Émile Espérandieu
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Émile Espérandieu (11 November 1857 – 14 March 1939) was a French military officer, Latin
epigrapher Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
and archaeologist.


Biography

A pupil of the
École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, literally the "Special Military School of Saint-Cyr") is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ...
then a career soldier, Émile Espérandieu participated in the 1880–1881 campaign in Tunisia where he lived thereafter. In this country, he discovered historical
epigraphy Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
during his leisure and began in 1883 to write historical and archaeological communications. On his appointment as assistant professor at the military school of Saint-Maixent in 1886, he turned his epigraphist activity towards Gaul inscriptions and inventoried in 1893 the inscriptions of Corsica. In 1899 he became director of the ''Revue épigraphique''. In 1905 the Committee on Museums entrusted him with the development and publication of a General Collection of reliefs of Roman Gaul, an endeavour that eventually became a monumental work in nine volumes, the ''Recueil général des bas-reliefs, statues et bustes de la Gaule romaine''. It is also from 1905 that he led the excavations at Mont Auxois on the site of the
Battle of Alesia The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia (September 52 BC) was a military engagement in the Gallic Wars around the Gallic ''oppidum'' (fortified settlement) of Alesia in modern France, a major centre of the Mandubii tribe. It was fought by ...
where he regularly intervened as far as the 1930s. Appointed a battalion commander in 1905, however he saw his military career quickly hampered by early deafness and placed senior in 1910. This did not hinder his archaeologist vocation. After participating in World War I, he returned to his historical and archaeological studies. Director, co-editor of journals and curator of Roman monuments and archaeological museums in Nimes where he retired in 1918, Émile Espérandieu was elected a member of the
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions ( epig ...
in 1919. In 1929, he published the catalog of the (ILGN), which was an update of Volume XII of ''
Corpus inscriptionum latinarum The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw ...
'' and a summary of his epigraphic research work. From 1908 to 1938, he continued the inventory and publication of his masterpiece, the ''Recueil général des bas-reliefs, statues et bustes de la Gaule romaine'' in eleven volumes, or 7818 notices. The work makes reference to the point of being commonly called "the Espérandieu".Henri Lavagne, "La base de données du Nouvel Espérandieu : une sauvegarde de la mémoire collective", '' Comptes rendus de l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres'', 151st year, N°. 4, 2007, pp. 1533-154

In 1931, he added the ''Recueil général des bas-reliefs statues et bustes de la Germanie romane'' to the volumes devoted to Gaul. In 1936, he married
Jeanne de Flandreysy Jeanne de Flandreysy, born Jeanne Mellier (11 July 1874 – 15 May 1959) was a French author and literary critic. She was the author of many books about Provence, and she promoted Franco-Italian cultural exchanges. Early life Jeanne de Flandreysy ...
, a woman of letters, and spent his last years in Avignon at the palais du Roure. He published the eleventh volume of his general collection in 1938, one year before his death.


Publications (selection)

* ''Inscriptions latines de Gaule (Narbonnaise)'', E. Leroux, Paris, 1929 * ''Recueil général des bas-reliefs, statues et bustes de la Gaule romaine''
Tome 1, ici
* ''Recueil général des bas-reliefs, statues et bustes de la Gaule romaine''
Tome 2, ici
* ''Recueil général des bas-reliefs, statues et bustes de la Gaule romaine'', vol. XI, Paris, 1907-1938 ; 2° édition, New-Jersez, 1965-1956


References


Bibliography

* Charles Picard, « Éloge funèbre de M. Emile Espérandieu, membre libre de l'académie », ''CRAI'', 1939, 83-2,
Read online
* H. Rolland, "Bibliographie d'Emile Esperandieu membre de l'institut 1883-1936" avant-propos by
Augustin Fliche Augustin Fliche (19 November 1884, in Montpellier – 19 November 1951) was a 20th-century French historian who mainly dealt with the history of the Church in the Middle Ages. He was a professor at the University of Montpellier and also visiting p ...
/ Paris -
les Belles Lettres Les Belles Lettres is a French publisher specialising in the publication of ancient texts such as the '' Collection Budé''. The publishing house, originally named ''Société Les Belles Lettres pour le développement de la culture classique'', ...
1937 - 124 pages


External links


Biographie d'Émile Espérandieu sur le site nemausensis

Commentaires sur le tome VII, Gaule germanique, de l’ouvrage d’Émile Espérandieu : ''Recueil général des bas-reliefs statues et bustes de la Gaule romaine.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esperandieu, Emile French archaeologists French scholars of Roman history French epigraphers Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres People from Gard 1857 births 1939 deaths