Pierre-Édouard Lémontey (14 January 1762,

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

– 26 June 1826,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French lawyer, politician, scholar, and historian.

Life

Lémontey was born in Lyon and became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

. On the convocation of the États généraux, he was noted for many political writings. Deputy for the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

at the Legislative Assembly, he was elected its president several times. He took part in the defence of Lyon against the troops of the

National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...

and in 1793 escaped death during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

by fleeing to Switzerland. Lémontey returned in 1795 and was in 1804 made head of the theatrical censorship commission, entering 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 1817. He was twice a laureate of the Académie de Marseille for his ''Éloges'' praising Peiresc (1785) and those praising

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (profession), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * C ...

(1788). He edited royalist newspapers and was one of the companions at the "Déjeuner de la Fourchette".

Main works

* ''Palma, ou le Voyage en Grèce, opéra en deux actes'', Paris, Théâtre de la rue Feydeau, 5 fructidor an 6 (1798) * ''Raison, folie, chacun son mot, petit cours de morale mis à la portée des vieux enfans'' (1801) * ''Irons-nous à Paris ? ou la famille du Jura'' (novel written on the occasion of

Napoleon I of France 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 ...

's coronation) (1804) * ''La Vie du soldat français, en 3 dialogues composés par un conscrit du département de l'Ardèche'' (1805) * '' Thibaut, ou la Naissance d'un comte de Champagne, poème en 4 chants, sans préface et sans notes, traduit de la langue romance, sur l'original composé en 1250, par

Robert de Sorbon Robert de Sorbon (; 9 October 1201 – 15 August 1274) was a French theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typic ...

ne, clerc du diocèse de Rheims'' (1811) * ''Essai sur l'établissement monarchique de

Louis XIV 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 ...

, et sur les altérations qu'il éprouva pendant la vie de ce Prince'' (1818) - both praised and controversial on its publication, it was a forerunner of ''L'Ancien Régime et la Révolution'' by Tocqueville and underlined the continuity between the institutions of the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

and those of the French Revolution. He interpreted this continuity as a result of

's absolutism. * ''De la Peste de Marseille et de la Provence pendant les années 1720 et 1721'' (1821) * ''Œuvres, édition revue et préparée par l'auteur'' (13 vol.) (1829) * ''Histoire de la

Régence The ''Régence'' (, ''Regency'') was the period in History of France, French history between 1715 and 1723 when King Louis XV was considered a minor (law), minor and the country was instead governed by Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (a nephew ...

et de la minorité de

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

jusqu'au ministère du cardinal de Fleury'' (1832)

References

External links

Académie française
1762 births 1826 deaths Lawyers from Lyon French opera librettists 19th-century French historians People of the Bourbon Restoration People of the First French Empire Members of the Legislative Assembly (France) French counter-revolutionaries Newspaper editors of the French Revolution French male essayists French male dramatists and playwrights 18th-century French essayists Writers from Lyon {{France-journalist-stub