The (; 'Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium') or ARLLFB is a Belgian institution which brings together personalities who, through their works, writings, lectures or speeches, have contributed most eminently to the

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...

of the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

, either by studying its origins and its evolution, or by publishing works of imagination or criticism. It includes both Belgian and foreign members. The Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium, also named the "Destréenne", was founded in 1920 by King

Albert I of Belgium Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. He is popularly referred to as the Knight King (, ) or Soldier King (, ) in Belgium in reference to his role during World War I ...

, at the suggestion of Jules Destrée, minister in charge of Science and Arts. It should not be confused with the Royal Academy of Belgium, the "Teresian", founded in 1772 by Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Founding principles

There are three founding principles: * It will bring together imaginative writers, novelists, playwrights, poets and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

s, in a broad sense, specialists of ancient texts, grammarians, linguists and historians of literature. Principle justified in the following terms: "The total meaning of a language is revealed only in terms of its constant transformation." * The second: the academy should elect foreign members not only from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, but also from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, French-speaking

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, from all countries where the French language is "spoken, honored, cultivated, and which are like the intellectual provinces of French civilization". * Third: the academy should include female members: "women of letters gave too many unquestionable proofs of talent to think of removing them from a literary society".

History and composition

The initial nucleus of the academy named ten writers: Henri Carton de Wiart, Georges Eekhoud, Iwan Gilkin, Albert Giraud, Hubert Krains,

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count/Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in ...

, Albert Mockel, :fr:Fernand Séverin, Paul Spaak, :fr:Gustave Vanzype. And for the philological section, its first four members were representatives of the

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

school of philology: :fr:Maurice Wilmotte, :fr:Auguste Doutrepont, Jules Feller and Jean Haust. The autonomy of the academy is assured by the recommendation that the elections take place by co-optation. Its composition is defined as follows: thirty members of Belgian origin, including twenty literary writers and ten philologists; Ten foreign members, including six writers and four philologists for a total of forty members. In the year following creation, the newly invited members included Anna de Noailles, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Swiss novelist :fr:Benjamin Vallotton and the French grammarian Ferdinand Brunot. From its foundation to the present day, the academy has counted one hundred and twenty-four Belgian members, of whom eleven were women, and forty-nine foreign members from either France, Switzerland, Italy, the United States, Romania, Quebec, Great Britain, China, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Israel, The Netherlands, Peru or Sweden. *

Prizes

The Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium also awards literary prizes. Actualitte.com, Remise des Prix à l'académie Royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique 1920 establishments in Belgium Organizations established in 1920 Belgique, Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises Organisations based in Brussels Organisations based in Belgium with royal patronage French language Academia in Belgium