François Just Marie Raynouard (18 September 1761 – 27 October 1836) was a French dramatist and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

Biography

Raynouard was born at Brignoles in Provence, trained for the bar, and practiced at

Draguignan Draguignan (; ) is a commune in the Var department in the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (formerly Provence), southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of Artillery" an ...

. In 1791 he represented the department of Var in the Legislative Assembly, but after the fall of his party, the

Girondist The Girondins (, ), also called Girondists, were a political group during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnards, they initiall ...

s, he went into hiding. Discovered and imprisoned in Paris, he wrote his play ''Caton d'Utique'' (1794) during his imprisonment. In 1803 he won the

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

's poetry prize. ''Éléonore de Bavière'' and ''Les Templiers'' were accepted by the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

. ''Les Templiers'' was produced in 1805, and, over the opposition of Geoffroy, was a great success. Elected to the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

in 1807 and to the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the . The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigraphy) and historical literature (see Belles-lettres). History ...

in 1816, Raynouard was admitted ''secrétaire perpétuel'' of the

in 1817. From 1806 to 1814 he represented the department of Var in the

Corps législatif The was a part of the French legislature during the French Revolution and beyond. It is also the generic French term used to refer to any legislative body. History Under Napoleon's Consulate, the Constitution of the Year VIII (1799) set up ...

. Raynouard wrote other plays, one of which, ''Les États de Blois'' (acted 1810), offended

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

by its freedom of speech. Realizing that the public taste had changed and that

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

would triumph, Raynouard abandoned the stage and devoted himself to linguistic studies. His researches into Provençal were to an extent inaccurate, but his enthusiasm and perseverance opened the way for the study of the subject. Raynouard is sometimes called the founder of Romance linguistics, although his contribution was marked by a fundamental misconception: he believed that the Romance languages were derived from a common post-Latin language, which he called ''le roman'', and not directly from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, as is in fact the case. Raynouard's chief works are ''Choix de poésies originales des troubadours'' (6 vols., 1816–1821), of which the sixth volume, ''Grammaire comparée des langues de l'Europe latine, dans leurs rapports avec la langue des troubadours'' (1821), was separately published; ''Lexique roman ou dictionnaire de la langue des troubadours comparée avec les autres langues de l'Europe latine'' (6 vols., 1838–1844). He spent the last years of his life at

Passy Passy () is an area of Paris, France, located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, on the Rive Droite, Right Bank. It is adjacent to Auteuil, Paris, Auteuil to the southwest, and Chaillot to the northeast. It is home to many ...

. Raynouard was Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. In the

16th arrondissement of Paris The 16th arrondissement of Paris (; ) is the westernmost of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France. Located on the city's Right Bank, it is adjacent to the 17th and 8th arrondissements to the northeast, as well as to the ...

, a street and a square have been named after him. In Brignoles, a monument pays tribute to him near the house he was born in, and the secondary school (''lycée'') and a boulevard have been named after him.

Works

Theatre

* ''Caton d’Utique'', tragedy, 1794 * ''Les Templiers'', tragedy, premiered at the Comédie-Française le 24 floréal an XIII (14 May 1805)
Read online
* ''Éléonore de Bavière'', tragedy, 1805 * ''Les États de Blois ou la mort du duc de Guise'', tragedy, 1809 * ''Don Carlos'', tragedy, non-presented * ''Débora'', tragedy, non-presented * ''Charles Ier'', tragedy, non-presented * ''Jeanne d’Arc à Orléans'', tragedy, non-presented

Poetry

* ''Socrate dans le temple d’Aglaure'', 180
read online
* ''L'immolation des templiers''

History

* ''Recherches sur l’antiquité de la langue romane'', 1816 * ''Éléments de la grammaire de la langue romane'', 1816 * ''La Grammaire des troubadours'', 1816 * ''Des troubadours et les cours d’amour'', 1817 * ''Grammaire comparée des langues de l’Europe latine dans leurs rapports avec la langue des troubadours'', 1821 * ''Choix des poésies originales des troubadours'', 6 vol., 1816–1821 * ''Lexique de la langue des troubadours'', 1824 * ''Histoire du droit municipal en France, sous la domination romaine et sous les trois dynasties'', 1829 * ''Nouveau choix des poésies originales des troubadours'', 1836–1844 * ''Lexique roman'', 6 vol., 1838–1844 *
Tome 1
*
Tome 2, A-C
*
Tome 3, D-K
*
Tome 4, L-P
*
Tome 5, Q-Z
*
Tome 6, Appendice, vocabulaire

References

Notes Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raynouard, Francois Juste Marie 1761 births 1836 deaths Burials at Passy Cemetery People from Var (department) Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Members of the Académie Française 18th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights French philologists Occitan linguists Romance philologists Members of the Chamber of Representatives (France) French male dramatists and playwrights 18th-century French male writers 19th-century French male writers