its geographical setting is exceptional. Instead of n ...
, Sébillot moved to Rennes to study jurisprudence, which he completed in Paris in 1863. Very interested in painting, he also took courses with
Augustin Feyen-Perrin and in 1870 he exhibited at the Salon a canvas entitled ''Rochers à Marée Basse'' (Rocks at Low Tide), which was also later shown at London in 1872. Sébillot continued his painting until 1883, during which time fourteen of his works were shown at the Paris Salon and two at the Vienna World Fair in 1873. His inspiration was largely taken from the Breton landscape. He also contributed to several journals as an art critic: ''Le Bien Public'', ''La Réforme'', ''L'Art français'' and ''L'Art libre''.
Writings
In parallel with his art work Sébillot began a literary career with the publication in 1875 of ''La République, c’est la tranquillité'' the success of which was such that it was republished twice in the same year. It was at that time that he met the folklorist
François-Marie Luzel
François-Marie Luzel (6 June 1821 – 26 February 1895), often known by his Breton name ''Fañch an Uhel'',He signed his name as ''Francès-Mary an Uhel'' in the ''Les Chants de l'épée'' (1856), although Joseph Ollivier, in his 1943 preface to ...
who translated the book into Breton.
After this he published new works regularly. In 1877, he created ''La Pomme'', an association of Bretons and Normans, of which he became president the following year. In 1889, a monthly journal of the same name was created. In 1881 he initiated with Charles Leclerc the publication ''Collection des Littératures populaires de toutes les nations'' (Collection of the Popular Literatures of all Nations), to which he contributed ''La littérature orale de la Haute-Bretagne'' (Oral Literature of
Upper Brittany
Upper Brittany (french: Haute-Bretagne; br, Breizh-Uhel; Gallo: ''Haùtt-Bertaèyn'') is the eastern part of Brittany, France, which is predominantly of a Romance culture and is associated with the Gallo language. The name is in counterpoint to L ...
). In 1882, came the creation of the ''Société des Traditions populaires'', which organized the ''Dîners de ma Mère l'Oye'', meetings of folklorists which gave rise to the journal of the same name. From 1886 he became the general secretary of the association and assumed the direction of the journal.
In 1889, he participated in the first Congress of Popular Traditions in Paris, and was named principal private secretary to the Ministry of Labour, when his brother-in-law,
Yves Guyot
Yves Guyot (6 September 184322 February 1928) was a French politician and economist. Biography
He was born at Dinan. Educated at Rennes, he took up the profession of journalism, coming to Paris in 1867. He was for a short period editor-in-chief of ...
was named Minister for Labour. He remained in this job until 1892, an ideal position from which to collect the information which would later be the subject of his book ''Les Travaux publics et les mines dans les traditions et superstitions de tous les pays'' (Public Works and the Mines in the Traditions and Superstitions of all Lands), in 1894. The following year, he collected the list of his publications (books and articles), under the title ''Autobibliographie''.
In 1905, he was named President of the ''Société d'anthropologie''.
Selected works
*''Contes populaires de la Bretagne'' (popular stories of Brittany)
*''Le folklore de France'' (1906)
Further reading
* Hopkin, David (2010)
“Legendary Places: Oral History and Folk Geography in Nineteenth-Century Brittany” in ''BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology'', Paris.
* Hopkin, David (2010)
in ''BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology'', Paris.
* Voisenat, Claudie (2010)
in ''BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology'', Paris.
* Voisenat, Claudie (2010)
in ''BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology'', Paris.
* Voisenat, Claudie (2010)
in ''BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology'', Paris.
* Voisenat, Claudie (2008)
in ''BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology'', Paris.
* Voisenat, Claudie (2011)
in ''BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology'', Paris.
External links
* Resources related to research
BEROSE - International Encyclopaedia of the Histories of Anthropology Paris, 2008. (ISSN 2648-2770)
*
E. Sidney Hartland. "
Obituary: Paul Sébillot" ''Folk-Lore''. Volume 29, 1918.
Pictureof Sébillot
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sebillot, Paul
1843 births
1918 deaths
Writers from Brittany
Collectors of fairy tales
French folklorists
People from Côtes-d'Armor
Pont-Aven painters
French male writers