The

Abbé ''Abbé'' (from Latin , in turn from Greek , , from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is also the title used for lower-ranki ...

Jean-Paul Bignon, Cong.Orat. (; 19 September 1662, Paris – 14 March 1743, Île Belle) was a French ecclesiastic, statesman, writer and preacher and librarian to

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. His protégé,

Joseph Pitton de Tournefort Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (5 June 165628 December 1708) was a French botanist, notable as the first to make a clear definition of the concept of genus for plants. Botanist Charles Plumier was his pupil and accompanied him on his voyages. Li ...

, named the genus ''

Bignonia ''Bignonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae. Its genus and family were named after Jean-Paul Bignon by his protégé Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in 1694, and the genus was established as part of modern botanical nomen ...

'' (Virginia jasmine) after him in 1694.

Biography

Born in Paris, Bignon was the grandson of the lawyer and statesman, Jérôme Bignon, and, though older, the nephew of the

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Jérôme Phélypeaux Jérôme Phélypeaux, Count of Pontchartrain (March 1674 – 8 February 1747), ''comte de'' (count of) Pontchartrain, was a French statesman, son of Louis Phélypeaux and Marie de Maupeou. Biography He served as a councillor to the parlement ...

. He did his elementary studies at the school of the famed Abbey of Port Royal in Paris, then studied at the

Collège d'Harcourt In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

, following which he entered the Oratory of Paris, and did theological studies at the Seminary of Saint

Magloire Magloire, better known as Saint Magloire of Dol, is a Breton saint. Little reliable information is known of Magloire as the earliest written sources appeared three centuries after his death. These sources claim that he was a monk from Wales wh ...

attached to it. In 1691 he completed his studies and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood. In 1693 he was made

commendatory abbot A commendatory abbot () is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey ''in commendam'', drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatory abbot is an ecclesiastic, however, ...

of Saint-Quentin-en-l'Isle and preacher to King Louis; he was also appointed to succeed to Seat 20 in the

French Academy French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

.Académie francaise "Jean-Paul Bignon"
/ref> He was charged by the minister Colbert to head the Bignon Commission, which investigated the feasibility and then began the compilation of a guide to French artistic and industrial processes, published in the following century as the '' Descriptions of the Arts and Trades''. He organized the bureaux de la librairie and the committee of expert censors in 1699. Bignon worked with his uncle to prepare a new set of rules for the Academy, allowing for honorary membership, which were signed by the king in January 1699. The new rules, however, were rejected by its members. The rejection shocked him to such a degree that he refused to attend its meetings thereafter. Bignon was a patron of

Antoine Galland Antoine Galland (; 4 April 1646 – 17 February 1715) was a French orientalist and archaeologist, most famous as the first European translator of ''One Thousand and One Nights'', which he called '' Les mille et une nuits''. His version of the ta ...

, the first European translator of ''

One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition ( ...

''. He was also the author of ''Les aventures d'Abdalla, fils d'Hanif (The adventures of Abdalla, son of Hanif)'', published in 1712–1714, a novel framed as the title character's search for the fountain of youth and composed of "stories of adventure and love" in which "great stress is laid upon the 'horrid,' the grotesque, the fantastic." His fame as a preacher is exemplified by two completely different

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of - ' ...

s he gave on the same day, for the

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

of St.

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis ...

. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1734.

Publications

Bignon also contributed to the ''Médailles du règne de Louis le Grand'', ''Sacre de Louis XV''. From 1706 to 1714, he presided over the committee of men of letters who edited the ''

Journal des sçavans The (later renamed and then , ), established by Denis de Sallo, is the earliest academic journal published in Europe. It is thought to be the earliest published scientific journal. It currently focuses on European history and premodern literatu ...

'', which position he took again in 1724, with the Abbé

Pierre Desfontaines The Abbé Pierre François Guyot-Desfontaines (1685 in Rouen – 16 December 1745 in Paris) was a French journalist, translator and popular historian. Known today for his quarrels with Voltaire, Desfontaines can be regarded as the founder of t ...

References

External links

*
WorldCat

Biography – Bibliothèque nationale de France
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bignon, Jean Paul 1662 births 1743 deaths Clergy from Paris Writers from Paris 17th-century French writers 17th-century French male writers 18th-century French writers 18th-century French male writers French librarians 17th-century French Roman Catholic priests 18th-century French Roman Catholic priests French Oratory Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Members of the French Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Royal Society