Amiens France Monument-for-Dufresne-du-Cange-01

Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange (; December 18, 1610 in

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

– October 23, 1688 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, aged 77), also known simply as Charles Dufresne, was a distinguished French

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 especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined ...

and historian of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium' ...

Life

Educated by

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

, du Cange studied law and practiced for several years before assuming the office of Treasurer of France. Du Cange was a busy, energetic man who pursued historical scholarship alongside his demanding official duties and his role as head of a large family. Du Cange's most important work is his ''Glossarium ad scriptores mediae et infimae Latinitatis'' (Glossary of writers in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and late

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

, Paris, 1678, 3 vol.), revised and expanded under various titles, for example, ''Glossarium manuale ad scriptores mediae et infimae Latinitatis'' (Halae, 1772–1784) or from 1840 onward, ''Glossarium mediae et infimae Latinitatis'' (Glossary of medieval and late Latin). This work, together with a glossary of

and late

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

that he published ten years later, has gone through numerous editions and revisions and is still consulted frequently by scholars today. Du Cange's pioneering work distinguished medieval Latin and Greek from their earlier classical forms, marking the beginning of the study of the historical development of languages. Du Cange mastered languages in order to pursue his main scholarly interests, medieval and Byzantine history. He corresponded voluminously with his fellow scholars. His great historical and linguistic knowledge was complemented by equally deep learning in archaeology, geography and law. In addition to his glossaries, he produced important new editions of Byzantine historians and a number of other works. His extensive history of

Illyria In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...

was not published until 1746 by Joseph Keglevich, who partially corrected it.Illyricum vetus et novum, 1746.
/ref> Du Cange is one of the historians

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, '' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, i ...

cites most frequently in his ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire''. In one footnote he calls du Cange "our sure and indefatigable guide in the Middle Ages and Byzantine history."

Works

* * Du Cange, et al., ''Glossarium mediae et infimae Latinitatis'', Niort: L. Favre, 1883–1887 (10 vol.)
searchable full-text online edition, by the École nationale des chartes
* ''Glossarium mediae et infimae Latinitatis'
images online on the French National Library's website
* ''Glossarium mediae et infimae Latinitatis'
7-volume (1840-1850) on the Stanford University Library website
* ''Glossarium ad scriptores mediae et infimae Graecitatis'', Lugduni: Apud Anissonios, 1688 (2 vol.)
Glossarium ad scriptores mediae et infimae Graecitatis
from the

Digital Library of Modern Greek Studies "Anemi" Anemi is a digital library that aims to provide simple and quick access to a rich collection of digitized material related to Modern Greek Studies. Apart from finding bibliographic information, the researcher can also browse the documents thems ...

University of Crete The University of Crete (UoC; Greek: Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης) is a multi-disciplinary, research-oriented institution in Crete, Greece, located in the cities of Rethymno (official seat) and Heraklion, and one of the country's most aca ...

, Greece
Les Familles d'Outremer
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Life

Works

Notes

Further reading